'Too many people are getting into this business for the wrong reasons'

John O'Connell of West Cork Distillers on the resurgence of Irish Whiskey

John O'Connell, Director, WCD and Deirdre Bohan, Master Distiller, West Cork Distillery.

In 2018, global sales of Irish whiskey exceeded 10.5 million cases, marking the first time sales of uisce beatha broke the 10 million barrier since the beginning of the Prohibition in the 1920s.

It’s a far cry from the world of Irish whiskey John O’Connell entered in 2008.

"We were the first new distillery in Ireland since 1989. Irish whiskey wasn't as popular as it is now, it wasn't as high profile.” While it is a lucrative business nowadays, back in 2003 when John and his friends Denis and Ger McCarthy first mooted the idea in the back of a house in Union Hall, they could never have foreseen that, 17 years later, West Cork Distillers would be one of the largest, wholly Irish-owned distilleries in the State.

Back then, O’Connell says he saw that Irish whiskey was “still in a slumber,” but he could see an opportunity.

Lifelong friends Denis and Ger McCarthy were deep-sea fishermen at the time and struggling to make ends meet for their young families.

“Fishing had become very challenging,” O’Connell says, “There were more and more restrictions. They wanted an alternative.” O’Connell had also been working in the food and beverages industry, first with Unilever as a food scientist before moving to Kerry Group.

After years travelling, he was drawn back to his roots in West Cork and to the old art of distillation and maturation.

“We all enjoyed Irish whiskey,” he explains, “it was a combination of having to get out of fishing, seeing a market opportunity and it being an area that we were genuinely attracted to.” Less than two decades on, the trio’s West Cork whiskey is now sold in almost 70 countries worldwide, while the company has also expanded its portfolio to vodka (Two Trees) and gin (Garnish Island), including well-known television host Graham Norton’s own gin (a pink gin and London Dry style gin).

Nowadays, Mr O’Connell said he’s afraid too many people are hopping on a bandwagon without a love for the art.

"In my opinion, too many people have rushed into this for the wrong reasons, that being money.” “If money and the aspiration to ultimately sell the business is why you get into it.. that’s not going to pull you out of bed when times are tough.” 

This month, O’Connell’s dedication to his craft saw him named the EY Industry Entrepreneur of the Year, though he quickly brushes off any congratulations and credits it to the 'West Cork spirit'. O’Connell has a deep appreciation for West Cork and for its people, which goes beyond words and is evident in his business.

The group recently unveiled a new 12.5-acre site on the Marsh Road, Skibbereen, with a distillation capacity of four million litres of pure alcohol, and now employs around 120 people, most of whom are based in West Cork.

The distillers also have a West Cork Irish Whiskey Co-Operative whereby locals can purchase a cask of Irish whiskey for investment purposes, while also benefiting from “the social aspect of owning a cask of whiskey and being part of a whiskey community.” “There’s a debt of gratitude that we owe to the West Cork people,” O’Connell says.

“There's a great sense of family and pride amongst West Cork people and West Cork as a whole has been very supportive. We're very proud of our identity and we're very grateful for the support.” “We've had some level of success and the award is nice, but the award is really an endorsement on the team here, for which I'm tremendously grateful.” “They've been tremendous,” he says, “especially during the hard times, and we did experience some very hard times.” The award show, like many others, was hosted for the first time online, and O’Connell explains that the whole process was done virtually.

“The whole process being virtual was quite daunting really,” he admits. “I wouldn't be a great technology person so all these zoom calls have been challenging.” While the pandemic hasn’t been an insurmountable challenge for the distillery, O’Connell said it has affected a huge change in his own working life.

“Before Covid, I used to be out of the country about 60% of my time.” “Traveling to different distribution partners all around the world, trying to develop markets… when Covid came, that all stopped and it shows no sign of coming back.” “Personally speaking, it has been a huge change for me in the way I work.” “I'd say it affects Irish people moreso than most because of their humble nature, it's easier to have an impact face to face.” Mr O’Connell says the past few months have been “peculiar,” with segregation of workforces within their facilities and the introduction of a fever detection unit.

“I remember the first lockdown. I met with Ger in the distillery at six o'clock on the Saturday morning, and we quite genuinely didn't know whether we would be allowed to open up on the following Monday.” He admits he was “terrified” in March, but despite the challenge of the pandemic, West Cork Distillers have moved forward with the expansion of its facility in Skibbereen, which will also see a visitor centre open further down the line.

West Cork Distillers began its journey as the world entered a sharp economic crash in 2008, it’s expanding its facility and its workforce in the midst of a global pandemic. Now, Brexit is on the horizon, but O’Connell remains unfazed.

“The biggest concern would be the unknown,” he notes, but in the same breath admits they’ve never had a rigid plan.

“Being overly strategic at times is dangerous.” “You spend so much time thinking and pontificating and concocting business plans that you don't actually do what you're meant to be doing!” One thing that is on the long-term to-do list is an antique whiskey.

“We want to continue growing here and continue to lay down whiskey and allow it to age for the 12 years for the antique whiskey category, that would be the main objective.” "We do have [a plan] to some degree, but it isn't written in stone. We've never done anything that way,” he says.

“We've always just tried to work hard and do the right thing.”