Thursday, 20 March 2025

1015607 Roe & Co Distillery

Diageo's latest entry in to the world of Irish whiskey came surprisingly shortly after selling off their previous - they bought Bushmills in 2005 and sold it in November 2014; and then announced that they would convert the defunct James Gate power station in to a distillery in January 2017 - a gap of only 27 months!

The name is recovered from a previous distillery which Guinness purchased on its closure in 1927, with the brewery extending on to the site in the following years. I have Roe ancestors, and it's not that common a name - but mine were in rural Kildare (via Newark - they emigrated, came back, and emigrated again with some of the kids staying in Ireland) and these Roes appear to have come from Wexford; so I suspect no relation.

That old power station was converted - in part, there are still some areas with original power equipment, defunct but intact, in the building - to a distillery by 2019. Initially I believe you could only visit here on tours; but at least recently you are able to head in to the Powerhouse Bar without tour booking or reservation, assuming it isn't too busy. 

A nice space, featuring a model of the building it's in - something every pub should have, this is a cocktail and whiskey bar, but with a few Diageo beers available on draught or in bottle also.

Diageo do a good "brand home", as I believe the marketing department like to call this; and with both here and the Open Gate available to visit without a ticket, you can spend a good few hours in them in D8 without paying 1010753 Guinness Storehouse prices.

No comments:

Post a Comment