Brown-Forman has cited “demand planning and production forecasting” as grounds for its decision to temporarily cease the distillation of Irish whiskey mark Slane.
The brand, which is produced at the namesake distillery in County Meath, has been put on a “temporary production pause”, Brown-Forman confirmed earlier today (1 June). A spokesperson said the break would not interrupt supply in the market, due to “a robust supply of maturing whiskey”.
They added: “Demand planning and production forecasting are critical parts of our business, and it is standard practice to adjust production to align with market conditions.
“This same process will determine when production resumes.”
The distillery, which also houses a visitor centre, will remain open to tourists for tours and events. Blending and bottling of already-aged whiskies will also still be taking place.
The pause follows similar moves across the whisk(e)y category, including February’s news of production consolidation at Suntory Global Spirits’ Bowmore and Laphroaig scotch whisky distilleries. The company cited the need to “align production with long-term demand” for the change. Meanwhile, in the US, Suntory Global Spirits put one of the two facilities that distils flagship bourbon Jim Beam on pause for the entirety of this year.
Late last year, Diageo halted production at its Roseisle Maltings in Scotland until at least June, while Brown-Forman took the decision 18 months ago to consolidate production at Speyside’s BenRiach Distillery and Glenglassaugh in the Highlands production region, switching to what it called a “shared production model”.
