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Brown-Forman has been in the news a lot recently, as it has entertained (and turned down) acquisition bids from two different companies, Sazerac and Pernod Ricard. The latest buzz seems to be yet another indication of the very real struggles the whiskey industry is facing, as the company said it has decided to pause production at Slane, its Irish whiskey distillery located in the town of the same name.
Brown-Forman acquired Slane Castle Irish Whiskey more than a decade ago in 2015, followed by the purchase of the BenRiach Distillery Company a year later in which it obtained three scotch whisky disitilleries—Benriach, Glendronach, and Glenglassaugh (the company paused production at the latter distillery in early 2025, and shifted it to what it calls a “shared production model” with Benriach). After acquiring Slane, Brown-Forman spent about $50 million to build a new, state-of-the-art distillery on the grounds of the historic Slane Castle Estate in County Meath, about an hour outside of Dublin. Henry Conyngham, the eighth Marquess Conyngham, and his son Alex Conyngham, the Earl of Mount Charles, both lived there. The elder Conyngham created the Slane Castle concert series, which has hosted major bands like U2, Metallica, Guns ‘N Roses, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers over the years. He also founded Slane Irish Whiskey along with his son, Alex, who became the face of the brand and took the lead in shepherding it over the past decade.
We reached out to a rep for Brown-Forman for comment and received the following statement confirming Slane’s closure: “Demand planning and production forecasting are critical parts of our business; standard practice requires adjusting production to align with market conditions. We have a robust supply of maturing whiskey, ensuring there will be no interruption in the availability of Slane for our customers worldwide. Additionally, the Slane visitor center will remain open, and tours are still available for trade and VIP guests.”
That sounds like the company is leaving the door open for the distillery to resume production at some point. But in a LinkedIn post earlier this week, Slane employee Alan Buckley said the distillery was shutting down “for the next number of years.” We reached out to Brown-Forman to find out if there was a plan to reopen and when, and were told that a reopening would be “determined by demand planning and forecasting, though it is listed as temporary.”
We will update you with any further news about the distillery, but at least for the time being you can still find Slane’s triple-casked Irish whiskey blend at stores and websites like ReserveBar.
Authors
Jonah Flicker
