Locke’s Distillery: A History by Andrew Bielenberg

Originally published in 1993 Locke’s Distillery is being reissued to celebrate the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the company.

Despite market dominance by Scotch in this century, Irish whiskey remains its peer. Locke’s Distillery has been manufacturing its famous brand of whiskey on the banks of the Brusna river in Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath, since 1757, linking Ireland’s industrial past to its future.

From business archives and family papers, Andy Bielenberg has written a compelling history of the fluctuating fortunes of the distillery, tracing its origins and transformations in organization through the years to its present-day revival. He surveys the buildings and machinery, the process of distillation and marketing strategies, as well as documenting the Locke family’s role within the company and their contribution to the social life of the midlands.

Illustrated by period photographs, portraits and trade labels, and augmented by useful tables and appendix matter, Locke’s Distillery will be of keen interest to regional and economic historians, and fascinate all who savour Irish whiskey and its traditions.

‘This is a wonderful account of the history of this distillery by Andy Bielenberg. Beautifully researched.’ – Customer review

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ANDY BIELENBERG is author of Cork’s Industrial Revolution (1990) and editor of The Irish Diaspora (2000), The Shannon Scheme and the Electrification of the Irish Free State (2000) and Irish Flour Milling (2003). He lectures in history at University College Cork.