titanic distillers
OUR DESIRE IS WORLD CLASS THAT HONOUR HERITAGE OF SHIP, SHIP
AND THE CITY
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BUILDERS,
IS TO CRAFT CLASS WHISKEY HONOUR THE OF THE GREAT BUILDERS, CITY
OF BELFAST.
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A WORD FROM OUR OWNERS
Titanic Distillers is inspired by the people who worked in Belfast’s shipyard more than a century ago and our desire is to bring the city back to the forefront of Irish Whiskey distilling. The globally renowned craftmanship and graft that was evident on the same Thompson Dock site 100 years ago is at the heart of our brand standards – Blood, Sweat and Years.
Our new state of the art distillery allows visitors to be able to walk in the ship workers’ footsteps in the very pump-house and dry dock that represent such an authentic part of the Titanic story and indeed the history of Belfast.
We are very aware of the huge responsibility placed on our shoulders as custodians of a historic and global
brand, and it is crucially important that we preserve the integrity of the original pump-house and its surrounds, whilst creating world class whiskey that our brand name demands.
Around the turn of the 20th Century, Belfast produced over half of the Irish Whiskey made. However, all these distilleries disappeared virtually overnight when Prohibition was introduced in the US in the 1920s. Titanic Distillers, at Thompson Dock, is the first working distillery in Belfast since Prohibition, and we now invite you to join our journey and become a Member of the 401 Club.
Kind Regards — Peter Lavery, Richard Irwin, Stephen Symington & Sean Lavery
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OVERVIEW
401 was the yard number given to White Star Line’s most famous ship, Titanic. Over 100 years since the great liner left Thompson Dock, Titanic Distillers, offer you the opportunity to become an exclusive Member of the 401 Club.
» Limited to 401 Members, purchase your own cask of single malt Irish Whiskey spirit produced by Titanic Distillers - the first new casks of whiskey to be produced in Belfast since Prohibition
» Cost £8,000 per cask
» Multi cask discounts available
» Buy back option for private individuals
other benefits
» Exclusive invite to bespoke events
» Early access to distillery reserves and special edition bottles
» Discounts off online and distillery purchases
» Private VIP distillery tour and an overnight stay at Titanic Hotel, Belfast for two people
» Personalised labelling and finishing options
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THEY TOILED IN THE SHADOW SHIP, BENEATH A CANOPY THICKETS OF CABLES AND THE VERY AIR WAS ALIVE THEN THERE WAS THE
CLANGING AND HAMMERING. OF THE STEEL WAS SHAPED
WHIRR AND WHINE THE SHOUTING. THE BANTER. AND AT THE END OF ANOTHER WAS THIS. A MEASURE LOOKED FORWARD TO IT.
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NOISE:
SHADOW OF THE GREAT CANOPY OF CRANES, AMID AND CHAINS AND ROPES. ALIVE WITH SPARKS. NOISE: THE CEASELESS HAMMERING. THE POUNDING SHAPED AND JOINED. THE WHINE OF THE GEARS. BANTER. THE CRAIC. ANOTHER DAY THERE MEASURE OF REWARD. THEY IT. THEY SAVOURED IT.
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THE IRISH WHISKEY RENAISSANCE
Irish Whiskey is currently riding high as the world’s fastest growing spirits category of the past decade (Drinks Industry Ireland), with the value of Irish Whiskey exports exceeding €1billion for the first time in 2022 (Irish Whiskey Association).
Global sales of Irish Whiskey grew om 60 million bottles in 2010, to 144 million bottles in January 2020.
Despite the challenges presented by Covid-19, the Irish Whiskey industry has shown remarkable resilience, as drinkers have continued to trade up to premium options at home.
Growth is expected to continue, with the Irish Whiskey Association predicting the Irish market to continue to outgrow Scotch and Bourbon for at least another ten years, with sales expected to double by 2030.
In 2010, there were only four distilleries in operation. Fast forward to 2020, the 38th Irish Whiskey distillery went into operation with several more scheduled to open in the early part of this decade.
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BELFAST’S WHISKEY HERITAGE
Titanic Distillers want to revive Belfast’s great distilling tradition and bring the city back to the forefront of Irish Whiskey production, while at the same time telling the story of a glorious past when Belfast led the way globally – not just in shipbuilding but across many areas of industry, manufacturing and innovation.
Around the turn of the 20th Century, Belfast produced over half of the Irish Whiskey made and when you study the streetscapes of the city from 1899, there were 18 working distilleries and many more bonded warehouses. However, all these establishments disappeared virtually overnight.
Irish Whiskey and especially that produced in Belfast, was faced with the perfect storm of Partition that cut off Belfast’s distilleries supply to Britain, and
Prohibition that completely wiped-out exports to the city’s US markets.
Now, almost 90 years later, Titanic Distillers at Thompson Dock will be the first working distillery in Belfast since Prohibition.
We are excited to tell our story through our Premium Irish Whiskey and the development of Thompson Dock and Pump-House into what will be a truly authentic experience that will allow visitors and whiskey enthusiasts worldwide to feel like they were really there.
401 Club gives you the opportunity to be part of Titanic Distillers and Belfast’s new Irish Whiskey heritage.
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titanic distillers at thompson dock
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A NEW DAWN FOR THOMPSON DOCK AND PUMP−HOUSE
Thompson Dock and Pump-House is one of the world’s only authentic Titanic landmarks and is now where Titanic Distillers is fortunate enough to call home.
Thompson Dock is the last place Titanic rested on dry ground and is her physical footprint in history. Visitors can experience life in 1911 by descending 44 feet into the colossal dry dock and walk in the footsteps of those who worked in the shipyard a century ago.
The legendary Pump-House now not only contains the original powerful pumps able to drain Thompson Dock of its 24 million imperial gallons of water in just 100 minutes, it also houses our new state-of-the-art distilling facility and visitor centre.
Our distillery boasts 0.5 tonne mashing, triple distillation, and the capacity to produce over 200,000 litres of pure alcohol annually.
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401 CLUB
401 was the yard number given to White Star Line’s most famous ship, Titanic, built by the globally renowned ship builder Harland & Wolff.
In homage to the great ship and the many hands that built it on the Thompson Dock site where we are now housed, Titanic Distillers are proud to introduce the 401 Club.
Priced at £8,000 per cask this is an exclusive membership club limited to a maximum of 401 Members who purchase a cask of triple distilled, single malt, Premium Irish Whiskey produced by Titanic Distillers at Thompson Dock.
Our casks are hand made, Ex-American Bourbon first fill, with an average of 200 litre bulk volume and will be the first casks of whiskey produced in Belfast since Prohibition.
The list of exclusive membership benefits are listed opposite.
Our cask programme is limited to a maximum of 401 Members, each cask is individually stencilled with your details, becoming part of our heritage.
401 club benefits
» VIP Tour of our new distillery at Thompson Dock and over night stay for two at the Titanic Hotel, Belfast
» Two complimentary annual passes to our state-of-the-art visitor centre
» Exclusive Member’s invitations to future whiskey events and product launches at the distillery
» Early access to purchase bespoke distillery reserves and special edition bottles
» Seven years of warehousing and insurance included in the purchase price
» 100ml sample on years three, five and seven
» One on one meeting with our Head Distiller to discuss personalised cask finishing options
» Personalised labelling service
» 20% discount off all non-alcoholic products and 10% discount off all Titanic Distillers produced spirits in the distillery shop and online at titanicdistillers.com
» Cask buy-back option at 3% annual compound interest for private owners
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maturation
It will be three years and a day before your cask can be called Irish Whiskey. We will keep your cask for you for seven years, as we feel at this point your whiskey will come into its own
angels’ share
» New make malt spirit is typically at cask strength of approximately 63.5% ABV
» Approximately 2% of the cask contents will evaporate per year (the so called Angels’ Share) which will reduce the volume of the cask over the seven-year maturation period
» There may be some spillage or losses when the contents of the cask are bottled but this should not exceed 1-2% of the total volume
» A newly filled cask should therefore contain approximately 127 LPA which after seven years of maturation and following bottling should represent approximately 110 LPA storage
» 401 Club membership includes seven years of storage charges
» Further charges will be made annually thereafter for any incremental periods of storage based on prevailing market rates for warehousing services
maturation period and finishing options
» Based on individual preference and/or consultation with our team, we are happy to offer incremental periods of maturation on an annual basis, including the option for finishing in a different cask type and creating a bespoke liquid. This will be subject to an additional charge to be agreed
» Final agreement to be reached as to additional maturation and/or finishing requests to be made three months prior to the expiry of the initial seven-year period
samples & access
» 401 Club Members can access the warehouse in order to visit their casks up to once per annum by prior arrangement
» 401 Club Members can sample their spirit in years three, five and seven
» Titanic Distillers will arrange a warehouse visit for sampling – with a minimum of one month’s notice required in order to participate in the next visit
completion of initial maturation period
» Titanic Distillers will contact you six months prior to the expiry of the seven-year maturation period to confirm your preferred option for your cask and bottling arrangements. We will seek to reach agreement prior to three months before the end of the period as to future maturation options, otherwise we will be unable to guarantee to offer additional periods of maturation
» If for any reason, a 401 Club Member would like to remove their cask for bottling before the expiry of the seven year period then this can be facilitated (after an initial three year and one day period) upon no less than three months’ written notice, however, there will be no refund paid for any unused periods of prepaid warehousing and insurance
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» If you remove your cask prior to the expiry of the seven year period, you will not be permitted to make bottles available for sale without our prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), and in any event not before Titanic Distillers have released our own first single malt from whiskey distilled at the Distillery
bottling options
We will offer three different options in terms of bottling strength:
A. 40% ABV – this is the lowest permitted ABV under current regulations for liquid to be bottled as Irish Whiskey
B. 46% ABV - we recommend bottling at this strength
C. Cask strength - this varies depending on several factors, but for a seven-year-old whiskey it is estimated to be approximately 56%
number of bottles
» This depends on several factors such as the maturation rate, the age of the whiskey, any spillages in bottling etc
» Bottling at 46% ABV after seven years of maturation should produce approximately 340 bottles (Titanic Distillers bottles included are 70cl)
» Bottling at strength will yield the fewest number of bottles of finished whiskey (estimated at approximately 280) and bottling diluted to a minimum strength of 40% will result in the maximum number of bottles (estimated as approximately 390)
bottling
» The price for bottling services includes our core range 70cl bottles, corks, capsules and labels
personalised labelling
» We will be able to provide a range of labelling options and designs referencing your specific batch number, cask number, and your personal details as preferred
partial bottling and buyback option
» For private 401 Club Members, we will offer a buy back facility at the cost of your cask with a 3% annual compound interest added from the day it was filled
» In the event that a 401 Club Member does not want to incur further costs over and above the initial cask investment to fund the Excise Duty, VAT and bottling costs, Titanic Distillers are happy to explore the option of a partial bottling option whereby we will look to buy back part of the contents of the cask, to provide the funds to satisfy the cost of bottling, delivery, Excise Duty and VAT
» If you would like to understand more about this option, please contact us 401club@titanicdistillers.com
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COST OF OWNERSHIP
There are limited additional costs to cask ownership under 401 Club and the table below illustrates the likely total cost. The figures are approximate because quantities, strength and Angel’s Share may vary. Likewise, VAT and duty rates may change over the duration of your ownership and may differ depending on the destination country of the Excise Duty payable:
Purchase Price of 401 Club Cask Single Malt
£8,000.00
Transport from bonded facilities to bottling line and delivery within Northern Ireland
£300.00
UK Excise Duty (£28.74 @ 110 LPA)
£3,161.40
Sub Total £11,461.40
VAT at 20% £2,292.28
Total £13,753.68
Total Estimated Cost per Bottle (based on 340 bottles)
£40.45
Anticipated RRP (70cl Bottle)
£90.00
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HOW TO PURCHASE
01. Ask us for an application form using the contact details on the next page
02. Select the number of casks you wish to purchase
03. Prices are quoted per cask under bond and exclude transport, duty and VAT which may become payable on bottling
04. Ensure you have read the full terms and conditions and application form, and then complete and return to us along with your full payment
05. A receipted deposit acknowledgement, membership Certificate and loyalty card will be sent to you following acceptance of order
06. Before we fill your cask we will issue a full invoice, confirm your lid requirements
and inform you in writing that you may confirm your overnight stay in the Titanic Hotel, Belfast and a date for your VIP Distillery Tour
07. After filling you will be sent your stock certificate and display certificate detailing the cask number, type, capacity, contents and strength
08. This offer is aimed at individuals, or small groups, who want to own their own unique expression and to experience their own dram once it is bottled. Buying a cask with friends is affordable and results in a more manageable quantity of bottles. However, we require a single point of contact who will be the legal owner
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questions and applications form
Please feel ee to contact us if you any questions about this offer or if you would like us to send you an application form and a copy of the full terms and conditions to become an exclusive Member of the 401 Club.
401 Club, Titanic Distillers Limited Thompson Dock, Queens Road, Belfast, BT3 9DT, Northern Ireland
e: 401club@titanicdistillers.com w: titanicdistillers.com
