| Comber, a small
town just a few miles south of Belfast, once boasted two
distilleries: The Upper Distillery was established in 1825,
converting an old brewery and malt house, by Johnston and
Millar. The annual output in 1833 was over 33,000 proof gallons. The Lower Distillery was a smaller concern, established in 1825 by Byrne & Company converting a former paper mill. The Excise collector had a poor opinion of this company — he reported a case of illegal removal of spirit from the warehouses in 1845. The Lower Distillery was bought in 1860 by the Upper Distillery and their activities were combined.
The company pioneered the bottling of whiskey for the warehouse ledgers for 1890 show that a considerable part of their sales was bottled spirits. In 1914, the company produced 110,000 gallons proof spirit, a heavy pure pot still whiskey. As the public taste changed towards the lighter style blended whiskeys, sales became difficult, and the company ultimately ceased distilling in 1953. Today, the Lower Distillery has completely disappeared, but most of the Upper Distillery still stands in a remarkably good shape. The Pot Stills found a new home at Cooley Distillery, Co. Louth. Some of the last whiskey distilled in Comber is available today as "Old Comber", aged for at least 30 years. Only a few hundred bottles of it have ever been produced. |
