Key facts
- Role
- Global Brand Ambassador, Tullamore D.E.W.
- Origin
- Ireland
- Active
- In Irish whiskey since the 1970s
- Best known for
- Carrying Irish whiskey's triple-distilled story around the world
Life & career
John Quinn entered the drinks trade in Ireland in the 1970s, when Irish whiskey was at its lowest point: a handful of surviving distilleries, shrinking exports and a category most bartenders abroad had never poured. He worked in sales and distribution before becoming the travelling voice of Tullamore D.E.W.
For decades he travelled the globe explaining what makes Irish whiskey different — triple distillation, a blend of pot still, malt and grain spirit, and a softer, rounder character. He was central to the brand's growth into one of the world's largest Irish whiskeys and to the reopening of distilling in Tullamore itself in 2014, and was later inducted into the Irish Whiskey Hall of Fame.
Distilleries & brands
- Tullamore D.E.W.
- Tullamore Distillery
- Midleton
- Irish Distillers
What they brought to whisky
- Helped rebuild Irish whiskey's international reputation from near-collapse to global growth category.
- Made triple distillation and pot still whiskey understandable to bartenders and drinkers worldwide.
- Showed that storytelling and hospitality are as much a part of whiskey as stills and casks.
Honours & recognition
- Inducted into the Irish Whiskey Hall of Fame
- Decades as the public face of Tullamore D.E.W.
In The Whisky Game
This personality appears on one of the character cards. Each player draws one at the start and uses its special ability during the game.
Play the game
Meet the legends at your own table
Character cards, distilleries, lost distilleries and hundreds of questions — the board game for whisky lovers.
Buy the game