"George
Roe & Co. Distillery"My special thanks to Mícheál
D. Roe, Ph.D. for taking time to compile and submit the following
information:

George Roe and Company had its
beginning in 1757 when Peter Roe bought a small distillery on Thomas
Street in Dublin. This Thomas Street Distillery was powered by the
largest smock windmill at that time in all Europe. Today the windmill's
tower still stands and graces the Dublin skyline, blue capped with
copper sheeting and a wind vane in the likeness of St. Patrick. It is
known as St. Patrick's Tower, and it is located on what is now Guinness
property. In fact, it was two years after Peter Roe established the
Thomas Street Distillery, that Arthur Guinness set up his famous St.
James' Gate Brewery across the street. Given that they were close
neighbors, and that they shared thecomplementary callings of producing
a fine whiskey and a fine stout, one would readily assume that they
shared professional admiration for one another. Apparently, that was not
so. Over the years, generations of the Guinness family considered their
stout to be the "nurse of the people," while they considered
spirits (e.g., Roe whiskey) to be the "curse of the people."
In contrast, I would venture that generations of the Roe family
magnanimously enjoyed both Guinness stout and Roe whiskey.

In 1766 Richard Roe took over the Thomas Street Distillery, and in 1784
Nicholas Roe founded a separate distillery on Pimlico Street, a few
blocks away. In 1832 George Roe took over both the Thomas Street and
Pimlico distilleries. He consolidated and expanded these distilleries
into quite a large complex. The resultant organization became known as
George Roe & Company or Geo.