Anoka County Economic Gardening Program
anoka
May 28, 2013
Featuring: Kieran Folliard

Please join us on May 28, 2013, at the Blaine Campus of Rasmussen College when the Anoka County Economic Gardening™ Program hosts the fourth of four speakers who have experienced significant growth in operations and employment and will share their experiences and insights/recommendations with the members of the local business community.

Where: Blaine Campus of Rasmussen College
3629 95th Avenue NE
Blaine, MN 55104
When: May 28th, registration and refreshments at 6:00pm
The program will begin at 6:15.


Born in 1955 in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo in the West of Ireland, Kieran started out in the hospitality industry carrying the bags for the passengers in his father’s Hackney (taxi cab) business. After 17 years spent in corporate marketing including time in Ireland, Saudi Arabia and the U.S, he realized that he loved being in pubs. So, like any good self-respecting Irish guy, he decided to open one.

18 years later, the pub business had grown to include The Local, The Liffey, Cooper, and Kieran’s Irish Pub, all in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. 2 GINGERS Whiskey was launched as a test in those pubs in March of 2011, and quickly earned a loyal following. So, in order to focus on a new project in pursuing wider distribution of 2 GINGERS, Kieran sold all his shares of the pub business in July of 2011. He heeded warnings about the door hitting him on the way out, and went on his merry way. Today, 100% of ownership of those pubs belongs to the management team that had worked with Kieran over the years to make them successful.

2 GINGERS is now Kieran’s full time passion. He’s lived in Minnesota for 25 years, but has seen more of the state since launching 2 GINGERS than ever before, as he hits the road to sample his product and meet the people who support the brand. When he decided to start 2 GINGERS, it was with confidence in the product and an undeniable urge to make a go of a good idea. Kieran’s entrepreneurial drive is contagious to those who know him

December 2012 saw the start of an exciting new chapter for 2 GINGERS®, as Beam Inc. acquired the 2 GINGERS® brand and trademarks. 2 GINGERS® Irish Whiskey will continue to be distilled, bottled, and labeled at Kilbeggan (formerly called the Cooley Distillery), and 2 GINGERS has joined the Kilbeggan family of Irish Whiskeys.

This partnership will allow 2 GINGERS to expand to states outside of Minnesota; 2 GINGERS is now available in Wisconsin, Illinois, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Iowa, with more states coming soon!
Kieran will continue to be based out of Northeast Minneapolis and will head up the national expansion of the Kilbeggan family of Irish Whiskeys. As the Chief Operating Officer of 2 GINGERS® Irish Whiskey and North American Brand Ambassador for the Kilbeggan family of whiskeys, Kieran will lead the charge for the Kilbeggan brands in the U.S., which include 2 GINGERS, Connemara, Greenore, Tyrconnel, and the distillery’s flagship brand, Kilbeggan.
Kieran raises a toast to all of the 2 GINGERS® fans in Minnesota, as every drop of 2 GINGERS® tippled, shared, or spilled into a cup of coffee by accident has added up to this amazing opportunity!