The island of Ireland is a premium place for spirit lovers, with a wealth of experiences to enjoy from masterclasses to tasting tours and more.
Ireland is famous for its whiskey, but a raft of distilleries across the island are now also creating award-winning gins, vodkas and aperitifs and offer a range of exciting distillery experiences. Here are 11 to explore.
Stillgarden Distillery, Dublin
There are a number of reasons to visit this experimental distillery, including the chance to taste its award-winning modern Irish spirits or, go further and create your own unique gin.
Rebel City Distillery, County Cork
This new boutique distillery has created an award-winning spicy gin, infused with the flavours of south India and the only Irish-made absinthe.
Powerscourt Distillery, County Wicklow
The combination of extraordinary whiskey and an extraordinary setting on the grounds of the stunning Powerscourt Estate makes a visit to this distillery a must-do. The tour and food-paired tasting experience, which matches three Fercullen Irish whiskeys with a selection of local artisan food, is a double delight.
Sliabh Liag Distillers, County Donegal
A new distillery celebrating Donegal’s lively distilling heritage, Sliabh Liag Distillers is the home of a smoky peated spirit branded The Legendary Silkie Irish Whiskey. Their range of gins uses foraged seaweeds from the Atlantic coast.
Echlinville Distillery, County Down
A visit to the Echlinville Distillery offers an insight into the workings of the island of Ireland’s first farm distillery. Follow the journey of the spirits from ground to glass, seeing how the farm-grown barley is sown, grown, harvested and hand-malted.
Micil Distillery, County Galway
Six generations of know-how have led to the creation of a range of exceptional handcrafted Irish spirits based on family recipes.
The Shed Distillery, County Leitrim
In the heart of rural Ireland sits The Shed Distillery, where traditional distilling methods and state-of-the-art stills combine to produce a range of spirits “from the Curious Mind of PJ Rigney”.
This vibrant distillery claims to be the home of cocktail exploration and modern Irish whiskey. It offers a range of visitor attractions including a Blending Experience which explores the process of whiskey blending.
Clonakilty Distillery, County Cork
Located on the windswept Wild Atlantic Way, Clonakilty Distillery has created a range of award-winning whiskeys, gins and vodkas with a maritime character.
This grain-to-glass distillery has been custom-built to produce a particular style of Irish Single Malt Whiskey using water from the Mourne Mountains and traditional Irish mashing processes.
