A new Spirit Trail and Distillery Passport experience is encouraging visitors to discover the range, quality and unique character of Northern Ireland’s spirits.
The Spirit Trail is a guide to 14 unique distillery-led experiences across Northern Ireland. It’s an invitation to meet the characters and see the passion behind each brand as well as a chance to sample a broad range of spirits to find your new favourite.
At any one of the stops on the trail you can pick up a passport and have it stamped as you visit each distillery. Anyone who collects 14 stamps will be given a special souvenir gift. Alternatively, scan the QR code on display at Belfast International Airport’s duty-free store to get a digital passport and information on the trail, so you’re ready to go as soon as you land in Northern Ireland.
Visitors to Belfast will be able to visit three distilleries on the trail that are based in the city. Enjoy a two-hour Make Your Own Gin experience at the Belfast Artisan Gin School or, if whiskey is more to your taste, head to McConnell’s Distillery, the newest arrival on the Northern Ireland distillery scene, where you can combine a tour of the distillery with a tour of historic Crumlin Road Gaol within which it is located. Similarly, a visit to Titanic Belfast, a must-see in the city, can be followed by a tour of nearby Titanic Distillers located in the Titanic Pumphouse.
Within easy reach of Belfast are Hinch Distillery and Rademon Estate, home of Shortcross Gin. Both offer fascinating behind-the-scenes tours of their ultra-modern distilleries.
On a trip down the picturesque Ards Peninsula you can taste craft whiskey, gin and rum at the Copeland Distillery while hearing stories of smugglers and seafaring exploits. Further down the peninsula is Echlinville, a family-run field-to-glass distillery and home of award-winning Dunville’s Irish whiskey.
In Northern Ireland’s beautiful Mourne Mountains, you’ll find the smallest distillery on the trail, Killowen, where you can taste a range of artisan spirits. And at Two Stacks Whiskey you’ll learn about the history of blending and bonding in Ireland and get hands-on experience of whiskey blending.
Over in the beautiful Lakelands of Fermanagh, the Boatyard Distillery focuses on producing pure spirits with a sustainable and organic approach. And in County Tyrone the Wild Atlantic Distillery draws inspiration for its spirits from Ireland’s rugged coastline, while Woodlab Distillery combines science and nature in its award-winning Symphonia range of gins.
A visit to Northern Ireland would not be complete without a drive along the stunning Causeway Coast and here you will find one of the world’s most famous brands, Bushmills, with a 400-year-old whiskey distilling pedigree.
And when you reach the walled city of Derry~Londonderry, call into the Walled City Brewery which, despite its name, is also a place to discover a new spirit, Earhart Gin. Since you’re there, be sure to take a tour of the brewery to get the chance to sample six excellent craft beers.
