In Northern Ireland we have a passion for distilling and we’d love to share it with you.
There’s a whole world of spirits to discover here, with a special welcome for everyone who explores it. Of course, if you’re going exploring, you’re going to need a guide. So here it is: a distillery-led trail through Northern Ireland.
You can expect to encounter all sorts of characterful spirits along the way. There’s some pretty special characters amongst their makers too. So spend a wee while with them. No need to rush. Let the distillers share their pride in their creations with you. Savour the nose and the mouthfeel of each spirit. Experience their individual tastes, the way they express the land of their birth, the grain and the water that brought them into being.
It’s time to hit the trail. So let your senses be your guide. Along with this little passport, of course!
The Northern Ireland Spirits Trail
McConnell’s Distillery
Echlinville Distillery
Shortcross Rademon Estate Distillery
Hinch Distillery
Killowen Distillery
Two Stacks Irish Whiskey
Woodlab Distillery
Located in the historic A-wing of Crumlin Road Gaol in Belfast.
Our state-of-the-art distillery in the heart of North Belfast is housed within a restored listed building. Offering guided tours that uncover the unique history of our triumphantly revived Belfast brand, McConnell’s Irish Whisky, you’ll hear the stories of Belfast’s illustrious distilling past in a landmark setting.
Join us to find out more about a brand born in Belfast in 1776, that is now being restored globally. You’ll learn about the distilling process and of course, taste some of McConnell’s award-winning Irish whiskies along the way. You’ll hear stories of Belfast’s illustrious distilling past and discover more about a brand that began in Belfast in 1776 as we showcase a great Belfast tradition that is alive and flourishing once again.
You’ll learn all about the distilling process and, of course, taste some of McConnell’s award-winning Irish whiskies along the way. McConnell’s Distillery also offers visitors a fantastic shop to pick up gifts, an all-day café, plus a fully licensed bar to enjoy after the tour.
And if you’re curious about the missing ‘e’ in our McConnell’s Whisky, let us explain. There is a convention that the Irish spirit is spelled ‘whiskey’ and Scotch as ‘whisky’. But it is just a convention. ‘Whisky’ is the form that was traditionally favoured by McConnell’s, and today we honour that tradition – proudly and distinctively spelling our product just as we always have. With no ‘e’.
Belfast’s first working whiskey distillery in almost 90 years.
Join us for an experience to remember in the historic Titanic Pumphouse, located in the heart of Belfast’s Titanic Quarter. Located in a listed building which first opened in 1911 to service and accommodate the White Star transatlantic liners Olympic and Titanic. Now, years later, visitors will listen to the story of Belfast’s whiskey tradition, view the distillery’s three Forsyth’s stills overlooking the original Gwynne pumping engines and enjoy the opportunity to admire the original pump equipment and historical features of a building beautifully restored and retained.
There are four tours available to visitors, including: the Dock Tour, a unique outdoor opportunity to explore the site where Titanic last rested on dry ground before her maiden voyage.
The Signature Tour is a fully guided experience of the Distillery and historic pumphouse, followed by a sensory experience and tasting of awardwinning Irish spirits.
The Premium Tour brings the stories of Thompson Dock’s rich heritage to life, while showcasing the ongoing innovations of the working distillery. Enjoy a sensory tasting experience of the award-winning spirits.
Finally, The Legacy Tour is an extended tour of Titanic Distillers at Thompson Dock to gain a deeper insight into the history and stories of this unique site. Tastings of premium spirits are included throughout the tour, and guests will receive exclusive Titanic Distillers gifts to take home.
A distillery cut by the ocean and inspired by history.
Truly immerse yourself at The Copeland Distillery, where you’ll hear tales of secret smugglers, savage battles and remarkable voyages, all while soaking up our coastal spirits of whiskey, gin, rum, vodka and coffee liquer.
You’ll find the distillery in the old picture house, situated a stone’s throw from the harbour, where you can take in the historic sites of the iconic lighthouse before your tour. You’ll hear the rich history of the distillery and the town itself, once the busiest port town in Northern Ireland, with seafarers from across
the globe landing with spirits and spices. Our distillery is rich in both heritage and community. You’ll experience our range of spirits, and reconnect with people from all over the world with a shared passion for the craft of distilling and the local area. Each of our spirits are intertwined with our heritage and coastal spirit, bringing back tall tales of the past. After you have enjoyed our award-winning spirits and seen our passion for distilling, you can sit back and relax in our visitor’s centre or pop back in for a coffee during the week!
tours@copelanddistillery.com
Northern Ireland’s first field-to-glass distillery is a uniquely special place.
You’ll find Echlinville Distillery in the drumlin country of the Ards Peninsula. Up here, in the northeast corner of the Island, the uniquely temperate micro-climate plays an important role in the making of our spirits. Echlinville is a very rare thing indeed: a fieldto-glass distillery. That temperate climate, along with rich soil and salty air makes this one of the finest grain-growing regions in Northern Ireland.
Where better, then, to grow the barley we distil for our new-make spirits? Harvested from our own farm on the Echlinville Estate, it’s floor-malted on our distillery farmexactly the way it would have been
hundreds of years ago.
You’ll arrive at the historic Echlinville Estate and be greeted by our friendly tour guides. Then, you’ll trace the journey of our spirits all the way from ground to glass. Hear all about our commitment to local provenance. Discover how we sow, harvest and floor-malt all our own barley. View our beautiful copper stills and breathe in the earthy aromas of our whiskey maturation warehouse.
Then, after you’ve discovered how we capture the flavour, colour and mouthfeel of our spirits, it’s time to enjoy them. So relax with a glass or two in our bar. Whiskey, gin or poitín – the choice is yours!
Art,
craft and history all come together in
Crossgar, County Down.
The Shortcross Gin and Whiskey Discovery and Tasting experiences take place on the Rademon Estate, which dates back to AD 565. The gin made here is Northern Ireland’s first craft gin, with techniques and provenance that have won it awards that come very much from this century. Lush green fields, blooming gardens and dense forests all go into Shortcross Gin, with wild botanicals, including wild clover, apple, elderflower and elderberry foraged from the local area. This is also the home of Northern Ireland’s first whiskey to be launched in over 100 years from a new distillery and is created entirely onsite.
Upon arrival, you’ll be welcomed by the Shortcross team and have
an opportunity to try one of their many show-stopping cocktails from the distillery bar before embarking on your experience. From there, the passionate team will show you the copper stills and explain how they make their unique gin and Irish whiskey. You’ll wrap up the day with neat tastings and learn how to pour the perfect G&T, as well as create a bespoke label and wax-dipping your own personalised bottle of gin to take home. You’ll leave with your bottle and a Shortcross copa gin glass. You’ll also leave with a host of memories, having enjoyed a thoroughly modern experience in an ancient setting. There’ll be stories from founders Fiona and David too: about their journey and the history of the estate.
Rademon Estate Distillery 65 Church Rd, Crossgar Downpatrick, BT30 9HR
hello@shortcrossgin.com
www.rademonestatedistillery.com
@shortcrossgin @shortcrossgin and @Shortcross Whiskey @ShortcrossGin
Distilled by the bold. Character is everything.
A tour at Hinch Distillery is not just an exploration of history, production and their bold range of triple distilled whiskeys; it’s an invitation to sit and learn from the characters that bring it to life through an immersive sensory journey.
You’ll find this impressive distillery in the heart of County Down, nestled among the drumlins, not too far from the Mournes. Drawing its water from the beautiful Silent Valley, and sourcing local grain, here’s a whiskey that’s made from the essence of nature around it.
Beginning in the ingredients room, you’ll see the raw materials of what goes into Hinch Whiskey. Inside the spectacular distillery itself, get up close with the mashing vessels and fermentation tanks, before viewing the stunning copper pot stills; Donard, Croob and Wee Binnian –named after three local mountains. The spectrum room is a space where sensory stimulation explains how a barrel breathes life into the spirit. Things wrap up in the exclusive Tasting Bar, where guests will have the chance to sample some of the beautiful whiskeys in Hinch’s vast collection.
The small distillery with a giant spirit.
Located in the heart of the Mourne Mountains, Killowen Distillery has a ‘Kult’ following and an epic history, due in no small part to its great whiskeys and gins. You’ll find it on the slopes of Knock Shee, the path where smugglers took French brandy into Ireland during the Napoleonic Wars.
Until recently, this same path was used by local poitín makers (moonshiners) and today, you can experience the craftsmanship behind this once illicit spirit, with an intimate, Meet the Makers tour and tasting experience.
This is Northern Ireland’s smallest distillery, but in it, you’ll find one of the biggest welcomes. The resident piper and story-teller will relate the history of this unique
place, with tales of smugglers, a megalithic monument and the world’s tallest man.
Killowen’s native Botanical Gin champions sustainable harvesting from this very locale. In fact, sustainability is the highest priority here, so you’ll find the building itself is made from upcycled materials and maximises the usage of renewable energy.
On the tour, you may taste spirit straight from the still, made from grain from the local area. You’ll engage with botanicals that come from the heart of this place and can harvest your own mint or rosemary to use as a garnish. All before seeing how the distillation process works and tasting the spirits in beautiful surroundings.
It’s a new and adventurous chapter in Irish whiskey. Help us tell the tale.
Inspired by the traditions of old and contemporary brands of new, Two Stacks Irish Whiskey Bonders & Blenders opened one of Ireland’s only independent bonding and blending facilities in 2022, with a clear ambitionto combine those two worlds together.
Our unique approach to working with some of Ireland’s leading distilleries means we select the finest spirits distilled on the island and so create incredible expressions of whiskey never crafted nor tasted before. We continue to build our reputation on top of three key fundamentals: transparency, creativity and innovation. A trio that helps us to shape the future of Irish whiskey.
Join us to discover the unique story and the history of bonding and blending in
Ireland. You’ll learn about the true art of blending whiskey and enjoy exclusive access to Two Stacks ultra-rare casks, extracting and tasting the whiskey yourself.
Taste - Enjoy a delicious Two Stacks welcome cocktail, followed by an in-depth tasting of our Two Stacks Whiskeys.
Blend - Our hands-on whiskey blending experience lets you blend your very own Irish whiskey to take home.
Explore - Get exclusive access to The Loft Bar at Two Stacks, with a selection of drams and curated cocktails to enjoy.
Get interactive and see how science and art come together in a unique way in this special distillery.
The gin school at Woodlab Distillery is a unique experience in the science of harnessing nature to extract the flavour profiles present in their gin. When you think of exotic botanicals, you might think of far-flung locales, but using a little bit of science you can source those same flavours and much more in the flora we find all around us. In fact, the vast majority of the ingredients found in Woodlab’s gin comes from a radius of just a couple of miles around.
On your visit, you’ll learn about the gin-making process. Woodlab Distillery will tell you how their special process brings nature and science together to make a gin you won’t forget. Along with a host of
stories and tall tales that will also live long in the memory.
You’ll then make your own gin, using some of the botanicals Woodlab Distillery uses in their product. Some of these are from the surrounding land, including of course, the Armagh Bramley apple – a Protected Geographical Ingredient, unique to Northern Ireland. The result will be a totally bespoke, one-off bottle: a gin that’s as unique as every visitor.
So come and see the interplay of science, art and nature at a unique gin school. You’ll leave a little wiser, and with a unique bottle of gin to take back to friends and family.
Experience a distillery that brings the essence of Fermanagh to life.
On the banks of Lough Erne just outside Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, you’ll find the Boatyard Distillery, a distillery focused on producing pure spirits with a sustainable and organic approach.
Once you’ve taken in the incredible views on arrival, you’ll be invited into the distillery to discover how the spirits are produced and distilled using only the finest grains and botanicals. Then, you’ll hear the story of the Boatyard Distillery to date and smell and taste your way through each spirit with our tour guides, who’ll make each experience intimate and informative.
The Boatyard Distillery is the first
legal distillery in the County in over 130 years, and you’ll be welcomed with warm Fermanagh hospitality. The tour includes not only neat samples of each spirit, but also three longer style drinks that highlight the spirits in different ways. Before you finish the tour, you’ll get hands on with labelling and signing your own bottle of Boatyard Double Gin, a great way to see how each bottle is finished before it leaves the distillery!
The tours are an immersive experience giving you a chance to see, taste and experience the spirit of Fermanagh, with the botanicals in the Boatyard Double Gin coming straight from the family farm in Fermanagh.
Award-Winning Craft Distillery Producing
Whiskey, Gin, and Vodka in County Tyrone.
Wild Atlantic Distillery is an awardwinning whiskey, gin and vodka distillery based in County Tyrone, drawing inspiration from the spectacular rugged coastline. The distillery is located on the outskirts of the charming rural area of Aghyaran, Castlederg. Close to the dramatic landscape of the Sperrin Mountains, just 15 miles from the wild beaches on Northern Ireland’s north-western coast.
You’ll be surprised by the unexpected as your hosts, Brian and Jim, tell you stories of innovative distillation methods that are rooted in tradition, and how the people and landscape of this place have inspired them to make something extraordinary.
They are passionate about maintaining the long history of independent, traditional and craft distilleries in Northern Ireland. This engaging duo are particularly proud of this tradition in Northern Ireland, where they are the first in 100-years to revive Irish Whiskey production in the Derry/Strabane area.
Learn about the craft and tradition of making a spirit from award-winning master distillers and discover the origins of Irish Whiskey making in the North West. Wild Atlantic Distillery continues working collectively and independently to restore Irish Whiskey to its rightful place as the world’s most sought-after whiskey.
jim@wildatlanticdistillery.ie 028
@WADistillery
Unleash Your Inner Distiller at Earhart Gin School:
An Unforgettable Gin Experience in Derry~
Londonderry
Have you ever dreamt of becoming a distiller and crafting your very own gin?
At our Taproom in Ebrington Square, Earhart Gin School offers you the unique opportunity to do just that. With your own miniature copper still, a wide array of botanicals to choose from, and expert guidance from our distillery team, you’ll embark on an unforgettable gin making experience.
We’ll welcome you with our signature Earhart Gin & Tonic, then kick off the gin experience with a brief introduction to the fascinating origins and history of gin, setting the stage for your own gin making adventure.
Our skilled distillery team will guide you through every step of the gin making process, ensuring you have all the
knowledge and tools you need to craft your ideal gin. You’ll learn about the distillation process and how to choose and balance your botanicals for a harmonious flavour profile.
Once you’ve finalised your gin recipe, you’ll weigh out your chosen botanicals and begin the distillation process, while sipping on expertly crafted concoctions prepared by our master mixologist in the Taproom.
Then it’s time to collect your distillate and trim it down to the ideal alcohol level before naming, labelling and sealing your bespoke bottle of gin. Altogether, an unforgettable experience to share with friends and family.
Welcome to the world’s oldest licensed distillery.
In 1608, in Bushmills, a legend was born. In that year, King James I granted a very particular licence to this small village, just a few miles inland from Northern Ireland’s rugged north coast. The licence gave Bushmills the right to distil whiskey. Today, Bushmills is home to the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world.
Over 400 years later, they’re still making whiskey in Bushmills. They’re still using Irish barley - and the unique water from their own stream too. Four centuries’ worth of craft and experience ensure that these whiskeys are amongst the most celebrated and the most savoured in the world. But as master distiller Colum Egan says, ‘we’re not
good because we’re old, we’re old because we’re good’.
To find out how they got to be so good, you’ll need to pay a visit, of course. You’ll soon see that they really couldn’t make their whiskey anywhere but here. You’ll be able to explore the terrain that imbues it with its legendary character. You’ll meet the people that safeguard centuries of knowledge. You’ll experience the practice of their craft first-hand. Along with the rich aromas and full-bodied flavours of Northern Ireland’s oldest working distillery.
Yes, this is how 100% malted barley is triple-distilled to make single malt whiskey. You’ll witness the magic!
Congratulations! You have completed the Northern Ireland Spirits Trail!
You did it. From the oldest licensed distillery in the world to some of the very newest and innovative: you’ve been there and got the stamp! But best of all, you’ve met the makers, you’ve learned some of their secrets and your senses have been your guide.
We hope you’ve enjoyed embracing the Giant Spirits of Northern Ireland. We would love to hear from you. Share your Giant Adventure with us #NISpiritsTrail #EmbraceAGiantSpirit @DiscoverNI
When you’ve visited all stops on the Northern Ireland Spirits Trail, simply show a copy of your completed passport to a member of staff at your last distillery experience to receive a special souvenir!
