L. Mulligan Grocer, Stoneybatter pub & restaurant and owners of the award winning whiskey shop in Powerscourt Town Centre are delighted to present Distilled: Online Whiskey Festival.

In these times of isolation, L. Mulligan has been running weekly online beer, spirit and whiskey tastings. They have been incredibly popular, with people dialling in from their front rooms across the country to attend the tutored tastings. Distilled is an extension of this concept. In the absence of any ‘in person’ tastings for the foreseeable future, the festival is about celebrating our national spirit, coming together virtually to share a dram, attend masterclasses and chat about whiskey with experts and the whiskey community.

The festival will be held entirely online but will retain all the hallmarks of a usual whiskey festival: masterclasses, panel discussions, tasting stands and samples. The only thing missing is the taxi home! Attendees purchase the Festival Kit which will be shipped to them by courier along with the links for the tastings, panels and virtual tasting stands.

Running Order of the Festival

Each festival attendee will be welcomed with a cocktail from the award winning cocktail bar, Bar 1661.

Attendees will also receive nine ‘Festival Pours’ of selected whiskey from distilleries from Ireland and Scotland including WD O’Connell, DWD , Velvet Cap , Roe and Co, Tipperary , Dublin Liberties, Redbreast, The Currach and Talisker which they can enjoy via conversation with the brand distiller, blender, brand owner or ambassador in their ‘virtual stands’ throughout the day.

Additionally, each ticket holder will attend two masterclasses, one at 4pm and one at 6pm. Masterclass brands include Hinch Whiskey, Method and Madness, Powers, Glendalough, Connemara, Highland Park, Greenspot, Dublin Liberties, Lambay, Roe & Co, Bowmore and Pearse Lyons. These are live tastings held over Zoom and include previews of new releases, food and whiskey pairing masterclasses and tastings of heritage brands. Attendees will be able to interact with the presenters in the masterclasses and ask questions.

Each attendee will also receive a Festival Dream Dram, a specially selected cask strength, single cask whisky exclusive to L. Mulligan. Whiskey Shop with a live tasting of this special whisky closing out the festival.

In addition the festival will include three live expert panels focusing on the burning questions of the industry today: whiskey collectors and investors, the technical file, peating, imported grain, terroir and other controversies.

3pm Festival Opens

3pm Drink it or keep it? With Irish Whiskey Auctions’ Anthony and Katie Sheehy moderated by our own Icon of Whisky Awardee Michael Foggarty

4pm Masterclasses

5pm Our imagined whiskey past: The invention of ‘authenticity’ in Irish whiskey with Whiskey Historian Fionnan O’Connor, Blackwater Distillery’s Peter Mulryan moderated by Irish Food Culture Post-Grad Seaneen Sullivan

6pm Masterclasses

7pm Future of Irish Whiskey with Midleton Microdistiller Larrisa Marrichi, Tipperary Brand Owner Jennifer Nickerson and Lambay’s Sabine Sheehan.

7.45 Dream Dram tasting and Festival Close

Mulligan Whiskey Shop’s Michael Foggarty says “After 12 weeks of lockdown I am looking forward to coming together to celebrate our national spirit, have a few drams and share conversations about the past, present and future of Irish whiskey. We have been hosting online whiskey events throughout the lockdown and Distilled is the natural progression of this. We have something for everyone, novice and expert alike-it is going to be a great day in!’