22nd September (Tuesday) 2025, Wynn's Hotel, Dublin 1
Dear Members,
For this month’s tasting, the Events team is taking you on a journey to the southern hemisphere as we explore the dynamic world of New Zealand craft whisky! We are thrilled to welcome the Mat from Thomson Whisky for an exclusive look at the pioneer of New Zealand’s modern whisky movement.
Hailed as the first of the new wave of New Zealand distilleries, Thomson Whisky is currently NZ’s most awarded whisky distillery. Driven by a passion for traditional methods adapted for contemporary ends, Thomson focuses strictly on quality over volume—utilising what is in abundance around them to capture "New Zealand in a glass."
From local grain to native wood, Thomson’s obsession with local materials and climate has reshaped modern whisky making. Notably, their signature Manuka Smoke single malt has introduced a brand-new, native smoke profile to the global whisky market that you won't experience anywhere else in the world.
Join us as we explore Thomson's core range of premium single malts and discover how creativity, local craft, and total respect for the process are shaping one of the world's most exciting whisky frontiers.
The following will be on the mat:
Thomson Manuka Smoke Single Malt
Thomson Cask Martin
Thomson South Island Peated Single Malt
Thomson Full Noise
Thomson Quercus Alba
Thomson Triple Tipple
Booking opens on Thursday 20th of August at 7.00pm. Join the waiting list to be notified as we might be able to get more spots for the event. It is necessary to register and complete payment via Stripe (within 15 minutes) to secure your booking.
Event Booking Terms & Conditions: https://www.irishwhiskeysociety.com/IWS-In-Person-Events
When Scotch Came to Town
After a very short absence, Scotch will make a welcome return to Dingle, after the recent tour de force from Con Collins and the SMWS.
We look forward to returning to An Bothar pub in Cuas where we had an excellent whiskey & food pairing earlier in the year. A beautiful venue for a tasting to welcome in the Dingle Food & Wine Festival that weekend.
This time however, we will explore two distilleries which may not be so familiar to some people, Arran distillery and Glen Allachie distillery. Both of these distillerys, one on an island and one from Speyside are relative newcomers to the Scottish whiskey scene given its rich history.
On December 16, 1994 Construction began on Arran distillery in Lochranza, at the north end of the island. However, Building was shortly halted to allow a pair of golden eagles to nest high in the hills above. The eagles have become a big part of the distillery and come back most years to nest. They can sometimes be seen flying high above the distillery and have been reported to make several 'fly pasts' on big occasions. The very first spirit came off the stills on June 29, 1995. The distillery has gone on to provide a superb single malt, with sublime finishes some of which we will get to taste on the evening.
Construction on Glen Allachie distillery commenced in 1967 and the distillery opened its doors in 1968. In 2017, the legendary Billy Walker came on board after selling his beloved and legendary Glendronach distillery to Brown Foreman. Just 9 months later, the very first range of single malts were released by the Speyside distillery. In 2022, Billy celebrated his 50th year in the whiskey industry and the distillery has grown exponentially since then supplying some abslutely superb whiskey to the masses, some of which we will taste on the evening.
Booking opens immediately. It is necessary to register and complete payment via Stripe (within 15 minutes) to secure your booking. No spaces available? Join the waiting list to be notified as we might be able to get more spots for the event.
N.B. No admittance to persons under 18 years of age
As usual, there will be a bus provided to take attendees to the event. This bus will depart John Benny's pub, Strand Street at 18.45 on the evening and return when the tasting is over.
