LoveBelfast: Get in the spirit with Belfast Whiskey Week 2021

The piece opens with what would become one of the festival's most quoted lines: "Whiskey is typically one of those topics reserved for purists. Yet, 'It's not just your Da's drink anymore,' the brazen slogan of Belfast Whiskey Week, suggests otherwise."

That slogan — "It's not just your Da's drink anymore" — captured exactly what made Belfast Whiskey Week different from the average whiskey event. The festival was actively chasing a younger, broader, more open audience and saying so out loud. Plenty of whiskey festivals position themselves around connoisseurship; Belfast's deliberately undercut that and made room for people who had never tried whiskey before.

"The event's aim is to unite whiskey fans new and old throughout the world via their virtual whiskey festival taking place between the 23rd – 31st July. With up to 65 whiskey brands joining in and tickets already sold beyond Belfast to Australia, Argentina and more – the eight day event promises to provide insight into the world of whiskey like never before."

The piece captures the unique logistics of the online format: "Tasting sessions, debates and masterclasses are accompanied by corresponding vials of liquid magic and a matching Belfast Whiskey Week glass – all sent out in smart boxes to ticketholders in anticipation of the one of a kind event."

2021 also included some in-person components for those in Northern Ireland — sessions at the Duke of York, Hinch Distillery and Maddens Bar were specifically called out. It was a hybrid year: most attendees joining online from across the world, some experiencing the festival physically in Belfast.

The piece closes with a friendly invitation: "The best thing about this festival? You don't need to have a nauseating knowledge of whiskey or mahogany library to take part – so you can retire the Zoom green screen for now."

Looking back from 2025, the 2021 LoveBelfast piece is an artefact of how the festival adapted, found its voice, and built the international audience that now flies in for the in-person event every year. The tone, the slogan, the openness — all of it carried forward.

Read the original piece: LoveBelfast — Get in the spirit with Belfast Whiskey Week