Derwent Introduction Tasting | Belfast Whiskey Week 2021

Name: Belfast Whiskey Week 2026
Start: 2026-07-24
End: 2026-08-01
Location: Belfast

Filed: 29 Jul 2021
By: Belfast Whiskey Week
Read: 3 min
Format: Online Tasting
Ref: BWW/21/420

Session 21 of Belfast Whiskey Week 2021 brought something a little different to the table — a quietly confident introduction to Derwent, a name that may have been unfamiliar to some but quickly earned its place among the week's most talked-about tastings. Taking place on the 29th of July 2021 at noon, this introductory-format session offered three 50ml samples alongside a tasting glass, all delivered to doorsteps across Belfast, Ireland, and far beyond. For a modest £25, it was the kind of session that reminded us why the festival works so well: genuine discovery, no fanfare required.

About This Event

This tasting includes 3 x 50ml Samples & Glass and will take place on the 29th @ 12:00.

For those in the USA, Australia, Sweden, Europe, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, you will be able to save on delivery costs by having your package to sent to a localised depot for collection. You will be charged a small fee upon collection, but the cost will be much cheaper than having packs delivered to individual addresses. If you would like to avail of this option, please make a note in the Special Instructions box, and we will contact you at a later date to arrange this and refund your delivery charges.

Looking Back

There is a particular pleasure in the introductory session format — no assumed knowledge, no gatekeeping, just the uisce beatha in the glass and a guide to help you read it. Session 21 leaned into that spirit fully. Attendees received their trio of 50ml pours in advance, giving everyone time to nose the whiskeys before the session began, that quiet ritual of anticipation that any whiskey lover will recognise. When the clock struck noon on the 29th of July, participants from living rooms in Belfast, kitchens in Cork, and — thanks to the festival's thoughtful logistics — homes in the USA, Australia, Sweden, and across Europe, all raised a glass together.

The global reach of BWW 2021 was one of its defining achievements, and Session 21 illustrated it beautifully. The festival had arranged localised collection depots for international participants, reducing delivery costs and making the whole experience feel less like an online workaround and more like a genuine community gathering — a digital version of the duchas, the sense of shared belonging that good whiskey always seems to conjure. It was a pragmatic and generous touch that went down well with attendees who might otherwise have been priced out of participation.

Derwent's presence in the session was characterised by the kind of measured confidence that suits an introduction well. Three samples is a thoughtful number — enough to reveal a range of character without overwhelming a newcomer, enough to give an experienced palate something to compare and consider. The format encouraged conversation, question-asking, and the slow building of knowledge that is at the heart of what Belfast Whiskey Week sets out to do. Whether you were new to whiskey or simply new to this particular distillery, there was something here worth your time.

For those who wanted to go deeper into the week's broader whiskey story, BWW 2021 offered plenty of threads to follow. The Bushmills New Cask Finish Range Introduction and the Bushmills Core Malts Introduction offered complementary starting points for anyone building their tasting vocabulary across the festival's programme. And for those bitten by the seanchas — the lore and history — of Irish whiskey more broadly, the Bushmills History MasterClass provided rich context for everything poured that week. Session 21 fit neatly into that broader tapestry, a welcoming opening chapter in a week full of stories worth hearing.

Looking back, this session represents exactly what a festival introduction should be: accessible, warm, and quietly illuminating. Sláinte to everyone who joined from near and far — and to Derwent for making themselves known to a few hundred new admirers.