The Vault · Archive
Dingle Distillery Whiskey Lunch | Belfast Whiskey Week 2023
On a Wednesday lunchtime in October 2023, Belfast Whiskey Week gave its attendees full and proper permission to step away from the desk and sit down to something a little more considered. Dingle: L is for Lunch brought the craft and character of Kerry's Dingle Distillery to the table — quite literally — with a bespoke three-course menu built around the distillery's whiskies and the people who make them.
About This Event
Looking Back
There's a particular pleasure in a mid-week lunch that refuses to apologise for itself, and this one did not. Running from noon to half two at Alba, the event brought together food and uisce beatha in a way that felt genuinely thought-through rather than bolted on. Each course arrived paired with a Dingle expression, and the kitchen had taken the brief seriously — these were dishes that used whiskey as a flavour, not a gimmick. By the time the third course landed, more than a few attendees had already started wondering whether they could track down the chef for that recipe.
The spirit of the afternoon was, in many ways, a portrait of two people. Master Distiller Graham Coull and his wife Fay were at the heart of the menu's conception — their roots, their adopted home on the Dingle Peninsula, and their shared passion for whiskey all woven into the courses. That kind of personal touch is harder to manufacture than most distilleries would care to admit, and it gave the lunch a warmth that sat alongside the drams rather than behind them. This wasn't a brand showcase with canapés; it was closer to sitting down at someone's table.
Dingle has been doing this quietly and well for years now, and the reputation has been earned the hard way, bottle by bottle, season by season. The whiskey itself — triple-distilled single malt and pot still, carrying the salt and Atlantic coast of where it's made — has a character that rewards attention. Across three courses and three carefully chosen pours, that character had room to breathe and shift. Those who came in already familiar with the range left with a more layered understanding of it; those who were newer to Dingle likely left converted.
BWW 2023 featured more than one whiskey lunch, and if this one caught your eye, it's worth knowing that Roam: Whiskey For Lunch (ahhh go on) offered its own take on the midday dram that same festival week. Both events pointed to something the festival has always understood — that whiskey and food together create a different kind of conversation than whiskey alone. If you're curious about where Dingle sits in the broader Irish whiskey landscape, our Whiskey Map is a good place to start orienting yourself.
Slàinte, Graham and Fay. The duchas of Dingle travelled well to Belfast, and the table was better for it.
The Brand: Dingle Distillery
Triple-distilled single malt and pot still whiskey carrying the character of the Wild Atlantic Way — salt, coast, and something genuinely west of Ireland.
More from Belfast Whiskey Week
Explore the full programme on the Belfast Whiskey Week Whiskey Map.
Event Gallery
