Dublin Liberties Cocktail Masterclass | Belfast Whiskey Week 2023

Some evenings at Belfast Whiskey Week feel less like a ticketed event and more like an invitation into something rarer — a gathering where the uisce beatha flows as freely as the stories. The Dublin Liberties Cocktail Masterclass, held on Tuesday 25th October 2023 at Angel & Two Bibles, was exactly that kind of night. With two of Ireland's finest mixological minds behind the bar and the spirit of an old Dublin neighbourhood filling the room, it set a high watermark for cocktail craft at the festival.

About This Event

Looking Back

The evening brought together two figures whose reputations speak for themselves. Neil McDonald, Head Mixologist at the beloved Angel & Two Bibles on Belfast's own doorstep, paired with Stephanie Shen — mixologist for DLD and the legendary Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey — to create a programme of six bespoke cocktails that were as considered as they were delicious. This wasn't a case of whiskey dropped into a glass and called a cocktail. Each drink had been built from the ground up for the festival, tailored to celebrate the character of Dublin Liberties whiskey and the seanchas — the living tradition of story and craft — that surrounds it.

Dublin Liberties is a brand steeped in the history of one of Dublin's oldest and most storied quarters, a neighbourhood that once ran thick with tanneries, silk weavers and illicit stills. That duchas — that deep sense of inherited place — came through in the event itself. Between drinks, guests were treated to poetry and storytelling rooted in the Liberties, lending the evening a texture that went well beyond the typical masterclass format. The craic was genuine, unhurried, the kind that settles into a room and stays there.

Held across the 9pm to midnight timeslot, Angel & Two Bibles proved itself an ideal host — intimate enough to carry the warmth of the occasion, but with the skill and ambience to match the calibre of the cocktails being served. Light nibbles kept things grounded, and the pace was relaxed enough that guests could properly absorb what Neil and Stephanie were teaching: that a great cocktail, like a great whiskey, rewards patience and attention. If you enjoyed the cocktail focus of the week, it's worth casting an eye over the Echlinville Cocktail Takeover from the same festival — another evening that showed just how seriously Belfast takes its mixed drinks.

Six cocktails across the session gave attendees a generous sweep of what Dublin Liberties whiskey can do when placed in expert hands. Shen in particular brought a perspective shaped by her work with the Dead Rabbit in New York — one of the world's most celebrated Irish whiskey bars — and that international fluency sat comfortably alongside McDonald's deep knowledge of what Belfast drinkers want from a night out. The collaboration felt genuine rather than contrived, which made all the difference. For those curious about how other producers approached collaboration that week, the W.D. O'Connell x Rattlebag event offered a different but equally compelling angle, while the Killowen Poitín & Poutine evening explored the wilder, more elemental side of Irish spirits culture.

At £45, this was a session that gave honest value — not just in liquid terms, but in the kind of living education that you carry home with you. The Dublin Liberties Cocktail Masterclass reminded us that whiskey festivals don't have to choose between substance and spectacle. Done right, you can have both. Sláinte mhór to everyone who made Tuesday night at Angel & Two Bibles what it was.

More from Belfast Whiskey Week

• 47: Echlinville: Cocktail Takeover
• 70: Killowen: Poitín & Poutine
• 100: W.D. O’Connell x Rattlebag Collaboration

Explore the full programme on the Belfast Whiskey Week Whiskey Map.

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