Gelston's Showcase | Belfast Whiskey Week 2021 Review

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

Filed: 26 Jul 2021
By: Belfast Whiskey Week
Read: 3 min
Ref: BWW/21/060

On the afternoon of 26th July 2021, Belfast Whiskey Week's Session 37 turned its attention to one of the city's own — Gelston's, a name rooted deep in Belfast's mercantile past and now carrying that duchas forward into a new era of Irish whiskey. It was a Showcase in the truest sense: six expressions, fifty millilitres apiece, and a good long while to sit with each one.

About This Event

This tasting includes 6 x 50ml Samples and will take place on the 26th @ 13:30.

This tasting comprises of:

Blend
Single Malt
Single Pot Still
Single Pot Still Pinot Noir Finish
12yo Bourbon Cask
15yo Sherry Cask

Tasting packs will be posted out to you, but may not arrive in time for the tastings. If you wish to collect the pack in Belfast to ensure you have it in time, please contact grace@belfastwhiskeyweek.com after you order.

Looking Back

Six samples. That's a generous hand by any measure, and the lineup Gelston's brought to the table for BWW 2021 reflected both the breadth and the ambition of a brand that wears its heritage lightly but carries it seriously. Attendees worked through a Blend and a Single Malt before stepping into the more contemplative territory of Single Pot Still — that most Irish of whiskey styles, grainy and oily and gloriously particular to this island. From there, things got interesting.

The Single Pot Still Pinot Noir Finish was the kind of dram that causes a pause in conversation. Wine cask finishes can divide a room, but Gelston's handled the marriage with restraint — the red fruit lifted without overwhelming the spirit beneath. The 12 Year Old Bourbon Cask brought familiar warmth and vanilla, the kind of whiskey that earns its age statement honestly, while the 15 Year Old Sherry Cask closed proceedings with the gravitas that a decade and a half in wood tends to confer. Dark fruit, spice, and something close to uisce beatha at its most assured.

What made this Showcase sit apart was its range of styles within a single brand story. Gelston's isn't content to rest on one expression — it positions itself as a house of curiosity, and that philosophy came through clearly across the six drams. For many attendees, this was their first proper introduction to the range, and it landed well. There's a reason Showcase sessions at BWW tend to build loyalty: by the time you reach the final dram, you feel you know the distillery a little better than when you started.

The practical side of BWW 2021 added its own texture to the experience. Tasting packs were posted out in advance, though the festival wisely arranged Belfast collection for those who couldn't risk the postal lottery. It's a small logistical detail, but it mattered — nothing deflates a tasting session quite like an empty table. Those who planned ahead had their samples in hand and their glasses ready come half one on the 26th. If you're curious about how other expressions from that same festival shaped up, the Sexton Deconstruction Showcase made for an interesting companion piece — another brand doing serious work with Irish whiskey styles. And for those drawn to the older Antrim distilling tradition, the Bushmills History MasterClass offered a rich seanchas of its own.

Gelston's continues to build its presence within the Irish whiskey conversation, and Belfast Whiskey Week 2021 gave it a well-deserved stage. Session 37 was, by any reckoning, a fine afternoon's work. Sláinte mhaith to everyone who raised a glass. You can explore more of what BWW 2021 had to offer across the Whiskey Map — a useful guide to the full landscape of producers and styles the festival has championed over the years.