Glens of Antrim at BWW EXPO 2025 | Belfast Whiskey Week

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

Filed: 15 Jul 2025
By: Belfast Whiskey Week
Read: 4 min
Ref: BWW/25/700

On a warm July evening in 2025, St Comgall's — that great restored landmark at the heart of Belfast — threw open its doors for the flagship event of Belfast Whiskey Week: the EXPO. Among the thirty-plus distilleries and brands gathered beneath its high ceilings, Glens of Antrim Distillery stood as a proud reminder that some of the most compelling uisce beatha being made right now draws its character from the land itself — in their case, one of Ulster's most extraordinary stretches of tír.

About This Event

Friday 25 July 2025
St Comgall’s, Belfast

Session A · 3 pm – 6 pm · £30
Session B · 6:30 pm – 10 pm · £35

Belfast Whiskey Week’s flagship show returns with Brands and Distilleries showcasing from Ireland, England, Scotland and Tasmania, with plenty exclusive first pours, live music & homely food.

We have the largest selection of Tasmanian and English whiskies being showcased in Ireland, with Belgrove, Transportation, Killara and Hillwood being represented from Australia, and from across the Chanel we welcome; Henstone, Adnams, The Cheshire, Cooper King, Wireworks, Fielder and Midlands Distillery.

Dominating proceedings are of course our local brands that include; Wild Atlantic Distillery, Shortcross, Glens of Antrim, Copeland, Hinch, Killlowen, Two Stacks, R&R, Echlinville, Titanic Distillers and McConnell’s.

We also look forward to hosting, Redbreast, Jameson, Lough Ree, Micil, Dingle, Loch Measc, Fore Distillery, Method & Madness and Midleton.

Meet our Partners and Sponsors, who include; The Creationists, Wavey Ice, Tourism NI, Cathedral Qtr BID, Clearer Twist, Serac Ice, Draff and Barrel, Get Sociable, Room2, the Harrison, Visit Belfast and Love Belfast.

Taste and experience samples from every stand
Complimentary tasting glass to keep
Local Food from our award winning caterers
30+ distilleries and brands to explore - including exclusive first pours
Live music
Access to Exclusive Merchandise

Strictly 18+. Please arrange safe transport home.

Looking Back

The EXPO has always been the heartbeat of Belfast Whiskey Week — the event where curiosity meets community, where first-time tasters find their feet and seasoned enthusiasts chase down exclusive first pours. The 2025 edition, split across a 3–6pm afternoon session and a livelier 6:30–10pm evening session, delivered on every count. St Comgall's provided a setting with genuine duchas — a building that carries history in its bones, now repurposed as a gathering place for the best of Irish and international spirits culture. The buzz across both sessions was unmistakable, the kind that builds when a room is full of people genuinely pleased to be exactly where they are.

Glens of Antrim Distillery arrived carrying the spirit of their home landscape: steep glens, Atlantic light, and coastline that runs to the horizon. Their Lir Whiskey pours drew a steady crowd of the curious and the converted alike, and rightly so. The distillery has built a reputation at Belfast Whiskey Week not just for what's in the glass but for the seanchas that surrounds it — the mythology, the sense of place, the storytelling that connects each dram to something deeper than grain and oak. If you've attended one of their Spirits, Myths and Legends events in previous years, you'll know exactly what that means. If you haven't, consider this your prompt.

The wider EXPO floor was a genuinely impressive sprawl of whiskey geography. Tasmanian distilleries — Belgrove, Transportation, Killara, and Hillwood — represented what is quietly becoming one of the world's most exciting whiskey regions, and their presence here marked the largest showcase of Australian whiskey ever staged in Ireland. English distillers including Henstone, Adnams, Cooper King, and others brought their own distinct identities to the floor. Meanwhile, the local contingent — Shortcross, Copeland, Hinch, Killowen, Two Stacks, Echlinville, Titanic Distillers, McConnell's, and more — reminded everyone that the revival happening across this island is no passing trend. It's a full flowering. You can explore many of these producers further on our Whiskey Map, which traces the growing landscape of distilling across Ireland and beyond.

Republic of Ireland representation was equally strong, with Redbreast, Jameson, Midleton, Dingle, Micil, Loch Measc, Fore Distillery, Lough Ree, and Method and Madness all present. The room managed the rare trick of feeling both encyclopaedic and intimate — enough to discover something entirely new, enough warmth to feel like a gathering of friends. Live music wound through both sessions, and the food from the festival's award-winning caterers did what good food at a whiskey event should do: ground you, sustain you, and keep things convivial. Wavey Ice and Serac Ice, among the event's partners, ensured that serves were exactly as they should be. Sláinte to everyone who played their part.

For those who want to explore what Glens of Antrim Distillery brings to the glass beyond the festival floor, their full collection is available here. And if the North Coast character of their whiskey has you curious about the wider North Antrim story in Irish whiskey, the sessions exploring Bushmills and its heritage — including the deep-dive Bushmills History MasterClass — offer rich context for understanding just how long this part of Ulster has been in the business of making something worth travelling for.