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Killowen Distillery Whiskey Lunch | Belfast Whiskey Week 2023
There's a certain brazenness to whiskey at lunchtime — and we mean that as the highest of compliments. On Thursday 27th October 2023, Belfast Whiskey Week invited its festival faithful through the doors of Roam in the city centre for Whiskey For Lunch (ahhh go on), a midday session that paired three of Ireland's most compelling whiskey stories with three plates of seriously considered local food. Killowen Distillery, Shortcross, and Dunville's shared the table — and what a table it was.
About This Event
Looking Back
The premise was deceptively simple: three plates, two drams, one cocktail, and two and a half hours to let it all settle. But simplicity, as any good distiller will tell you, is where the craft hides. Roam provided the kind of setting that makes an afternoon stretch pleasantly — a multi-concept entertainment venue with enough personality to match the spirits being poured — and the kitchen rose to the occasion, anchoring each course in the tastes and textures of the North. The produce was local, the distillates were Irish, and the whole thing had the easy, generous spirit of a long lunch that nobody really wanted to end.
At the heart of the event, as it so often is during festival week, sat Killowen Distillery — tucked up in the Mourne Mountains and quietly becoming one of the most talked-about names in Irish whiskey. Killowen makes craft single pot still whiskey with the kind of obsessive care that the wider Irish whiskey community has been tracking with growing excitement. Their presence at this lunch wasn't just a tasting cameo; their spirit shaped the food conversation, the way a good uisce beatha should — not dominating, but threading through the meal like a familiar voice in a well-worn story. Seanchas in a glass, if you will.
Shortcross and Dunville's brought their own distinct characters to proceedings. Shortcross, those meticulous makers from Rademon Estate in County Down, and Dunville's, carrying the weight and resurrection of a great Belfast distilling name — between the three brands, the event quietly mapped out something like a vision of what Irish whiskey's future might look, smell, and taste like. The event's own title put it plainly: the taste of Belfast's Whiskey Future. It wasn't an empty boast. These were distilleries with something to say, and a kitchen willing to listen.
Killowen is, it must be said, a true festival favourite — a brand that has grown with Belfast Whiskey Week across multiple editions, appearing in Weird & Wonderful tastings, neighbourhood café takeovers showcasing wine and fortified wine cask expressions, and even inspiring their own dedicated merchandise through the Killowen Kult collection. To see them anchoring a lunch event of this calibre felt like a natural progression — duchas, you might call it, a belonging that has been earned rather than assumed. If you missed this one, it's worth noting that the lunchtime format was explored with equal ambition later in the week over at 63: Dingle: L is for Lunch, which made for an interesting companion piece across the festival programme.
Forty-five pounds for an afternoon like this — with thoughtful food, generous pours from three serious producers, and a cocktail to bookend it — felt like good value and genuine hospitality in the same breath. Sláinte to everyone who pulled up a chair. If you want to explore more of what Killowen brings to the glass, you can find their range on the Killowen collection page, and if you're curious about where all these wonderful distilleries sit across the island, the Belfast Whiskey Week Whiskey Map is well worth a look.
The Brand: Killowen Distillery
Craft Irish single pot still whiskey from the Mournes that the whole whiskey Ireland community has been quietly tracking.
The Venue
ROAM — Entertainment. Belfast City Centre
Multi-concept entertainment venue with whiskey-focused events and experiences.
More from Belfast Whiskey Week
Explore the full programme on the Belfast Whiskey Week Whiskey Map.
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