Marty McAuley Pre-1980s Whiskey Masterclass | Belfast Whiskey Week 2023

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

Filed: 15 Jul 2023
By: Belfast Whiskey Week
Read: 5 min
Ref: BWW/23/196

Some evenings at Belfast Whiskey Week live long in the memory — and the Saturday night session at The Regency on Upper Crescent was one of those rare occasions where the uisce beatha in the glass was almost secondary to the stories surrounding it. On the 22nd of October 2023, a small and fortunate gathering settled in for On the Couch with Marty McAuley, the fifth instalment in our Elegant Series, and spent two and a half hours in the company of whiskies that most people will never taste — and one of Northern Ireland's most compelling storytellers to guide them through every drop.

About This Event

With the Striking Recency on Upper Crescent, we have designed an Elegant Series of Bespoke Collaborations with Belfast’s most Desirable of Residences. We want you to Savour Historic Whiskies, Meet New Faces and Experience the Attention to Detail and Opulence as well as the Excellent Customer Care that the team at the Regency has to offer. In This Session (5 of 6), On the Sofa with…”Marty McAuley” (Pre-1980’s Whiskey), we delve into some really rare, and rather unusual whiskies distilled between the 1950s and the 1980s. The majority of these bottles are museum pieces, kept as a reminder of our whiskey heritage and for the collectors to flex and display, or for those looking to make a few quid later in life… People don’t open these! Expect to have great knowledge imparted by one of the Northern Ireland’s most sought after tour guides, and presenter of the Irish Whiskey Review; as Marty takes us through an intimate tasting of whiskies some of you may never have heard of, all of which I doubt you have tasted, and if you have recently, then you have paid dearly for the privilege. We have some exceptional drams and bespoke cocktails for you to sip, accompanied with local produce; while you get comfy and discover the fascinating history of our beloved Whiskey Industry from a different perspective. Timeslot: 6pm-9pm Start Time: 6pm Duration: 2.5hrs Venue: The Regency Drinks: 6 Drams Type: Masterclass Disclaimers Please note that individual dietary requirements are not being catered for with any food at this event. Each Brand/Distillery and Collaborative Partner have agreed to our Min/Max Pour Policy. Please Respect this, and enjoy your festival responsibly. Festival Participants who are deemed to be too inebriated, or are not respecting themselves, will not be permitted into events and venues. ALL Hosts/Ushers/Collaborators and Venue Staff have the right to refuse participants without question and recourse. Please Drink Responsibly. All events are only available to those 18 years old and over. Do not purchase tickets if you are under the age of 18. Be prepared to produce ID if required. Venue staff & ushers may ask you to provide ID when showing your valid tickets. You may be refused enter to events if you can’t prove your age. Some venues may change, if they do, you will be notified. All events are subject to changes out of the control of the festival organisers. Any issues, please contact us @belfastwhiskeyweek on socials, or via email on marketing@belfastwhiskeyweek.com or 07773675179 (8am-8pm) to discuss. NO Refunds will be given. Please only buy tickets if you are prepared to attend the event. Tickets are transferable. If you are going to transfer tickets please email, marketing@belfastwhiskeyweek.com

Looking Back

The Regency is a residence that speaks for itself — an address on Upper Crescent that carries the quiet confidence of somewhere that has always known its own worth. It was the right setting for an evening built around whiskies that predate the modern revival, bottles that sat in bonded warehouses and private collections while the industry around them transformed almost beyond recognition. Marty McAuley, presenter of the Irish Whiskey Review and one of the most sought-after guides in the island's whiskey scene, has a gift for making seanchas feel immediate — and on this night, with drams distilled between the 1950s and the 1980s resting in the glass, that gift was very much needed.

Six drams anchored the evening, each one a small act of archaeology. These were not bottles opened lightly. Many of them exist today as collector's pieces — museum-quality artefacts of a whiskey culture that flourished, contracted, and is only now, decades later, finding its second wind. To taste them in this context, seated in comfortable surroundings with local produce to hand and Marty coaxing their histories into the room, was something closer to a duchas experience than a conventional tasting. You weren't just drinking old whiskey; you were handling the thread of something that nearly went dark entirely. The room understood that, and was quieter for it.

What Marty brought to the evening — beyond his considerable knowledge — was a generosity of spirit that made experts and newcomers feel equally at home. He has an instinct for the moment when technical detail should step aside for a good yarn, and on an evening like this, those two things were inseparable anyway. The whiskies did much of the talking themselves: flavour profiles that contemporary distilling has largely moved away from, carrying the fingerprints of grain sources, still shapes, and cask policies that no longer exist in quite the same form. Bespoke cocktails threaded between the drams offered a moment of levity without breaking the spell.

This was the fifth of six sessions in the Elegant Series, and it sat comfortably alongside its companions in ambition and execution. Those who missed this particular evening but share an appetite for rare and aged expressions might find On the Couch with Leo Phelan of equal interest, which explored a similar pre-1980s territory from a different angle, or On the Couch with Micky Plummer, which turned its attention to whiskies over 25 years old. Between them, the series built something genuinely unusual for a festival programme: a sustained, unhurried conversation with Ireland's whiskey past.

At £250 a ticket, this was never going to be a casual purchase — but for those who were there, sláinte was said with full sincerity. You had paid, yes, but what you received in return was irreplaceable: the taste of whiskies that cannot be reproduced, in a setting that did them justice, guided by someone who cared as much about the telling as the tasting. That is, when Belfast Whiskey Week is at its best, exactly what the festival is for. If you're curious about the wider landscape of events and experiences the festival has built over the years, our Whiskey Map is a good place to begin your own journey.