McConnell's Distillery Tour | Belfast Whiskey Week 2024

On a bright July morning in 2024, a small group of whiskey lovers did something that very few people in the world had yet done — they walked through the doors of McConnell's Irish Whisky Distillery and took in its full, breathtaking sweep. As part of Belfast Whiskey Week 2024, the Signature Distillery Tour gave attendees privileged early access to one of the most significant openings in Belfast's liquid history, a place where the past and the present pour together in every dram.

About This Event

Book in for a Signature Tour with McConnell's and spend some time in one of Belfast's most historic buildings. Having only opened its doors a few months ago, you will be one of the first in the World to experience this truly spectacular Distillery and Visitor Attraction. It is only a few minutes walk from the City Centre and will last an hour.

Looking Back

McConnell's is one of those names that carries real weight in this city. Founded in 1776, the brand is woven into the seanchas of Belfast's commercial and cultural life, and its return to active distilling — after more than a century's absence — felt less like a business launch and more like a homecoming. The distillery sits just minutes from the City Centre in a building of genuine historic character, and even before a drop of new-make spirit was discussed, the architecture alone commanded attention. Stone, timber, copper — the place speaks of permanence and craft in equal measure.

Those who joined the MT21B tour in July 2024 were, by any measure, among the first in the world to walk these floors as a working distillery. The Visitor Attraction had only opened its doors a few months prior, and there was a palpable sense of occasion — the kind of duchas you only feel when a place is still finding its shape, still warm from its own beginning. Guides walked guests through the full story: from the revival of the McConnell's name, through the sourcing philosophy that underpins its current whisky range, to the gleaming stills and the ambitions for what will one day be fully Belfast-matured spirit.

The tour lasted around an hour and moved at a pace that rewarded curiosity. Questions were welcomed, and the staff wore their knowledge lightly — enthusiastic without being rehearsed. For those attending Belfast Whiskey Week for the first time, it offered a grounding in what makes Belfast's whiskey scene distinctive right now: a city rediscovering its uisce beatha identity, investing in its own liquid future rather than simply bottling heritage. If you want to understand the wider landscape of where all this sits, our Belfast Whiskey Map is a good place to start.

McConnell's wasn't the only distillery opening its doors during BWW 2024. Titanic Distillers ran their own Signature Tours across the week — you can read about those at the TT19A session here — and together, these two experiences made a compelling argument for spending at least part of your festival time out of the tasting room and inside the working heart of Belfast's distilling revival. Both venues reward the curious visitor who wants to understand not just how whiskey tastes, but how and where it is made.

For those who couldn't make this particular session, McConnell's tours have appeared across multiple years of Belfast Whiskey Week — the MT20A session earlier in the week offered another opportunity to experience the same warm welcome and remarkable surroundings. If this retrospective has whetted your appetite, keep an eye on future festival announcements. A distillery this significant, in a city with this much to say about its whiskey heritage, will always be worth a visit. Sláinte.

More from Belfast Whiskey Week

• TT19A: Titanic Distillers Signature Tour
• MT19B: McConnell's Signature Distillery Tour
• TT19B: Titanic Distillers Signature Tour
• MT20A: McConnell's Signature Distillery Tour
• TT20A: Titanic Distillers Signature Tour
• MT20B: McConnell's Signature Distillery Tour

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