McConnell's Whisky Tasting | Introduction | Belfast Whiskey Week 2021

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

Filed: 23 Jul 2021
By: Belfast Whiskey Week
Read: 4 min
Ref: BWW/21/484

There are few names in Irish whiskey that carry quite the weight of history that McConnell's does — a Belfast marque with roots stretching back to 1776, revived and returned to the city it never really left. Session 87 of Belfast Whiskey Week 2021 offered a gentle, well-paced introduction to this reborn brand, sending three 50ml samples and a glass out to whiskey lovers across the globe on the morning of 23rd July. For those of us who care about the duchas — the heritage and belonging — of this wee city's uisce beatha, it was a session worth raising a glass to.

About This Event

This tasting includes 3 x 50ml Samples & Glass and will take place on the 23rd @ 12:00.

This tasting comprises of:

5 year old Blend
Sherry Finish Blend
2002 Single Malt

For those in the USA, Australia, Sweden, Europe, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland, you will be able to save on delivery costs by having your package to sent to a localised depot for collection. You will be charged a small fee upon collection, but the cost will be much cheaper than having packs delivered to individual addresses. If you would like to avail of this option, please make a note in the Special Instructions box, and we will contact you at a later date to arrange this and refund your delivery charges.

Looking Back

The format was disarmingly simple, and all the better for it. Three expressions, three drams, one story told in sequence. Participants received a 5 Year Old Blend, a Sherry Finish Blend, and — the centrepiece — a 2002 Single Malt. Whether you were sitting in a kitchen in North Belfast or uncorking your samples at a depot collection point in Stockholm or Sydney, the structure invited you to take your time, compare, and let the whiskeys speak for themselves. That's the quiet confidence of a well-run Introduction session: it trusts the liquid.

McConnell's is a brand with a bold homecoming story. Founded in Belfast and lost to the industry's long consolidation, it has been brought back to life in recent years with genuine ambition and a clear sense of identity rooted in the city. The 5 Year Old Blend — bottled at accessible strength and brighter in character — served as the ideal entry point, a handshake rather than a lecture. It showed what the marque is reaching for: approachability without apology. The Sherry Finish Blend then added warmth and weight, a nod to the cask craft that Irish whiskey has always excelled at when given the patience to do it properly.

But it was the 2002 Single Malt that drew the room together, wherever that room happened to be. Nearly two decades in wood is a long time to wait, and this expression rewarded the patience accordingly — deeper, more complex, with the kind of seanchas baked into every sip that only age can provide. For many attendees, this was the dram that reframed their understanding of what McConnell's is capable of at its upper reaches. It was the kind of whiskey that asks you to sit quietly for a moment before you say anything. BWW 2021 had no shortage of those moments — if you're curious, the Bushmills History MasterClass (Session 83) offered a similarly reflective dive into Ulster whiskey's deep past.

The global reach of this session was one of its quietly remarkable aspects. By offering depot collection options across the USA, Australia, Sweden, Europe, and both jurisdictions on this island, the organisers ensured that the McConnell's story wasn't gatekept behind geography or postage costs. That spirit of inclusivity — bringing the festival out into the world rather than expecting the world to come to Belfast — has always been one of BWW's strengths. You can get a fuller sense of the breadth of distilleries and brands that featured across the week on the BWW Whiskey Map.

Session 87 wasn't trying to overwhelm. It was, as the name promised, an introduction — a first conversation with a brand that has earned the right to be taken seriously again. For those who came to it fresh, it opened a door. For those already acquainted with McConnell's, it offered a rare chance to taste the range side by side and appreciate the distance between the everyday and the exceptional. If this session left you wanting more from the world of Irish whiskey blends and beyond, the Sexton Deconstruction Showcase (Session 22) made for a fine companion piece across the week. Sláinte mhaith to everyone who raised a glass on the 23rd — wherever in the world you happened to be doing it.