Tasmanian Tasting Session 1 | 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/23/180

Eleven thousand miles is a long way to travel for a dram — but then, great uisce beatha has always found a way to cross oceans. On a Sunday night in Belfast during Belfast Whiskey Week 2023, four Tasmanian distilleries landed in the Music Hall at the Deer's Head and introduced themselves to a room full of curious, open-handed festival goers. This was the first of four dedicated Tasmanian Showcase sessions across the week, and from the moment things kicked off at 9pm, it was clear this was no ordinary evening.

About This Event

Time for a Taste of Tasmania. They have travelled a total of 11,000 Miles to get here to let you sip their whiskies! We just need to get out of bed, jump on the Glider and pop into one of our great bars in Belfast to support them on their quest to showcase Tasmanian Whiskey with our Festival Goers. 8 brands have made the trip around the World to join us at Belfast Whiskey Week. We have 4 Showcase Sessions this week with our Tasmanian Whiskies, a Co-Event with Killowen and a Fine Dinning Experience at one of Belfast’s most sought after restaurant. Please note the four distilleries involved in this session: Tasmanian Tasting: (1/4) Killara, Belgrove, McHendry & Spring Bay These Sessions are not to be missed and are a highlight of the Festival. Grab some snacks and relax as we meet our new found friends. Timeslot: 9pm-12am Start Time: 9pm Duration: 2.5hrs Venue: Music Hall @ Deer's Head Drinks: 6 Drams Type: Showcase 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

There's something quietly remarkable about the global reach of a festival rooted so firmly in one city's identity. Belfast Whiskey Week has always carried that duchas — that sense of belonging to place — but it has never been provincial about it. The arrival of Killara, Belgrove, McHenry & Spring Bay at the Deer's Head was a perfect expression of that tension: deeply local venue, deeply far-flung guests. The Music Hall, with its warm acoustics and easy intimacy, turned out to be exactly the right room for a conversation that stretched across hemispheres.

Each of the four distilleries brought something distinct to the table. Killara and Spring Bay represent the kind of structured, increasingly recognised craft output that has put Tasmania firmly on the global whiskey map over the past decade. Belgrove, meanwhile, is one of the quirkier, more singular operations in Australian whiskey — a farm distillery producing rye in a style that sits somewhere between old-world seanchas and genuinely pioneering spirit. McHenry, from the southern tip of the island, brought character that reflected its dramatic coastal terroir. Six drams across the session meant attendees could move through the range at a pace that rewarded attention rather than rushing.

The Tasmanian producers clearly came prepared to tell their story rather than just pour their whiskey. There was a generosity to the evening — in the time given to conversation, in the willingness to explain process and place to those who'd never heard of their distilleries before. If you've ever wondered how whiskey culture travels and seeds itself in new soils, this session was something of a masterclass. The Deer's Head, a venue that knows how to hold a room without trying too hard, gave the whole thing the breathing space it deserved. Grab a seat with a view of the bar and you were set for the night.

It's worth noting that this was only the beginning. The Tasmanian contingent returned across the week in Session 44 — the second Tasmanian Tasting, featuring Hobart, Launceston, Transportation Whiskey & Hunter Island — alongside a co-event with Killowen Distillery and a fine dining experience that brought Tasmanian whiskey into a whole different register. For those tracking the wider festival story, Blaiseadh Uisce Bheatha — the Irish-language tasting session ran nearby in spirit if not in time, a reminder that whiskey's roots run deep in this island's own tír as well. And if the week had you thinking about the full spectrum of what Irish and island whiskey can be, the Indie Bottlers session offered a sharp, honest counterpoint.

What lingered after this first Tasmanian session wasn't just the whiskey — though the whiskey was worth lingering over — it was the feeling of having been part of something genuinely cross-cultural. Eight distilleries made the trip around the world to be at Belfast Whiskey Week 2023. That's not a marketing line. That's a statement of intent, and Belfast received them with the warmth and curiosity they deserved. Sláinte mhaith to all four who opened proceedings.