Transportation Whiskey Showcase | 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: 4 min
Ref: BWW/23/252

Monday the 24th of October 2023, and the Angel & Two Bibles was already buzzing well before midday. The second of four Tasmanian Showcase sessions had arrived, and with it came one of the most quietly compelling stories of the entire festival: Transportation Whiskey, a Tasmanian single pot still spirit built not on the traditions of Hobart or Launceston, but on the old Irish method of triple distillation — carried to the bottom of the world and made entirely its own.

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: (2/4) Hobart, Launceston, Transportation Whiskey & Hunter Island 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: 12pm-3pm Start Time: 12pm Duration: 3hrs Venue: Angel & Two Bibles 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 is something almost seanchas-like about the name Transportation Whiskey — a living reference to the convict ships that carried thousands of Irish men and women across the oceans to Van Diemen's Land. That history didn't sit quietly in the background during this session; it threaded itself through every pour. Here was a whiskey shaped by Irish tradition, distilled in Tasmania, and now raising a glass in Belfast. The full circle of that journey wasn't lost on anyone in the room.

The session ran from noon until three, a generous three hours that allowed the crowd at Angel & Two Bibles to settle into the experience rather than rush through it. Six drams were on the table, spread across four distilleries — Hobart, Launceston, Transportation Whiskey, and Hunter Island — each bringing something distinct to the afternoon. Transportation Whiskey's contribution was arguably the most immediately familiar to Irish palates: that recognisable triple-distilled smoothness, the pot still weight on the mid-palate, but wrapped in something unmistakably Antipodean. The Tasmanian climate does its work quickly and decisively, and the spirit carries a richness that speaks to those long, warm summers and cool island nights.

What made this particular session land so well was the contrast on offer. If you'd joined us for the first Tasmanian Tasting with Killara, Belgrove, McHendry and Spring Bay, you already had a sense of what this island continent can do with barley and oak. Session two deepened that picture considerably. Transportation Whiskey sat alongside its Tasmanian neighbours with confidence — neither trying to pass itself off as Irish nor abandoning the method that defines it. That honesty of character is something we value enormously at Belfast Whiskey Week.

Snacks were on hand, conversation flowed freely, and the room had that particular warmth you find when people are genuinely discovering something new. It's worth noting that Transportation Whiskey is an Australian whiskey in provenance and a thoroughly Irish whiskey in method and spirit — a combination that felt entirely at home in Belfast. For those who'd also dropped in on McConnell's Irish Whisky: Back in Belfast earlier in the week, there was a pleasing thread to pull on: Irish whiskey tradition as a living, travelling thing, not a fixed point on a map.

Eight Tasmanian brands made the journey of 11,000 miles to be part of Belfast Whiskey Week 2023, and we remain genuinely moved by that commitment. If this session planted the seed of curiosity, you can explore Transportation Whiskey further here — or use our Whiskey Map to trace the broader global story of uisce beatha and where it's being made today. Sláinte mhór to all who made the journey, near and far.