Two Stacks Bond Day | 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/23/228

On a bright Friday in October 2023, Belfast Whiskey Week loaded a bus, pointed it south towards Newry, and handed the day over to Two Stacks Whiskey. What followed was six hours inside the Two Stacks Bond that felt less like a ticketed event and more like being welcomed into someone's living room — if that living room happened to hold some of the most adventurous cask-finished whiskey on the island.

About This Event

The Lads from Two Stacks Welcome you to their Bond in Newry. If you know Two Stacks Whiskey, then you know that they are Fantastic Hosts, Inspirational Entrepreneurs and are pushing the boundaries when it comes to Experimental Cask Finishing. If you don't; Expect to Be Expected. Expect the Exceptional. Expect Extras. Music, Food and Sampling of the Obscure & Unusual. Transport to and from the venue is included in the ticket price. Start Time: 12pm Duration: 6hrs Venue: Two Stacks Bond Drinks: 6 Drams Type: Distillery Day Travel: Please Note that this Session will include Transport from Belfast City Centre (Next to City Hall) Bus Stances. There will be an Usher wearing a Belfast Whiskey Week Tee-Shirt, with a Sign looking to support you for the event. The Bus will Leave at the Start of your Session Time and will return no later than 6hrs later. Please contact us if you need to discuss your accessibility needs for this trip. 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 a particular kind of generosity that defines the Two Stacks way of doing things, and it was on full display from the moment the BWW bus pulled up outside the Bond in Newry. The crew — founders, blenders, brand builders all rolled into one — met guests at the door with the easy warmth of people genuinely delighted to share what they've been working on. This wasn't a polished corporate showcase. It was duchas — a homecoming spirit, an invitation to get properly curious.

Two Stacks has built a reputation across Ireland and beyond for its fearless approach to cask finishing, and the Bond Day gave attendees a rare chance to understand why that reputation is earned rather than marketed. Over six drams, the pour sequence moved through expressions that ranged from the approachable to the genuinely obscure — barrels that had held everything from unusual wine varieties to spirits you wouldn't immediately associate with Irish whiskey country. Each dram arrived with context, with story, with the kind of seanchas that makes a tasting feel like a conversation rather than a lecture.

Food and live music wove through the afternoon in the way good hospitality should — present enough to elevate the occasion, never so intrusive as to steal focus from the whiskey itself. The Bond, as a physical space, does a lot of the heavy lifting here: it is a working maturation facility, and being surrounded by casks while you taste what's already come out of them sharpens the senses in a way a hotel function room simply cannot replicate. If you want to understand how Belfast Whiskey Week approaches its Distillery Day format, this event was a masterclass in what that format can achieve when a brand commits fully to the experience.

The transport-included model — bus departing from the City Hall stances and returning six hours later — proved itself a quietly brilliant piece of festival infrastructure. It removed the logistical anxiety of getting to and from Newry and replaced it with something unexpectedly social: a shared journey that meant strangers became companions before the first dram was even poured. By the time the bus rolled back up the A1 towards Belfast, the atmosphere on board had the quiet, contented hum of people who had spent a day well. Two Stacks later returned to BWW with equal energy at their 2024 event, Party At Their Gaff, which tells you everything about how warmly this day landed. For those curious about other distilleries offering similar immersive experiences, the BWW Whiskey Map is the best place to start planning your next visit.

At £60 a head, all-in, with transport, six drams, food, music, and access to one of the more interesting whiskey operations on the island, this was festival value at its most straightforward. Two Stacks doesn't do ordinary. Sláinte mhaith to them for that.