Whisky & Witches: Mythical Beasts – 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/23/788

Some events pour whisky. Some tell stories. A rare few conjure something else entirely — and Whisky & Witches: Mythical Beasts at Belfast Whiskey Week 2023 fell squarely into that rarer category. Held on a Monday afternoon in the Music Hall at the Deer's Head, this immersive theatrical tasting brought together Spiritfilled's exceptional single malt casks, the haunting voice of Christine Kammerer, and a tapestry of folklore from across the Celtic and Nordic worlds. It was, in the truest sense of the word, an eachtra — an adventure into the senses.

About This Event

“Whisky & Witches presents Mythical Beasts: An Immersive, Mystical, Musical Whisky Tasting” A magical, musical whisky tasting by female forces! 5 exclusive whiskies, gripping storytelling and hauntingly beautiful music and song. Travel with us to the realm where folklore, exceptional whisky and mystical music meet in perfect harmony. Stimulating all the senses to create the ultimate experience. Experience the Mythical Beasts of Spiritfilled’s extraordinary whiskies come alive in this immersive whisky tasting. The very nature of the beasts are highlighted and beautifully connected to the characteristics and birthplace of each dram, through enchanting music and storytelling. Letting the experience of each whisky capture all your senses. WHAT DO YOU GET? • A guided tasting of 5 unique, cask strength whiskies from distilleries across Scotland. • A fusion of Nordic and Celtic folk music, interpreted in new symphonic ways! • Original music and song by international singer and composer Christine Kammerer • 4 captivating, tailored stories. A fusion of folklore from across the globe • Insight into the feminine powers of nature and their connection to the whiskies Spiritfilled is a whisky company that seeks out rare and special single malt casks to bottle. They have a strong reputation for seeking out the gems in the world of whisky, to share with fellow whisky lovers and explorers. Previously, Spiritfilled has featured beautiful expressions such as a 30 YO Bruichladdich, a 14 YO Port Charlotte and a 32 YO Fettercairn, and the whiskies embodied by the Mythical Beasts are just as exceptional. Timeslot: 3pm-6pm Start Time: 3pm Duration: 2hrs Venue: Music Hall @ Deer's Head Drinks: 5 Drams Type: Theatrical 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

From the moment guests settled into the Music Hall, it was clear this was no ordinary tasting. The room carried that particular quality Belfast does so well — intimate but charged, the kind of space where the duchas of the place seems to lean in close. Spiritfilled, a whisky company with a sharp eye for rare and remarkable single malt casks, had built the entire experience around a central idea: that great whisky, like great myth, is shaped by the land and forces that gave it life. Each of the five cask strength drams on the tasting table that afternoon was given not just a score or a set of tasting notes, but a beast — a creature drawn from world folklore whose nature mirrored the character of the whisky in the glass.

Christine Kammerer was the beating heart of the afternoon. Her original compositions moved between Nordic and Celtic folk traditions, reimagined in symphonic arrangements that seemed to breathe life into each dram as it was poured. When a wilder, peatier whisky arrived, the music shifted accordingly — something rawer, more elemental. When something older and more contemplative took its place, the room stilled with it. Spiritfilled has built its reputation on sourcing extraordinary casks — previous releases have included a 30-year-old Bruichladdich and a 32-year-old Fettercairn — and the whiskies brought to Belfast for the Mythical Beasts series were every bit as considered. Each one was presented with a tailored story, a fusion of folklore traditions that connected the uisce beatha in the glass to the landscape of its birthplace.

What made this session — one of four run across the week, with additional afternoon and evening sessions — so genuinely affecting was the refusal to separate the whisky from everything around it. There was no slide deck, no clipboard. Instead, the seanchas of each dram was told through song, through story, through the slow ritual of nosing and tasting together. Guests weren't simply guided through five whiskies; they were asked to feel their way through them, with music and narrative acting as a kind of map through the sensory terrain of each cask.

It's worth saying plainly: these were serious whiskies, presented with serious craft. Cask strength expressions demand attention, and the format here demanded exactly that — but never in a way that felt exclusive or forbidding. Spiritfilled's ethos is fundamentally one of sharing: seeking out the gems so that fellow explorers can discover them together. That generosity of spirit came through in every aspect of the afternoon. For three hours on a Monday in Belfast, a room full of people sat in the dark with their glasses, listening, and found the beasts come alive in the drams.

If you haven't yet explored the broader world of Belfast Whiskey Week's theatrical and immersive events, the Whiskey Map is a good place to start tracing the shape of the festival across the city. Events like Mythical Beasts are a reminder that whisky at its finest isn't just about what's in the glass — it's about who holds it, and what surrounds it. Sláinte mhaith.