Have passport, will travel… to an Irish whiskey distillery visitor centre

May 18, 2022

— World Whiskey Day on 21^st May is the perfect time to get your Irish Whiskey 360° Passport stamped —

To mark World Whiskey Day, taking place on Saturday, 21^st May, the Irish Whiskey Association is encouraging people to undertake a tour and tasting at a member distillery visitor centre — and to document their visit by collecting an IrishWhiskey360° Passport stamp.

IrishWhiskey360°, the tourism initiative of the Irish Whiskey Association, introduced the Passport initiative to highlight that there are 26 member Irish whiskey distilleries across the five tourist regions on the island of Ireland that offer visitor experiences.

IrishWhiskey360° Passports can be picked up at each of the 26 distillery visitor centres. If you collect at least five stamps, with one from each region, you can apply for an IrishWhiskey360° champion pin along with other special rewards.

The Passport was piloted in 2021 and proved to be a massive hit with both whiskey aficionados and general tourists. The Passport is being rolled out further for Summer 2022, including a planned promotional campaign supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and with further support from Tourism Ireland.

William Lavelle, Director of the Irish Whiskey Association, said: “Ireland is the home of whiskey and our distilleries offers some of the world’s most exciting visitor experiences. By throwing open the doors of our distilleries and showcasing our people, our places and our practices, we are inviting visitors to learn about making Irish whiskey while making new memories.

“With distilleries in parts of the island of Ireland, visitors can expect innovative, engaging and high-comfort experiences, from behind-the-scenes tours of working stills and cask maturing, to tastings, exquisite local food pairings and cocktail experiences.”

“We have over one million visitors to Irish whiskey distilleries in 2019, but we saw an 87% slump in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the pandemic. With our distilleries open again and new Passport being launched, we are looking forward to a strong tourism rebound in 2022.”

Details about each of the distillery visitor centres are available on the www.IrishWhiskey360.ie website. They are also outlined on a series of regional maps to show people the wide and exciting variety of whiskey distilleries that they can visit in different parts of the island.

IrishWhiskey360° Visitor Experiences by Region

Dublin: Jameson Distillery, Bow Street, Dublin 1; Teeling Whiskey Distillery, Dublin 8; Pearse Lyons Distillery, Dublin 8; Dublin Liberties Distillery, Dublin 8; Roe & Co Distillery, Dublin
Wild Atlantic Way: Sliabh Liag Distillers, Co. Donegal; The Crolly Distillery, Co. Donegal; Connacht Whiskey Distillery, Co. Mayo; Micil Distillery, Co. Galway; Dingle Distillery, Co. Kerry; Skellig Six18 Distillery, Co. Kerry; Killarney Brewing & Distilling, Co. Kerry; Clonakilty Distillery, Co. Cork.
Ireland’s Ancient East: Powerscourt Distillery, Co. Wicklow; Slane Distillery, Co. Meath; Royal Oak Distillery, Co. Carlow; Blackwater Distillery, Co. Waterford; Midleton, Co. Cork; Kilbeggan Distillery, Co. Westmeath.
Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands: The Shed Distillery, Co. Leitrim; Lough Ree Distillery; Athlone Whiskey Experience.
Northern Ireland: Bushmills Distillery, Co. Antrim; The Echlinville Distillery, Co. Down; Rademon Estate Distillery, Co. Down; Hinch Distillery, Co. Down.