Join me for My Live Festival Chat with Noel Sweeney - Master Distiller.

Noel is famous for his amazing time as Master Distiller at Cooley Distillery, where he became responsible for releasing alot of the amazing Irish whiskeys that we all love today. His Cooley malts and single grains are still being released by different brands and bottlers to this day, to massive plaudits.

Right now, one of Noel's focuses is on his blended whiskey from his collaboration with the famous dancer Michael Flatley called...... Flatley Whiskey. He was at the Cork on a Fork festival in Cork in August 2024, where we sat down for a Live audience chat, as one of the many events at the festival.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Live Chat at Cork on a Fork Festival

I was asked to do a number of Live podcasts at a recent foodie festival in Cork - Cork on a Fork.

I set up a podcast studio in the top floor bar of Cork Opera House in August 2024, in front of a Live audience, where my guests and I shared some very interesting drinks and chats.

My 3 guests were:

Mark Lonergan - ex-manager of The Shelbourne Whiskey Bar in Cork

Barry Walsh from Killahora Orchards 

Liam Murray - President of Cork Whiskey Society

It was an afternoon of fine guests, fine drinks and some fine chats.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My McConnell's Distillery Chat with Graham Millar, Head Distiller.

Myself and Sonya visited McConnel's Distillery, in the old Crumlin Road Jail in Belfast, whilst up at Belfast Whiskey Week 2024.

Graham showed us around their amazing converted and renovated centuries old prison wing, that is now their Distillery!

The project was started over a decade ago by another party and the current shareholders were able to finally complete the earlier vision this year, by turning on the stills and starting to produce again, as one of only 2 distilleries now in Belfast city, once one of the powerhouses of whiskey production in the British empire.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Cask Chat with Gary Ring in Boann Distillery.

I visited Gary a while back, firstly joining him for a cuppa and bickie in Boann's "Distiller's Cottage", in Kestral Manor!!! I kid you not, very bougie...

Gary is a distiller in Boann distillery and one of the most enthusiatic proponents of whiskey production in Irish whiskey industry..... with the added bonus of being from Cork! Lucky guy...

We wandered over to the distillery and proceded to completely ignore his workshop - the stillhouse. Instead we got completely distracted with the warehouses full of wondrous casks. It was some journey...

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Titanic Distillery Chat with Damien Rafferty.

We recently visited Titanic Distillery at the Belfast city docks, while we were attending Belfast Whiskey Week 2025.

We met up with Head Distiller Damien and we went for a stroll and a chat around the distillery building, finding out more about the Titanic Distillery project.

It is an amazing building, the old pumphouse of the dry dock where the fateful Titanic was actually built. Huge history, huge stories, huge legacy...... I highly recommend a visit if you're at a loose end in Belfast.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Copeland Distillery Chat with Gareth Irvine.

We recently visited Copeland Distillery on The Ards peninsula in Co. Down while we we attending Belfast Whiskey Week 2025.

I chatted to owner and founder Gareth Irvine about his amazing distillery that he started as part of a college module!..

It is a fantastic little distillery, in a picturesque seaside town, just of the main quay in Donaghadee. There is a coffee dock at the edge of the production area..... in the stillhouse! You can visit, enjoy a coffee and a bun and watch the entire days activities as the distillery team mash, ferment and distill tomorrow's whiskey and gin.

Very cool.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• Irish Whiskey Auctions 
• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Distillery Chat with Sarah Dowling, Cooley Distillery's Head Blender.

I have wanted to see beyond the gates of the iconic Cooley Distillery for years. I finally got the opportunity and Head Blender and ex Distillery Manager Sarah Dowling showed me around.

To say it was amazing is an understatement. It turns out that Cooley is a little bit boutiquey..... not the behemoth that everyone thinks it is. It is medium craft distillery that has left a very large footprint on Irish Whiskey and it was an honour to be shown around by Sarah.

Full disclosure: I had microphone issues for this podcast, but with a sprinling of magic and wizardry, I managed to isolate the voices and save the podcast. New mics have now been purchased........ ; )

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• Irish Whiskey Auctions 
• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Wee Pub Chat with Anthony & Katie Sheehy.

Anthony & Katie founded Irish Whiskey Auctions, the monthly whiskey auction in Ireland and sponsor of Whiskey Chats.

They then co-founded Irish Whiskey Experiences with Barry Chandler, where they have had huge successes with their Whiskey Bus tours and upcoming Whiskey Cruise in Nov 2025.

But deep in the wee county of Louth, straddling the Northern Irish border, is the best wee pub around - JJ Sheehy's - another part of their empire!! This is now where they call home and where I joined them of an evening in the bar, where we sat, chatted, drank and swapped stories.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• Irish Whiskey Auctions 
• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Distillery Chat with Tracey Clarke in Kilbeggan.

Tracey has worked as a Tour Guide in Kilbeggan Distillery for over 23yrs. She is part of the local community and would have grown up knowing it as the Old Locke's Distillery, after the family that previously owned it and ran it.

It is an amazingly well preserved example of Victorian, Industrial revolution era equipment and machinery, mingled into a distillery experience and working micro distillery onsite.

I would highly recommend you visit and experience it for yourself..... maybe ask for Tracey as your tour guide....

I learned an awful lot and I hope you do too.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• Irish Whiskey Auctions 
• www.boanndistillery.ie
• www.killowendistillery.com 

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Chat with Enguerrand Vandenbossche.

Enguerrand is a French trained cooper, who was the Head Cooper in Tullamore Dew Distillery until 2022, owned by Beam Suntory, after working in France and for a time in Scotland at some of their industrial cooperages.

For the past 2yrs, he has been working at the Good Spirits Co. in Dundalk. They are behind the Grace O'Malley whiskey brand and also store and bottle for many of the whiskey brands you see on the shelves.

He is a very knowledgeable fella and I've been looking forward to chatting with him for a long time.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• Irish Whiskey Auctions 
• www.boanndistillery.ie

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat.

Laurie

Join me for My Distillery Chat with Gearóid Cahill in Slane Distillery.

Gearóid is one of the only Master Brewers AND Master Distillers working in the alcohol industry.

He spent nearly 20yrs as one of Diageo's top brewers, before going to work as Head Distiller for the fledgling Slane Distillery in Co. Meath, in the shadow of the famous concert venue, Slane Castle.

They are a really interesting small distillery as they run column stills and grow most of their grain on the 1500 acre Slane farm.

This episode of the podcast is sponsored by:

• Irish Whiskey Auctions 
• www.boanndistillery.ie

Don't forget to sign up to my Patreon channel for early access episodes and more, for a few euros a month and help me deliver the best podcasts to you.

https://www.patreon.com/whiskeychatspodcast

I really hope you listening in to our chat as we walked around the distillery.

Laurie