Irish Whiskey Awards 2017
The Dylan Whisky Bar - 2017 Irish Whiskey Bar Of The Year (Leinster)
Irish Whiskey Awards 2017
On 19th October, the great and the good of Irish Whiskey descended upon The Old Jameson Distillery, Bow St. Dublin for the annual Irish Whiskey Awards. The venue has recently undergone a massive overhaul, and guests at the awards were treated to a guided tour of this amazing Irish Whiskey destination.
There was a real sense of occasion on the night and as the awards got under way, excitement built in the room. Kilkenny was well represented this year with no less than four nominees in the Leinster Whiskey Bar Of The Year Category with The Brewery Corner, Biddy Early’s, The Dylan Whisky Bar and Paris Texas all featuring in the shortlist this year.
But first came the producer awards! The entries for these awards has grown massively over the last few years and is a great testament to the overall growth and real strength coming into the Irish spirits distilling industry to have 150 products compete across the 13 categories including Best Pot Still, Best Cask Strength as well is Gin, Vodka and other categories.
L-R: Conor Ryan (The Folkhouse), Jim Rafferty (The Dylan Whisky Bar) and Will Lynch (Slane Whiskey)
The keynote speaker at this year’s awards was Bernard Walsh, of Walsh Whiskey - producers of The Irishman and Writer’s Tears labels. Bernard gave great insight into the growth in Irish Whiskey and encouraged all involved to continue the great work being done to re-establish Irish Whiskey as a true global force. (indeed, Bernard and team carted four producer awards home with them as well!)
As the awards were announced, the celebrations began. There is such positivity and enthusiasm across the industry that all in attendance shared the delight of those who received awards. And so it came time to announce the Whiskey Bar winners; for provincial, national and international categories. We are so delighted that The Dylan Whisky Bar was announced as Irish Whiskey Bar Of The Year for Leinster for the second year in a row. Congratulations to Jim and all his wonderful team of Irish Whiskey professional at 'The Dylan'. What an honour it is for us in Kilkenny Whiskey Guild to have The Dylan scoop such a prestigious award - twice!!
Chris Hennessy of The Dylan Whisky Bar accepts the award from Bernard Walsh
Ally Alpine, Al Higgins and all the team at Celtic Whiskey deserve special mention for the dedication and hard work that goes into making the Irish Whiskey Awards happen. Not only that but all proceeds from the awards went to Mary’s Meals; raising enough funds to feed 330 children a day for a whole school year.
Congratulations to all winners at this year’s awards. It is such a pleasure to be part of an energetic and enthusiastic industry. Long may it continue to grow!
For more information on the awards visit -
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