Full disclosure here, I’ve watched the recent, deserved return to prominence of Irish whiskey with the contempt expected of any young lad brought up in the rugged Scottish hinterland on a diet of xenophobia and self-entitlement. The thought of any other country succeeding at one of the few things we’re not completely fucking hopeless at strikes fear into many a brethren’s heart. But despite our best efforts, Irish whiskey has finally sprouted up through the slabs of imperial bias, and an indigenous industry is being revived. Enter Dingle Distillery, a self-styled ‘artisanal, handcrafted’ brand from the owners of the Porterhouse, and their new tunneled outpost on Nassau Street, the Dingle Whiskey Bar.
The bar itself adheres to all the stylistic hallmarks of the industry: it’s steeped in the kind of austere timber, faux heritage and male privilege so typical of whiskey companies and that one has come to expect from a place trying to sell pricey drams.
We squeeze ourselves under a protruding, stave-clad wall bearing the names of the 500 selfless ‘Founding Fathers’ who gave their wallets for the good of the hallowed uisce beatha, and get down to brass tacks.
Patriarchal aesthetics aside, the atmosphere to the bar is extremely pleasant, and there’s a modesty to the place that is presumably reserved for the types of whiskey distilleries that don’t yet have any actual whiskey to sell. With Dingle Distillery’s amber wares still a year away from bottling, the menu comprises a comprehensive who’s who of their competitors-to-be, as well as the best bits from peers across various ponds. Amongst all the other usual fluid accompaniments you can sample the gin and vodka Dingle Distillery have been making while the whiskey matures. If all else fails, never fear – you can grab a sneaky pint from the Porterhouse Central next door and bring it back to the safety of less boorish surroundings.
We start close to home, with Bushmill 16 and Redbreast 12 on recommendation from the knowledgeable bartender, before wandering further afield with some of their well constructed tasting flights. By this point the bar is starting to fill up with what you might consider a fairly atypical crowd for a whiskey bar at the bottom of Grafton Street. No oversized, bumbag toting tourists to be found here, esteemed readers; in 2015, whiskey is for the well-heeled, mid-30s Instagrammer, make no mistake.
Although it appears they currently have zero intention of eschewing the slightly pompous trappings of whiskey industry forebears, it will be really interesting to see how this bar develops as the company behind it matures. Slàinte mhath, you bastards!
Words: Yann Chalmers / Photo: Evan Buggle
The Dingle Whiskey Bar
44 Nassau Street, Dublin 2
t: 086 8299944
w: www.dingledistillery.ie
