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food-drink · Thursday 20 August 2026 · 7:30 PM 
Achill Island Distillery Tasting - Louth Whiskey Society
At Russell's Saloon · 28 Park Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth, A91 H210
At Russell's Saloon · 28 Park Street, Dundalk, Co. Louth, A91 H210
The Louth Whiskey Society runs monthly tastings in Dundalk, and August’s takes on Achill Island Distillery, the first whiskey distillery on an Irish island. The distillery was founded in 2015 by John McKay and opened to the public in 2019 on Achill, off the Mayo coast on the Wild Atlantic Way. It is still family-run, and the tasting is hosted by Paul McKay rather than by a brand ambassador, so the evening comes from inside the business.
Four whiskeys are poured: the Achill Island Single Malt Bourbon Cask, the Single Malt Bordeaux Cask Finish, the Single Pot Still, and selections from the distillery’s IrishAmerican range. That spread covers a bourbon-cask baseline, a wine-cask finish and a pot still, which is a useful way to taste how cask choice and mash bill change the same distillery’s spirit. The evening runs two hours from 7.30pm. Russell’s Saloon on Park Street is the society’s regular Dundalk home, a bar that has traded on the street since 1907 and now keeps a gin collection of over 460 bottles alongside its whiskey. Tickets are €22.42 and are booked in advance. Strictly over 18s, and the organiser lists no refunds, so be sure of the date before booking.
Russell’s Saloon is at 28 Park Street in central Dundalk, a two-minute walk from the Market Square and on the same street as the Imperial Hotel. Clarke Station on the Dublin to Belfast line is about fifteen minutes’ walk to the west, and Bus Eireann coaches from Dublin and Belfast stop on Long Walk nearby. Public parking is available at the Marshes Shopping Centre and on Crowe Street, both a few minutes away. Given the format, public transport or a taxi is the better plan.
Heading to Russell's Saloon in Dundalk? Louth has plenty more to see. Read the Dundalk area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.