Step into the transformed A-Wing of Crumlin road Gaol, Belfast to taste McConnell's -award-winning Irish Whisky. Explore the distillery that celebrates its past, present and future. The most atmospheric distillery setting in Ireland welcomes you to meet the brand born in 1776 that is now placing Belfast firmly back on the global whisky map. Opened in 2024, the stunning transformation of a former Victorian prison wing offers more than just tours with a fantastic shop, cafe and bar. Sample our globally award-winning 5 Year Series - our signature, our sherry cask finish and our new-make straight off the stills, right here in Belfast.
Amazing tour Sam was so knowledgeable, engaging and to top it with such an interesting place to visit was a perfect way to lose an afternoon in Belfast! The Whiskey and the insight into how it’s made added to the entire experience topped off with a beautiful Guinness at the end of the tour! Highly recommend!! Thank you (Deidre)
Three of us did a connoisseur tour in October 26 and absolutely loved it. Sam our tour guide, was full of enthusiasm for her city, the restored wing of the gaol in which the distillery is housed and the whisky itself. We learned all manner of things we didn’t know before the tour and had a laugh along the way. The tour comprised of a history of McConnells, an welcome drink of their 5 year and ginger, the tour around the converted A-Wing of Crumlin road gaol, 3 tasters of new male spirit (whisky before barrelling), the 5 year standard and the sherry cask whiskies. We booked the connoisseur tour which also included a cask strength sherry cask whisky and a 20 year, old cromac collection, tawny port cask whisky. Over all fantastic, midday tour that we finished off with Sam-made Irish coffees and shop purchases before heading into central Belfast. Honestly couldn’t recommend Sam as a guide highly enough. She also, I believe, does walking tours of the city so if you can grab her for one of those do it. So much enthusiasm for her city and super engaging!
Sam great tour, many thanks, and the whisky is great
Not a whisky drinker but absolutely loved the tour. Sam was both knowledgeable and personable. Such a great concept to turn history into history combining a prison and a whisky distillery dating back to the 1700s. Learned quite a lot about whisky making and even enjoyed a glass with ginger ale. A must visit when touring Northern Ireland.
Our guide Sam was absolutely brilliant! Knowledgeable and professional with a great balance of humour enthusiasm and facts. Would really recommend this tour as the setting is unique and not your normal distillery setting keeping the historical relevance of the building along with the history of the a wonderful Whisky.
Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and it was great to see how the distillery was constructed and came to be. Great experience overall
Niamh our tour guide was great, really personable and interesting. Good tour the cocktail bar at the end was a nice touch too!
Sam was fantastic, very knowledgable and enthusiastic. Covered the history of both building and brand.
Visit last for about 1 hour, highly recommend, tour guide was Sam, amazing guide who has long experience with the destillery. So much knowledge, and good insight to Belfast history.
Excellent tour. Sam was absolutely fantastic as a guide and really enthusiastic, even adapting well to having 2 chemistry teachers and a chemical engineer in the tour group!
I booked for myself and three visiting friends book a distillery tour as part on experience of Belfast. Info and reminders sent before the day were all timed. We were greeted on arrival and formed a group with another 12 or so visitors. Our knowledgeable guide, Niamh, spoke well gave a good introduction... and led us through the building at a good pace. The way the distillery has been fitted into an old Victorian Prison Wing is very impressive. The tour lasted an hour as advised, but I felt the story ended slightly prematurely... and would have liked a little more information on maturation, storage and bottling.
Sam was a fantastic guide. Knew her stuff. A credit to the company
Excellent tour from Sam - very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic.
Our experience was fantastic, our tour guide Sam was so knowledgable and made the experience unforgettable! We learnt a lot about the distilling process and enjoyed exploring parts of the gaol that have been transformed into a welcoming environment!
Sam was a great ambassador for your company
OMG! What an evening we had! We were blessed with Sam, and she was funny, informative, passionate and just a brilliant guide in every way! The whisky was beautiful, the location fascinating. We want to come back with family and friends!!
Sam was a wonderful guide of an all round wonderful experience in a beautifully restored building. The vibe in the bar is immaculate and ginger ale with whisky is a game changer!
An excellent tour and guide that I would recommend. I was fortunate enough to be the only one on the connoisseur tour so very much a 1-1 experience, I was still given the full experience including all the tastings. The tour covered the history as well as the making process with videos as well as the talk and I thought was excellent value for money.
We had a wonderful guided tour led by Sam. She was incredibly knowledgeable and experienced, and had a fantastic way of sharing her knowledge with us, making the entire tour both engaging and enjoyable. The distillery itself is set in a truly stunning location and has been beautifully restored, creating a very special atmosphere. All in all, the experience was worth every minute, and the tasting at the end was the perfect finishing touch to an already fantastic visit. Highly recommended – definitely worth a visit!
Our tour guide Sam was exceptional! She was very personable, charismatic and she explained everything about the distillation process very coherently. I'd recommend a tour of this stunning and unique distillery to anyone!
Fabulous tour. Interesting story. In a beautifully restored wing of The Crumlin road Gaol. Our guide Sam was extremely knowledgeable and made the tour fun whilst giving the history of the brand and the process of the Whisky making. Loved the tasting too.
It was a pleasure to attend this and I think I have my new whisky with no E. Can’t remember the guides name but he is very knowledgeable and will recommend it to my buddy’s ☘️
Sam was class the whole experience is really great and the building is stunning. The bar at the end is lovely to sit and enjoy a drink in as well
Sam was are your guide for this experience with my friends for his stag she was interesting and illuminating Would recommend to ask for her as a guide
Very happy with my tour our guide Sam was the best lots of laughs and information
It was a great experience and our tour guide was extremely nice and she explained everything perfect. And the whisky is really tasteful and delicious!
We decided to do the tour after finishing the Crumlin Road Gaol experience as the McConnell distillery is in one of the prison wings. It turned out we were the only two on the 1.00pm tour with guide Sam who was knowledgeable and kept our attention throughout with a great delivery and a real passion for the McConnell history. We've done a few distillery tours and this was by far the best. Also, full credit to McConnell's for the transformation of the prison wing.
The guide was amazing!!! Energy 🔥
Great experience and history lesson. Sam is a fantastic server as well! A bit out of the city center but worth it.
We booked the whiskey tasting tour at miday on a Sunday. We had the tour all to ourselves ( which is very rare apparently) and Natalie was our guide she was excellent. Very informative and very friendly and chatty. we really enjoyed this tour and would definitely recommend it. Hopefully you might get Natalie. She’s a credit to the company. We also bought a bottle of the McConnell’s sherry cask whiskey at the airport to take home.
Had an amazing time in the distillery, Sam was a brilliant tour guide who showed us around and was hilarious the whole way through, would definitely recommend this tour 😁
Great tour, really enjoyed it, Sam brought the distillery to life, great craic, funny and very informative, I recommend 5*
I did the shorter version and I wish I did the longer one! The whole experience was fun and interesting and they even talked on how it was a jail but now making whiskey. I wish I also booked the jail house experience at this place too!
Absolutely brilliant. All aspects. Informatitive, varied inputs methods of information, outstanding facilities. Our guide Oouna (?) so friendly and knew her stuff. Also, answered the question - spelt with or without an 'e' !
Really interesting tour inside the fabulous A wing of Crumlin Goal next door. Sam, our tour guide made it fun and Interesting. Our only critique would be, that the last 5 minutes felt a bit rushed as another tour was booked with Sam, we would have liked a bit of time to ask questions and chat with the group. But overall, a great experience.
We did the premium connoisseur tour with Sam and it was brilliant! Thank you and what a beautiful building too.
Sam is a fantastic guide! A lot of knowledge and entusiasm💃🥃
Interesting tour. The welcome cocktail is mostly ginger ale, but the tasting at the end has one educational and 2 good selections. Worth checking out
Can I give Sam 6+ stars!???? She was amazing. I work in the scotch whisky industry and I love meeting our compadres across the water! Dare I say it I may be converted! I loved learning about the history of the area and the building. The communities connoisseur tour was fabulous - I turned up an hour early and caved for the upgrade. WORTH IT! Met the CEO my chance too which was lovely. Again - Sam deserved more than 5 stars!!! Now heading off the Belfast Friend at Hand.
With the last name McConnell we just had to do this!! We were not disappointed. Sam was an excellent guide and storyteller. Loved how the brand paid homage to the Goal.
We loved our tour of McConnell’s Whisky Distillery! Highly recommend! Sam was our guide, she was fun, entertaining and informative and has been there since they reopened! I’m not usually a whisky drinker but chose this tour as my mother’s surname was McConnell, but I was surprised at how delicious and smooth this whisky is, I really enjoyed it! Even my 18 year old daughter liked it. I wished we had had time to tour the prison. McConnell’s seemed to have integrated their distillery so thoughtfully into this prison wing. Thank you!
Fantastic experience- guide (Niamh) was very knowledgable and brought a touch of humour during the tour. The bartender (Susie) recommended a cocktail or two and catered for a non whiskey drinker. Highly recommend.
What a wonderful experience! The guides were so well informed as they gave us a tour and explained the capabilities of the venue, but Sam the Bartender made it most fun an memorable as she walked us through making our own expresso martinis. She was knowledgeable and a bundle of energy. Highly recommend this distillery!
Sam was an amazing guide with in depth knowledge about the history and current process of the distillery. She was a great character and fully invested in all of the group. Would recommend this trip even if you don’t drink whisky as the experience is worth it. Fabulous place and worth a visit! ☺️
Loved this tour! I don’t even like whiskey, but left the McConnell’s Distillery with a bottle of whiskey! The history / roots of the business and its come back to life was greatly narrated. Loved every bit of it and most of all, it’s whiskey!
Very good tour with a funny and informative guide, would highly recommend
Great experience. Lovely distillery. Guide was [i think] Ethan? Very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Excellent whisky!
Fabulous great guide Gerald was very informative . Very interesting to see transition from Crumlin Gaol to McConnell’s Distillery. Whisky tasting start and finish , and lots in between . Well worth a visit .
Tour was fabulous & the tour guide was very knowledgeable.The distillery set up was fantastic as there was a lot of history within the building.Great communication regarding tickets etc & the staff were very friendly.I would highly recommend.
I didn’t realize that this was literally in the goal. And the history of the whisky and the detail taken with both the spirit and packaging, as well as the tour was amazing. We have done lots of distilleries but this experience was a true notch above.
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