Monthly Archives: May 2026

Three Drams Irish Whiskey Night – May 2026

Whiskey Reviews

Last Thursday, 28th May, I took part in a Three Drams Irish Whiskey Night from the comfort of home while following the live YouTube stream featuring distillers, founders and whiskey experts from both Ireland and New York.

Hosted by Barry Chandler, Three Drams is an Irish whiskey subscription service that delivers curated tasting packs alongside live online tasting events. Irish Whiskey Night takes place on the last Thursday of each month, bringing whiskey fans together to taste and learn directly from the people behind the bottles.

Streaming live from the famous Dead Rabbit Bar in New York, the event featured:

  • Katherine Condon — Distiller at Midleton Distillery
  • Conor Hyde — Owner of Hyde Irish Whiskey
  • Gareth Irvine — Founder of Copeland Distillery
  • Carol Quinn — Head of Archives at Midleton Distillery and Ireland’s only whiskey archivist

What made the evening particularly enjoyable was hearing the stories behind each whiskey while tasting along in real time.

Dram 1 – Jameson Black Barrel (40% ABV)

The first whiskey of the evening was Jameson Black Barrel. On the nose, I immediately picked up butterscotch and creamy toffee aromas. It smelled rich and inviting without being overpowering.

The taste followed through with vanilla sweetness alongside the same smooth creamy notes. What stood out most to me was just how balanced and easy to drink it was.

Check it out at http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com

Dram 2 – Hyde No. 8 Heritage Cask (43% ABV)

The Hyde No. 8 had a lighter nose compared to the Jameson, with soft vanilla notes coming through first.

On tasting, I noticed biscuit sweetness, creaminess and coffee flavours. Letting it linger brought a little heat towards the finish, which added another layer to the whiskey.

This felt slightly more complex as the flavours developed and was another very enjoyable dram.

Check it out at http://www.IrishMalts.com

Dram 3 – Copeland Distillery 26.2 Peated Single Malt Whiskey (46% ABV)

The most intriguing whiskey of the night was easily the surprise pre-release from Copeland Distillery — a peated single malt that had only recently launched.

The peat was immediately noticeable on the nose and much stronger than the previous drams. Normally I’m not a huge fan of heavily peated whiskey, so I was curious how this one would go.

To my surprise, I really enjoyed it. The taste had an unexpected sweetness that reminded me of cola cube sweets and maple syrup. The sweetness balanced the peat extremely well and made it far more approachable than I expected.

Check it out at http://www.CopelandDistillery.com

Final Thoughts

What I enjoyed most about this event was the combination of tasting whiskey while hearing directly from the people who create it. It made the experience feel far more personal and engaging than simply reading tasting notes from a bottle. The livestream connection to The Dead Rabbit in New York also gave the evening an international feel while still celebrating Irish whiskey and the people behind it. Events like this are a great reminder of how welcoming and varied Irish whiskey can be, whether you’re an experienced whiskey drinker or only beginning to explore different styles.

My Whiskey Night Ratings:

  • Jameson Black Barrel — 5/5
  • Hyde No. 8 — 4.5/5
  • Copeland 26.2 Peated Single Malt— 5/5

Reboots, Readings and a Belfast Disco: My Weekend at NornCon

Conventions,

NornCon, a brand new science fiction and fantasy convention in Belfast, took place on the 8th & 9th May at the Hilton Belfast, and after spending the weekend there I’m already hoping it returns next year.

First impressions really matter for a new convention, and NornCon immediately felt welcoming and relaxed. It had the atmosphere of a cosy local convention while still managing to pack in a strong programme across the weekend. One thing I particularly appreciated was the half-hour breaks between programme items, which made moving between rooms much less stressful and gave people time to chat in corridors, browse tables, or just catch their breath before the next panel.

Friday night was the literature evening and it was one of the highlights of the convention for me. Over the course of the evening we heard readings from seventeen authors alongside the two Guests of Honour, Adrian Tchaikovsky and Anna Smith Spark. There’s something special about hearing authors read their own work aloud; even short excerpts can leave you wanting to immediately hunt down the book afterwards. It felt like a celebration of storytelling in all its forms.

During the weekend I moderated two panels: “To Reboot or Not to Reboot” and “It’s Ireland But Not As We Know It”.

The reboot panel featured Ruth Frances Long, Sarah Rees Brennan, and Sam Poots, and turned into a lively discussion about why some reboots work while others completely miss the point. Robin Hood came up repeatedly as the perfect example of a story that gets reinvented for every generation. We also discussed favourite reboots, with Sam choosing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Ruth picking Fantasy Island, and Sarah choosing Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The conversation flowed naturally and the overall conclusion seemed to be that reboots are perfectly fine — as long as they are done well.

My second panel, “It’s Ireland But Not As We Know It”, featured Peadar Ó Guilín, Jo Zebedee, Stephen Daly, and Byddi Lee. It was another excellent discussion, this time focused on Ireland through the lens of speculative fiction. The panel had a great flow and covered a range of ideas around fantasy, speculative fiction, and imagined versions of Ireland. I do regret not taking notes because there were several excellent observations during the discussion that I wish I could properly quote now.

Outside my own panels, one of my favourite programme items was the interview with Adrian Tchaikovsky conducted by Ian McDonald. I also really enjoyed “The Best of SF & Fantasy No One Has Heard Of”, moderated by David Green with panelists Jack Kirwan, Mike Chinn, and Sam Poots, which added several more titles to my ever-growing reading list.

The convention also had a strong community feel to it. Across the weekend I chatted with guests, fans, traders, and fellow attendees, which is one of the things smaller conventions often do best. I also picked up the very first issue of Sci-Fi Ireland magazine, launched at the convention on the Saturday, as well as Jo Zebedee’s Into a Blood Red Sky.

The evening ended perfectly at Trevor Kennedy’s disco, where he seemed pleasantly surprised when I requested Where’s Me Jumper by Sultans of Ping F.C..

By the end of the weekend I was definitely tired, but very happy. NornCon already feels like a convention with real potential, and if this first year is anything to go by, I’m looking forward to seeing it grow in the future.