Cork Whiskey Fest: Meet the makers and discover the best whiskey bars in Ireland

In the last two decades, Ireland has grown from three distilleries to over 40. Leslie Williams meets the makers

Laurie O'Dwyer and his wife Sonya, co-founders of Cork Whiskey Fest.

When did the world become whiskey drinkers? Was it Don Draper in Mad Men drinking Old Fashioneds? Or perhaps McNulty’s trusty bottle of Jameson that appeared in nearly every episode of The Wire? Those Sex and the City girls did drink a lot of Cosmopolitans, but they also ordered Manhattans a fair few times.

Ireland has gone from three distilleries to over 40 in the last 20 years and there is no sign of a slowdown.