The backers of a proposed new micro-distillery on the Ring of Kerry have suffered a setback after being hit with an even higher development levy after appealing the original sum.

The first distillery to be built on an Irish island in modern times is nearing completion and those behind it have already trademarked the gin and whiskey it will produce.

More than 2.5 million people visited brewery and distillery tourist attractions in Dublin last year.

A Gaeltacht island off Co Cork is set to become the first offshore community in the country to develop a whiskey distillery.

Powerscourt Distillery, a new venture based in the Powerscourt Estate in Co Wicklow, is seeking new funding to complete a €10m whiskey distillery. It hopes to have €5m raised in a funding round this year.

Might the “water of life”, a new whiskey and spirits distillery and tourism attraction, be a new presence in the West Cork town of Clonakilty’s Waterfront development?

The first spirits of the newly- established Boann Distillery in Drogheda which is to create 80 jobs will flow in late 2015 marking the realisation of a €20m investment in the facility.

Bill Linnane is so passionate about whiskey that he decided to take up the opportunity of a two-day course at the Whiskey Academy of Dingle Distillery. He reports below...