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Since commencing business in 2012, Dingle Distillery’s artisan whiskey, vodka and gin has kicked off to roaring success. The latest installment to the mini empire is the teeny Dingle Whiskey Bar, which feeds into the Porterhouse. Armed with three friends, I trotted in on a crisp Sunday night.

Entering the door, the atmosphere is speakeasy-esque — fitted with a mixture of leather and cask-wood with multiple shelved whiskey bottles amongst the dim lighting. There’s a myriad of spirits to choose from copious crinkled pages on clipboards constituting the menu. Two chickened out to pursue strawberry daiquiris and a Dingle gin and tonic (€8 each) in the PH, while I tried a measure of the standard offering of Dingle Gold (€4.90). While my friend enquired for the best Jameson, the bartender was quick to offer a step out of his comfort zone and instead try a Greenspot Pure Spot Still (€5.80), offering a speedy but educated summary of the distilling process for this particular treacle. We all reconvened to the corner with the live music feeding in from the back keeping the small tavern buzzy. The whiskeys were both warm and sublime, with visible differences in amber shades, the Greenspot being a tad smoother. Although the daiquiri didn’t contain a Dingle-made spirit, I felt the G&T dressed up with juniper berries floating in the glass didn’t quite pack the punch or uniqueness of Bombay or Hendrick’s.

Although the Porterhouse’s atmosphere remains unbeaten, the novelty of DWB ensures the perfect pub night with friends as the evenings begin to chill.

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