Irish hotel launches exclusive ‘appointment only' whiskey tasting flight costing over £1k

Irish Post

29-05-2025

A NEWLY opened Irish hotel has launched a whiskey tasting flight which can only be enjoyed by appointment and costs a whopping £1,608.
Harbourview Hotel in Co. Antrim describes itself as a 'destination whiskey hotel'.
Adrian McLaughlin is co-owner of the Harbourview Hotel in Carnlough
This week it has announced its Bushmills Whiskey tasting flight with Darryl McNally, who is the co-owner of the hotel and a former Bushmills master distiller.
The selection on offer features some of the oldest and rarest whiskeys from the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery, including four iconic Bushmills whiskeys.
The Harbourview 1608 Tasting Flight costs £1,608
And the £1,608 price of the experience is a nod to the year 1608, when Bushmills was awarded its license to distil.
'As Ireland's first ever destination whiskey hotel, we pride ourselves on offering the finest collection of whiskeys, alongside exceptional events and experiences,' Harbourview Hotel co-owner Adrian McLaughlin said.
'To celebrate the opening, we wanted to create something special, and we're proud to present this exclusive whiskey flight in tribute to the iconic Old Bushmills Distillery, which is located just 40 miles from the hotel on our beautiful Causeway Coast,' he explained.
'This exclusive tasting flight will be an experience to savour for whiskey connoisseurs that might not otherwise get the opportunity to taste such rare whiskeys.
'It is offered alongside a core collection of 11 flights, with prices ranging from £15 to £40, and a special 'Owners Collection' of rare whiskeys priced at £570, meaning there is a flight to suit every budget.'
The exclusive tasing flight is an 'appointment only' experience
The hotel's 'off menu' 1608 Whiskey Flight is bookable by appointment only and includes two of the oldest and rarest bottles ever to be released from the Old Bushmills Distillery: Bushmills 46 Year Old Secrets of the River Bush, which was released in March 2025, and the Bushmills 36 Year Old Hill Street Edition, which was released in February 2024.
There are also two rare whiskeys from the Bushmills Causeway Collection, a 33-year-old port cask and 18-year-old Grand Cru cask.
With only 20 1608 flights available, the hotel says it will be a 'once-in-a-lifetime experience for whiskey connoisseurs'.
The hotel has also announced thay it will donate one 1608 whiskey flight and overnight stay to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) for use in their ongoing fundraising activities to support their work.
The hotel, located in Carnlough, near Ballymena, opened to guests earlier this month.
See More: Antrim, Ballymena, Bushmills, Harbourview Hotel, Whiskey Flight