Premium craft gin company Tribe Irish Gin has opened Tribe Gin School, Galway's first and Ireland's largest dedicated gin school following a €140,000 refurbishment.

Located in Salthill, the 1,400 sq ft premises can seat 22 people at a time for gin classes and features an apothecary-style botanical pick 'n' mix area for pupils to choose their own flavour combinations.

Over two-and-a-half hours, guests will learn how gin is made and distilled and distil their own unique 70cl bottles of gin with personalised labels, enjoy complimentary gins, cheese and nibbles throughout the class for €95 per person.

The school was designed by Sean Dockry & Associates and interior designer Eithne Turley, who worked closely with Tribe Irish Gin and Gin School founders Adam Scally, Cormac Commins, Ciarán O’Domhnaill and Michael Allen over the past 12 months.

The four co-founders came up with the ideal for the gin and school in March 2021, and Tribe Irish Gin was launched last November.

In Association with

The spirit won a Gold Medal at The Spirits Business Gin Masters 2022.

"The gin school was a pipedream 16 months ago between a few friends and to see it materialise into this fantastic building in Salthill is brilliant," sid Commins.

"We are really proud of how the gin school has turned out, given the blank slate we had to work with. We have put all our efforts into creating something that we hope many people will experience and enjoy. We are excited now to open our doors and showcase the new space and experience to the public.”

O'Domhnaill added: "We felt that Galway needed something new and we wanted to deliver this unique Tribe gin school experience to the city.

"Our Gin School is all about bringing people together, getting the creative juices flowing by creating and distilling your very own bottle of gin as well as highlighting the fun, exciting and creative aspects of the city of the Tribes."

Scally said there had been "a lot of hard work and a few sleepless nights" in developing the gin school and that the opening is "an extremely proud moment" for the co-founders.

"If you were to tell me two years ago when I was on the beach in Sydney that I would be owning & running a gin school in Galway with three of my friends, I would have said you were mad," he added.

“It has been a great experience so far and there are plenty of people who helped us get to this point. Now we are focused on delivering the best experience possible to the people of Galway and beyond. This is just the start of what people can expect from Tribe."

Meanwhile, The Cliffs of Moher Experience has announced a partnership with Clare-based JJ Corry Irish Whiskey to create a series of Irish whiskey in sherry casks at the cliffs' O'Brien's Tower.

JJ Corry has selected single malt, pot still and single grain whiskeys from around Ireland to mature within the tower, which was built by Sir Cornelius O’Brien in 1835.

Working with partner Cooper Casknolia and Bodegas in Montilla & Jerez, the casks have been seasoned for over 18 months before being filled with JJ Corry whiskey and maturing in O'Brien’s Towers.

"As custodians of the Cliffs of Moher we are proud to continue the longstanding tradition of supporting local suppliers, dispersing economic benefit and meeting our sustainability goals” said Geraldine Enright, director of Cliffs of Moher Experience.

“Sir Cornelius O’Brien would no doubt approve of the collaboration between JJ Corry, local whiskey bonders and the Cliffs of Moher Experience that has seen nine 50-litre barrels of whiskey placed in his purpose-built tower.”

Enright confirmed that JJ Corry will carefully monitor the whiskey and when deemed ready, they will be disgorged and bottled as Single Cask Cliffs of Moher Whiskey. Each cask will yield approximately 100 bottles of whiskey. 

Louise McGuane, founder of JJ Corry, said: "We are so proud to have the opportunity to collaborate with our neighbours at the Cliffs of Moher.

"The Cliffs are an iconic symbol of County Clare and Ireland and crucial for our local economy. We are delighted to be able to share the story of County Clare and the best of Irish whiskey with visitors to the cliffs.”

Photo: Tribe Irish Gin School in Salthill, Co Galway.