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Belfast Live
Entertainment
Sophie McLaughlin

Unique drink experiences launched in Belfast city centre

A popular food and drink tour company has launched two unique drink experiences in the heart of Belfast.

The Spirit Circle, a brand new concept to experience drinks by Taste & Tour, has launched in the Cathedral Quarter and is set to amaze both locals and tourists alike.

The experiences, which will showcase local spirits and drinks in an engaging and interactive way, are located in the historic National Bank Buildings, above The National bar, on High Street.

Read more: Belfast bar wins top food and service award

Co-owned by food and drink obsessed Caroline Wilson and Phil Ervine, The Spirit Circle is home to two very different drinks experiences.

Phil said: "I have been involved in the drinks and hospitality industry for over a decade, and have been lucky enough to have been invited to a lot of fun drinks events and experiences that have been for the “trade only”.

"I wanted to ‘lift the veil’, so to speak, and create fun and interactive drinks experiences showcasing local spirits that local and tourists could enjoy."

For all the latest event news and top recommendations for food and drink, follow our new Belfast Social pages on Facebook and Instagram.

The Spirit Circle has launched with two new drinks experiences, ‘Sensorium’ and ‘Belfast by the Glass’.

‘Sensorium’ is an interactive sensory cocktail experience set over three floors.

Phil continued: "There’s a lot more to a drink than just its taste, so we wanted to create an experience which explores all the different senses involved when enjoying a drink.

"In Sensorium, guests will do a series of whacky sensory experiments, they’ll meet Artificial Intelligence called The Inhibitor and they’ll discover the drink that their subconscious has selected before choosing a cocktail that their emotions desire!”

‘Belfast by the Glass’ is an alternative history of Belfast through booze.

Caroline added: "There are so many stories to be told when it comes to Belfast and we tell many of these through our food and drink tours.

"With Belfast by the Glass we get to tell the alternative history of Belfast with the help of carefully selected drinks and audio visual installations.

"Guests will be taken through 6 chapters of Belfast, try 6 very different drinks and leave with a sense of pride of how far Belfast has come.”

Taste & Tour delivers food and drink tours and events in the city for locals and tourists alike. They currently operate seven public tours including the ever-popular Belfast Food Tour, Belfast Gin Jaunt, City Cocktail Circuit, 5 Stop Brunch and more.

The Spirit Circle was launched with the support of Tourism Northern Ireland and the Experience Development Programme.

Commenting on The Spirit Circle, David Roberts, Director of Strategic Development at Tourism NI said: “We are delighted to support this new Taste & Tour experience which will bring to life our world-class food and drink offering in an engaging way.

"As there is a growing demand for interactive experiences, I have no doubt this exciting new addition will be central to the visitor experience in Belfast, and will create new and compelling reasons to visit the area."

Ciarán Shannon of Boatyard Distillery, one of the local distilleries showcased in The Spirit Circle added: "Most of our team at the distillery have worked with Taste & Tour in some capacity over the last 5 years in many different ways.

"We’ve collaborated on food and drink tours, gin festivals, virtual cocktail events, even local hampers, and we’re very excited by the addition of The Spirit Circle.

"Taste & Tour are vital in helping us showcase our brand to the local and tourist markets of Belfast City Centre.”

For more information, see here.

Read more: NI restaurants ranked in Top 100 across the UK

Read more: Lonely Planet picks three NI pubs in its Top 20

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