Roe & Co Beyond the Blend is a 45-minute whiskey workshop at the distillery on James’s Street, Dublin, housed in the former Guinness Power Station. You taste three premium Roe & Co whiskeys paired with artisan confectionery by chocolatier Tara Gartlan, blend your own from the components, then turn that blend into a cocktail. It finishes with a reserved table in the Power House Bar. Roe & Co is Diageo’s Dublin distillery, opened in 2019 and named after the 19th-century distiller George Roe. Tickets are strictly 18+, run in small groups, and are booked at visit.roeandcowhiskey.com from around €42
You are standing on a raised walkway with a working still house below you, a glass in your hand, and a chocolatier’s pairing on the table in front of you. In a few minutes you will be told to build your own Irish whiskey from three component whiskeys, and then turn it into a cocktail. That is the pitch of Beyond the Blend at Roe & Co, and it delivers on it.
We visited the distillery on James’s Street in Dublin 8 and took the Beyond the Blend workshop. This is the whiskey-led experience of the two Roe & Co runs, and it is built for people who actually want to understand what goes into a blend rather than just drink one.
What Roe & Co Beyond the Blend actually is
The experience runs for around 45 minutes and takes a small group, capped at roughly 15 guests, so there is real time with the host. It opens with a short history of Roe & Co, then moves you up onto a raised walkway above the Still House for a bird’s-eye view of production before you head into the workshop room.
From there it becomes something close to a masterclass. You taste three premium whiskeys from the Roe & Co range, and each pour is served alongside a piece of confectionery by pastry chef and chocolatier Tara Gartlan. The pairings are not decoration. A note of chocolate or pastry against a whiskey pulls different flavours forward, and tasting the same spirit with and without the pairing is the clearest lesson of the session.
Then you blend. Working from the components in front of you, you build your own blend to your own taste, and the host turns it into a finished cocktail with a few bitters to close. You walk out having made something that is genuinely yours.
The ticket also holds a table for you in the Power House Bar for a further 45 minutes afterwards, so the visit does not end the moment the workshop does. Note that this is a strictly over-18 venue, with no children admitted.
Where to sit before the tour: the Power House Bar
We arrived early and spent the wait in the Power House Bar, which is worth building into your booking. The room looks straight through to a washback and a still, so you are drinking with the production floor in view. The cocktail list is the bar’s own work, and the bartenders build to order.
We had a serve of the core Roe & Co Blended Irish Whiskey at 45% paired with a Guinness, a double flight you can order over the bar. Roe & Co is a Diageo house and the Guinness Storehouse is next door, so a Roe and a stout side by side is not a gimmick here, it is the neighbourhood.
Who is Roe & Co, and why the blending focus
Roe & Co is named after George Roe, whose distillery on Thomas Street once spread across 17 acres and stood among the largest in Europe during the golden era of Irish whiskey. Diageo revived the name, launched the blend in 2017, and opened this distillery in the former Guinness Power Station in 2019. It went on to be named Ireland’s Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Icons of Whisky Awards 2025.
The brand’s whole identity is blending. The core Roe & Co Blended Irish Whiskey was built by Diageo master blender Caroline Martin together with a group of Dublin bartenders, with the brief of creating a whiskey that could hold its shape in a cocktail as well as neat. That is exactly why a blend-your-own workshop is the right shape for this place. You are not watching someone else’s heritage from behind a rope, you are doing the thing the brand is actually about.
The whiskey in the glass
Roe & Co Blended Irish Whiskey tasting note
Nose: vanilla, ripe pear, soft baking spice, a touch of honey
Palate: creamy malt, baked apple, toffee, cinnamon, light oak
Finish: medium length, gently drying, burnt sugar and soft orchard fruit
ABV: 45% | Cask: high proportion of first-fill bourbon, non-chill filtered
The higher-than-standard 45% and the non-chill filtration do the heavy lifting here. There is more texture and more presence than the usual entry-level Irish blend, which is also what lets it stand up in the cocktail you build at the end rather than disappearing under the mixers.
Bring a bottle home, engraved
We finished by buying a bottle of Roe & Co in the shop and having it engraved. It is a small thing, but it is the detail that makes the visit stick. Months later, the bottle on the shelf is the reminder, and it opens the same conversation every time you pour it for friends.
Practical details
Distillery: Roe & Co Distillery, 92 James’s Street, Dublin 8, D08 YYW9
Experience: Beyond the Blend (the whiskey-led workshop; the Flavours Experience is the cocktail-led alternative)
Duration: around 45 minutes, plus a 45-minute reserved table in the Power House Bar
Group size: small, capped at roughly 15 guests
Age policy: strictly 18+, valid photo ID required, no children Price: from €42 per person
Booking: visit.roeandcowhiskey.com
Is it worth it?
Yes, with a clear picture of what it is. Beyond the Blend is for the drinker who wants to get their hands into a blend and understand how components add up, and for anyone who enjoys a flavour-pairing format. The Tara Gartlan confectionery pairings and the blend-into-a-cocktail finish make it one of the more hands-on hours in Dublin whiskey.
Set your expectations correctly on one point. Roe & Co is a modern, blending-and-cocktail-led experience in a beautifully converted power station, not a long walk through traditional pot-still heritage. If a deep production-history tour is specifically what you are after, pair this with one of Dublin’s older distillery visits and do both. As a firsthand hour, and as a thing you actually make and take home, it earns its place.
Our rating: 4.5 / 5
Frequently asked questions
What is Roe & Co’s Beyond the Blend? Beyond the Blend is a 45-minute whiskey workshop at Roe & Co Distillery in Dublin. You taste three premium Roe & Co whiskeys paired with artisan confectionery, then blend your own whiskey from the components and turn it into a cocktail. It ends with a reserved table in the Power House Bar.
How much does Beyond the Blend at Roe & Co cost? Tickets start from around €42 per person and are booked through visit.roeandcowhiskey.com. The price covers the guided three-whiskey tasting, the confectionery pairings, the blend-your-own cocktail and a 45-minute table in the Power House Bar afterwards. Extra drinks are not included.
How long is Beyond the Blend and what’s included? The workshop runs about 45 minutes, followed by a 45-minute reserved table in the Power House Bar. Included are a raised-walkway view of the Still House, a guided tasting of three Roe & Co whiskeys with Tara Gartlan confectionery pairings, a hands-on blend, and one cocktail made from your blend.
Where is Roe & Co Distillery and how do I get there? Roe & Co Distillery is at 92 James’s Street, Dublin 8, in the Liberties, in the former Guinness Power Station next to the Guinness Storehouse. It is a short walk west of Dublin city centre and easy to reach on foot or by public transport. The venue is wheelchair accessible.
Is Roe & Co Distillery worth visiting? Yes, especially for drinkers who want a hands-on, flavour-led hour rather than a long heritage tour. The blend-your-own format, the chocolate pairings and the still-house setting make it stand out. It was named Ireland’s Visitor Attraction of the Year at the Icons of Whisky Awards 2025. It is strictly 18+.
What is Roe & Co whiskey and what is its ABV? Roe & Co is a premium blended Irish whiskey from Diageo’s Dublin distillery, named after 19th-century distiller George Roe. The core bottling is a blend of malt and grain whiskey matured largely in first-fill bourbon casks, non-chill filtered and bottled at 45% ABV, a higher strength than most standard Irish blends. You can buy and engrave a bottle at the distillery shop.
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