Nestled amid the storied lanes of Dublin’s Liberties, Pearse Lyons Distillery occupies the lovingly restored St James’s Church, its new glass spire gleaming as a beacon above the city skyline. The site, once a medieval house of worship with graves dating back to the 1500s, now breathes new life as a small yet splendid whiskey temple where copper stills stand before stained glass windows depicting the pilgrimage of whiskey and cooperage traditions.

Its origins trace directly to Dr Pearse Lyons, a Dublin-born biochemist and brewing pioneer, whose ancestors were coopers in the same quarter. Armed with the first Irish master’s in brewing and distilling, Pearse worked with Irish Distillers before founding Alltech in Kentucky, where he launched Lexington Brewing & Distilling and Town Branch Distillery. In 2013, he and his wife Deirdre acquired the derelict church—just two weeks before its designation as a national monument—and embarked on a nearly five-year, €20 million restoration that unearthed Pearse’s own grandfather’s grave within, melding family, site, and spirit. The distillery welcomed its first visitors in 2017 under the stewardship of their son, Mark Lyons, continuing the family’s connection to the trade.

Behind the altar stand Vendome copper pot stills—nicknamed Mighty Molly and Little Lizzie—featuring a rectifying column unique in Irish whiskey, giving the team precise control over the spirit’s character. Grain and malt mashes ferment in open Oregon pine washbacks before distillation yields a fresh new-make at around 72 to 74 percent ABV, reduced to cask strength of 62.5 percent. Maturation unfolds in freshly disgorged ex-bourbon, rye, beer-barrel, and stout-barrel casks imported from Town Branch, lending fruit, malt, and roasted chocolate nuances. The core range—Pearse The Original, Distiller’s Choice, and Founder’s Choice—is bottled at 43 percent, non-chill-filtered and uncoloured, with expressions ranging from citrusy aperitif styles to deep, woody, sherry-tinged blends. Notably, the 5-Year-Old Single Malt was Ireland’s first newly distilled five-year statement whiskey in over two decades when released in 2018.