Business

Titanic Distillers: A labour of love, sweat and years

It has taken almost 90 years, but Belfast once again has a working whiskey distillery. After five years of painstaking planning, the Titanic Distillery has opened in the historic pump house at the Thompson Dry Dock. Ryan McAleer spoke to Stephen Symington and head distiller Damien Rafferty about a labour of love

'Blood, sweat and years': The motto on the wall of the new Titanic Distillery in Belfast's Thompson pump house. Picture by Mal McCann
'Blood, sweat and years': The motto on the wall of the new Titanic Distillery in Belfast's Thompson pump house. Picture by Mal McCann 'Blood, sweat and years': The motto on the wall of the new Titanic Distillery in Belfast's Thompson pump house. Picture by Mal McCann

MORE than a century after the powerful Gwynne pumps emptied millions of gallons of water from the Thompson dry dock to make way for the Titanic, three new copper pot stills will shortly begin processing a very different type of liquid in the same building.

Titanic Distillers have launched Belfast’s first working whiskey distillery since Dunville & Co stopped distilling its world famous spirits in West Belfast in 1935.

The result of around £8 million of investment, former lottery millionaire turned entrepreneur Peter Lavery has joined Norlin’s Stephen Symington and Richard Irwin in the ambitious and historic project. 

The Norlin duo have a strong background in hospitality and events. Their business Central Fusion is behind the bar and food services for some of the biggest festivals in Britain and Ireland, from Leeds and Reading to Electric Picnic and Slane. 

And while many other investors dipping their toe in the world of whiskey have sought only to create their own brand, Titanic Distillers have taken a much more challenging path.

“This has been a complete labour of love that has been over five years in the making,” said Stephen.

“It would have been very easy just to slap Titanic on a bottle and think you’re going to sell globally, given how well known the story is and how successful the movie was.

“But for me, it needed more than that, it needed a home.”

Titanic Distillers' director Stephen Symington (left) with head distiller Damien Rafferty (right).
Titanic Distillers' director Stephen Symington (left) with head distiller Damien Rafferty (right). Titanic Distillers' director Stephen Symington (left) with head distiller Damien Rafferty (right).

They have spent a grueling five years negotiating the planning process and the historic surrounds of the listed Thompson pump house to produce both a new tourism destination for Belfast and perhaps more significantly, the return of whiskey distillation to the city.

“I think we have been very sympathetic. The original windows had to come out, be repaired,” said Stephen.

“As much of the original features, from the crane overhead to the pumps below, have been retained.”


The Thompson pump house, located next to HMS Caroline and the imposing dry dock, remains remarkably intact.

The Thompson pump house, in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. Picture by Mal McCann
The Thompson pump house, in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. Picture by Mal McCann The Thompson pump house, in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. Picture by Mal McCann

“The building is quite incredible,” said Stephen. “This site was a hive of world class craftsmanship just over 100 years ago. Titanic was the largest ship of its time, it was global-leading manufacturing here in the city.

“Even the pumps below us were the most powerful pumps of their time.”

Still clearly visible for visitors to the new distillery, the subterraneous Gwynne pumps far below the three pot stills were an engineering miracle of their day, capable of draining 26 million gallons of water from the adjacent dock in just 90 minutes.

Such power was necessary to empty the 850-feet-long dry dock needed to fit out the Titanic and other Olympic class vessels.

Walking around the pumps as tears of water seep through the cracks in the wall tiles, the bottom level of the pump house offers visitors a very tangible sense of the area’s shipbuilding history.

The three new Forsyth pot stills where Titanic Distillers will produce their new spirits. Picture by Mal McCann
The three new Forsyth pot stills where Titanic Distillers will produce their new spirits. Picture by Mal McCann The three new Forsyth pot stills where Titanic Distillers will produce their new spirits. Picture by Mal McCann

“With the help of Damien and the rest of the team, we hope to produce world class spirits out of here,” he added.

Damien Rafferty is the head distiller tasked with overseeing Belfast’s first legal working whiskey pot stills in almost 90 years.

A former civil engineer, the Newry man fell in love with brewing and distilling while travelling Canada and Australia. He switched career to join the Haughey family’s Station Works Brewery in Newry, rising to its head brewer.

The business was later acquired by the late Dundalk-born entrepreneur Pearse Lyons, who set up a brewery in Dundalk and later opened a distillery in Dublin during 2017.

Damien went on to launch his only craft malting business and was later recruited by the Hinch Distillery.

He has now lent his talents to the ambitious Titanic Distillers’ project.

Ryan McAleer speaks with Titanic Distillers' Stephen Symington and Damien Rafferty in the surrounds of the historic Thompson pump house.
Ryan McAleer speaks with Titanic Distillers' Stephen Symington and Damien Rafferty in the surrounds of the historic Thompson pump house. Ryan McAleer speaks with Titanic Distillers' Stephen Symington and Damien Rafferty in the surrounds of the historic Thompson pump house.

“For me it’s all about the flavour and Stephen and Richard have been very good at giving me free reign here at exploring different aspects of malt and yeast,” he said.

“For me yeast is the unsung hero and we’re really going to try and experiment and produce a unique spirit here.”

With Irish whiskey required to rest in casks for a minimum of three years, the distillery plans to bring in matured whiskey and finish it on site, experimenting with various types of casks, until its own whiskey is ready. 

But in the meantime, new Belfast-made gins and poitín’s are expected from the distillery this summer.

Damien said while the building and the Titanic story acknowledges the importance of the area’s heritage, he’s also keen to look forward.

“We can look back, but also let’s try and look forward as well to what we can produce and really explore what we can make with modern technology, but also with traditional methods.

“I think what’s unique about here is the freedom we have with the equipment here to produce expressions we feel are of the time.”

The dry dock next to the Thompson pump house in Belfast's historic Titanic Quarter.
The dry dock next to the Thompson pump house in Belfast's historic Titanic Quarter. The dry dock next to the Thompson pump house in Belfast's historic Titanic Quarter.

Titanic Distillers already have their own premium whiskey on the shelves. In something of a departure from the recent history of Irish whiskey, the Titanic team have opted for a spirit with a peated note.

“We would call it a Belfast style,” said Stephen. “When you go back to 1911 when Titanic was built. Belfast was a city of heavy manufacturing and industry, powered by coal or peat, so the air was thick with smoke at that time.

“Every house around the city was an open fire of coal or peat.

“It’s a slight ode to the past and the time Titanic was built, there would have been smoke in the air, hence that peated element in the first expression was important to us.”

The new pot still installed by Titanic Distillers in the historic Thompson Dock pumphouse.
The new pot still installed by Titanic Distillers in the historic Thompson Dock pumphouse. The new pot still installed by Titanic Distillers in the historic Thompson Dock pumphouse.

The business also has a keen eye on the events and tourism market. A new motorised cart will soon begin ferrying passengers from the city centre and Titanic Belfast museum to the distillery. 

The Norlin team also plan to use their expertise to stage outdoor events at the historic sites. 

“We’ll be applying for an entertainment licence in the next few months to allow us to stage some small outdoor music events,” revealed Stephen.