Copeland Distillery

Gareth Irvine founded Copeland in 2015 and, after a crowdfunding round, opened it in 2019 in the old cinema on Donaghadee's Manor Street, taking a 125-year lease on the building. It distils gin, rum and whiskey by the harbour — its contemporary gin took a top trophy at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in 2022 — and runs tours and a café for anyone who wants to see it work. Named for the islands off the Donaghadee coast, it is a founder-led craft distillery that put a working still back into a seaside town's old picture house. Book a tour; the building alone is worth it.