The 20^th May was Whisk(e)y Day the world over, and since we’re more than partial to a drop ourselves, we thought we’d do something a bit special.

Throughout the day we hosted three free Poitín masterclasses, normally priced at £25 per person. Guests got to try four different Poitíns and a Poitín cocktail while learning the history of the homemade whiskey-turned legal spirit.

Poitín is a big part of what we do at The Sun Tavern, with us having one of the largest lists this side of the Emerald Isle.

We also launched our new Whiskey Menu on the day. Having won Imbibe’s Whiskey List Of The Year for 2016/17, we’ve certainly got something to live up to.

We introduced three whiskies from our Private Collection too. These are whiskies that are extremely rare and not normally available to our customers. They will be offered on our menu at a cost price in order to give everyone a chance to enjoy something extremely special. Check out what we’ve managed to get our hands on:

‘Dungourney 1964 Pure Pot Still Special Reserve’ – In auction originally at over £800 and available to our customers at only £30 per measure. Only 1200 of these bottles were released and are seldom seen any more!

‘Knappogue Castle 1951’ – In auction originally at £550 for the bottle and available to our customers at £20 per measure 36 years old when bottled. Was some of the last stock from the old Tullamore Dew Distillery. A true taste of history.

‘Bushmills 1975 Millenium’ – In auction originally at £200 for the bottle and available to our customers at only £10 per measure. 24 years old when bottled for the millennium. These were sold privately to investors, so it’s really rare to see a bottle on the market.

Other interesting new additions are The Boutique-y Whisky Company Single Malt, Connemara Single Malt, and the pretty exclusive Cill Áirne PX.

Come down and sip a dram!

Father’s Day lands on Sunday the 18th June this year, and we’re offering our poitín masterclasses at £40 for two people – so you’ll be able to treat him and get in on the act yourself!

Normally £25 per person, you’ll be welcomed with a reception cocktail on arrival, and then taste your way through four varieties of poitín, learning it’s history as you go. Snacks will be provided throughout, and you will finish off with a poitín based cocktail.

You’re invited to stick around for 25% off your drinks tab thereafter, and enjoy our live acoustic session from 6pm.

Poitín is Ireland’s most notorious spirit, which has been going from strength to strength since becoming legal again in 1997. The purest form of whiskey they say, The Sun Tavern hosts one of the most extensive lists in the world. The tastings will take place at 2pm and 4pm and are subject to availability.

If you can’t make it on Father’s Day, we host poitín masterclass bookings for two or more people all year round. Enquire for Father’s Day classes or regular poitín masterclasses by emailing bookings@thesuntavern.co.uk

Sambrook’s of Battersea were our pick for May’s Takeover Tuesdays and will have their beers on two of our taps for the entire month of May – if you pop in on a Tuesday it’s £3 per pint on each until the keg runs out.

We’ll have their Session IPA, London Pale Ale and the fruity/spicy Battersea Rye on rotation, and on the first and last Tuesday of the month, Max from Sambrook’s will be playing ‘beat the brewer’ at the bar – if you beat him at one of our bar games he’ll pay for your pints!

Our mates at Flying Vinyl will also be on the decks on those days – they run an awesome vinyl delivery service, sign up and you’ll get a box of the best new music on vinyl delivered to your door every month, read more at www.flyingvinyl.co.uk

We choose a different independent brewery each month, usually local, to join us for Takeover Tuesdays each month, June will be The Mondo Brewing Company‘s turn – make sure you don’t miss it!

Umbrella Radio’s ‘Non-specific’ takeover of The Sun Tavern for May coincided with the launch of our new menu

Hoxton Radio’s David Preshaah took control of the decks, whilst guests enjoyed our new ‘indigenous spirit’ based cocktails and filled themselves up with Duffy family recipe Irish Stew – read all about it here.

St. Patrick’s Day on a Friday?

Bound to be boisterous!

The afternoon saw the calm before the storm. The Ceilidh band set the perfect backdrop for folks popping in to pay their respects to the good Saint himself.

The bar began to busy as ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ floated through the air. It must have whispered to the crowd, as the Whiskey began to flow.

Soon after, it was Oyster Boy’s turn to lead the party. Shucking his oysters fresh from Chelmsford to give the masses some sustenance. Swallow or chew, vinaigrette or Tabasco? A couple of questions that flew around, and were quickly answered as minds turned back to Camden Ink.

Umbrella Radio DJ’s warmed up the decks with some Irish classics from Thin Lizzy & Van Morrison next to firm favourites from The Clash & The Smiths et al. Father Ted was also lurking on the blinds…

The Bán Poitìn cocktails were hitting the spot, with the Irish Coffee #2 keeping people pepped for the night ahead….not to mention the Poitìn shots, here, there, and everywhere.

Enter stage left, Dublin’s legendary DJ, Arveene, a giant in name and stature. He stepped to the decks with an eclectic mix of party bangers, Irish or otherwise, turning the whole place into a dancefloor, even though it was standing room only!

Never a dull moment….here’s to The Saint!

The Sun Tavern turned two this October and we celebrated with a good old-fashioned piss-up!

Umbrella Brewing Ginger Beers were going for 2 quid a bottle and the boys from Redchurch Brewery sent over a keg as a birthday present – which we put on for free until it was dead, cheers lads! (To be honest, we’re not so sure a keg is an appropriate gift for a two year old…)

Terry from the locksmiths across the street got us a specially engraved chopping board – so massive shout out to him for that, nice one Terry!

Cheers also to our friends over at The Stone & Wood Brewing Co who chipped in with a case of their Pacific Ale.  Camden Town Brewery got in on the act too, sending us over a couple of free kegs the next day – lucky us! A big thank you to those chaps as well.

Umbrella Radio and the guys at superfood were banging out the tunes as part of our first ‘Non-specific’ rock’n’roll night, Umbrella Radio’s monthly takeover – don’t miss the next one!

We launched our new cocktail menu the same day and the cocktails and poitin flowed freely late into the night – a massive thanks to all those who came and made it such a great night, those that didn’t – make sure you’re there for our third! (But why wait til then – stop by next time you’re in the area for late-night music at the best cocktail bar in Bethnal Green!)