The second instalment of Dublin Cocktail Fest is set to launch this October. The all-city festival’s cocktails will contain an Irish spirit or liqueur as their leading ingredient.

The festival, launched by the Great Irish Beverages, will take place at over 30 venues across Ireland’s capital from Oct 12 to the 17.

The whiskey and spirits industry is thriving once again in Ireland. Distilleries are opening up across the country crafting everything from single pot still whiskies, premium gins and vodkas, old school poitíns and liqueurs infused with wild Irish berries. In the Irish whiskey business alone, exports are expected to double by 2020 and double again by 2030.

Cocktails are a fantastic way to enjoy such drinks. Dublin is heavily populated with fantastic bars, award winning restaurants and top class hotels who are now experts at mixing and serving drinks at a very high level.

The city's bartenders have a massive grá for native Irish drinks. They have been quietly developing menus that are more focused on distilled Irish drinks.

Great Irish Beverages’ most successful festival to date was Dublin Gin & Tonic Fest in June which solely featured Irish gin. Both Dublin locals and bartenders always want to discover what can be achieved with local spirits and liqueurs. Pairing the drinks with Irish foods is also of high interest to both the industry and public alike as they help to forge excellent culinary experiences. Adding to this there are another 21 distilleries planned to open across Ireland. All of these factors led us to believe that Irish cocktail culture needs to have a spotlight placed upon it.

Many of the Irish brands involved in the festival this year will be hosting public tastings and masterclasses at some of their favorite venues.

Every participating venue has been asked to create a specific cocktail to sell for the week at a 30 percent discount to anyone who has a festival wristband. The wristbands cost €5 and will be available at each of the venues, they can be used throughout the week at all of the venues. Each of the cocktails must contain an Irish spirit or liqueur as their primary ingredient. So if they want to run with an Old Fashioned, it's got to have an Irish whiskey. Or if they want to feature a martini then it has to lead with an Irish gin or vodka. If they'd like to create something sweeter, they may use one of the many Irish liqueurs.

Which venues are involved you ask? Well… 57 The Headline, Balfes, Bow Lane, Brasserie Sixty6, Bronze, Bull & Castle, Candlelight Bar, Coppinger Row, Diep Le Shaker, Drury Buildings Secret Bar, East Side Tavern, Ely CHQ, Fade Street Social, Fire, Foley’s Bar, Harry’s on the Green, House, Koh, Peruke & Periwig, Saba, Söder + Ko, Sophie’s, South William, The Blind Pig, The Chelsea Drug Store, The Exchequer, The Liquor Rooms, The Meeting House, The Vintage Cocktail Club, The Waterloo Bar, The Woollen Mills, Upstairs at Kinara Kitchen.. There are still more venues to be announced.

While you get tasting keep in mind that the public votes for best cocktail by using #BestIrishCocktail. For more visit their Facebook page here.