Crolly Distillery will open its doors to the public for a full day of free distillery tours on Monday, January 19, replacing the depressingly commercialised concept of ‘Blue Monday’ with an uplifting community-focused alternative.
The Donegal distillery has branded the open day ‘Crolly Monday’, offering complimentary guided Distillery Experience Tour & Tasting throughout the day as a gesture of appreciation to supporters and as a way of encouraging people to get out, connect, and engage with local culture during one of the quietest times of the year.
Rather than promoting the idea of a single “most depressing day”, the distillery says it wanted to respond in a more constructive way — by opening access to a cultural and tourism asset that draws many thousands of visitors to the Donegal Gaeltacht year-round.
The initiative follows a significant year for the distillery, which included the launch of its world-first PX Single Cask release and multiple industry awards, including being named Letterkenny Chamber’s ‘Best Tourism Business 2025’ and again being ranked on TripAdvisor one of the Top 10% of visitor attractions worldwide. The distillery has also seen continued growth in domestic and international visitors, contributing to off-season tourism in the region.
Co-founder Conor McMenamin said the focus was firmly on giving something tangible back to their loyal followers and community.
“January can be a difficult month for many people, and it is generally a quiet period for tourism in Donegal. We felt the most meaningful response was to open our doors and share what we do, free of charge, as a genuine thank-you to the people who’ve supported us. From January to March, we’re also encouraging people to enjoy our experience by allowing friends to go free on our ‘Tour & Tasting’ experiences,” he added.
Friends Go Free January-March
Throughout January, visitors who book any Crolly Distillery Experience online can bring a second guest completely free of charge.
The ‘Friends Go Free’ offer is available exclusively on all ‘Tour & Tasting’ bookings made in January and redeemed anytime up to March 15. The initiative is designed to encourage people to visit together, take their time, and to share the experience with friends or relatives during the quieter winter months, when tours are slower-paced and often more personal due to lower numbers.
The free ‘Tour & Tasting’ tickets for Crolly Monday are strictly limited to Monday, January 19 and must be booked online in advance using the voucher code crollymonday. Once capacity is reached, bookings will close. The ‘Friends Go Free’ offer is available online using the voucher code cara2026 and runs until 12am on February 1 with bookings valid until March 15. Bookings, as well as full information on the Crolly Distillery experience and Croithlí premium Irish whiskeys, are available at: thecrollydistillery.com
