Pearse Lyons, the Alltech billionaire, was in ebullient form on Monday at the Irish Pubs Global Gathering event in the Doubletree hotel, formerly the Burlington, in Dublin.

An Irish-born, US-based yeast boffin who likes nothing more than distilling a drop of the craythur, Lyons told me he is buying a church in which to make his whiskey. Do you think they will call it The Holy Spirit?

Tale of two stills
Lyons bought two stills last year and sent them to Ireland before he had given a thought about where to house them. They have been effectively kipping on the couch of The Carlow Brewing Company ever since.

Lyons revealed, however, he has agreed to buy St James Church near the Guinness Storehouse, where he now hopes to house them.

The property deal is subject to due diligence and the whole proposal is subject to planning. When does he think it will happen? "Whenever they let me," he said.

Palace Bar partners
Separately, the well-known Palace Bar in Fleet Street has partnered with the Teeling Whiskey Company to produce a new single malt called the Fourth Estate. How very literary.

The Palace, traditionally a favourite haunt for the waifs and strays of Dublin journalism, has ordered 1,000 bottles of the good stuff.

Right there on the label is the legendary face of Bertie Smyllie, who was editor of this newspaper for two decades from the mid 1930s.

Reputedly, he sometimes darkened the pub’s door once the paper had gone to bed.

Now, there’s an idea for tonight ...