Tasting Rooms, Ireland

Michael Grubb Studio collaborated with leading flavour-based design, architectural and food designers Bompas & Parr, to deliver an exclusive scheme for the Tasting Rooms experience.

This was going to be the greatest place in the world to taste Guinness.

The 2 million visitors that visit each year will be taken on a journey through a series of chambers to define the iconic taste of Guinness. Working with flavour scientists, Bompas & Parr created an environment where Guinness was at the centre of every design decision, including the lit environment.

We worked in collaboration to create a lighting scheme that promoted the ethos of each chamber via dramatically lit and contrasting spaces. Beginning in a darkened corridor, each chamber contradicts the last, not only through the use of lighting, but also through sound and smell-scape.

We created an energy efficient lighting scheme whilst maintaining a dramatic display of both dark and light spaces. This balance allowed attention to be drawn from the room to presenters when necessary, or to put the spotlight on the drink itself when it comes to the tasting experience. This was a highly ambitious project. We like to think that we helped achieve what Guinness were aspiring to deliver.

Catherine Keegan, Visitor Experience Manager at the Guinness Storehouse, commented, “the unveiling of The Tasting Rooms here in the Guinness Storehouse marks an exciting development into the realms of experiential and sensory tasting innovations.”