Following its July 4 theatrical release in the UK and Ireland, Swipe Films’ A Sip of Irish, directed by Frank Mannion (also producer and company MD), will be released across digital platforms Amazon Prime, iTunes and Microsoft on July 14.
The film screened for buyers at Cannes 2025, where it sold to Ascot Elite for German-speaking territories, Gate 23 for North American airline rights as well as Spafax and Aer Lingus for UK and Irish airline rights. Swipe Films will release the film in US cinemas and on VOD on October 24.
“Sip gives us a great opportunity to re-enter the US distribution market for a cinema release that will be led by event screenings with strategic partners like Tourism Ireland and the various global drinks brands featured in the film, followed by a digital release capitalising on the awareness brought by the cinema release to the 32 million Irish Americans,” says producer/director Mannion.
The film is executive-produced by Oxana Popkova, edited by Charlie Emseis, with music composed by James Jones. The film is a Swipe Films production in association with Carlow Castle Films, Kasiyan Knockbeg Entreprises, CBS 3A1 Motion Picture Fund.
A Sip of Irish is the fourth documentary directed by Mannion, after his effervescent debut Sparkling: The Story of Champagne featuring Stephen Fry, which was followed by Quintessentially British with Ian McKellen and Judi Dench, and Quintessentially Irish with Pierce Brosnan and Jeremy Irons.
The film’s cast is impressive, featuring Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill (who was born and grew up in Omagh, County Tyrone and owns Two Paddocks vineyard); Michael Flatley (founder of Flatley Whiskey); former actor turned wine writer Oz Clarke (the first person apprehended by Superman in the Richard Donner 1976 classic); Deirdre O’Carroll, the Jameson whiskey blender; Dermot Sugrue (the Limerick wine maker behind England’s best sparkling wine, Sugrue South Downs), and the proud Irish-American Bo Barrett of Napa Valley’s Chateau Montelena (played by Chris Pine in Bottle Shock) who shocked the wine world by winning the Judgment of Paris blind tasting, defeating the French and putting Napa Valley on the wine map.
Also featured are legendary Devonshire Soho publican Oisin Rogers, TV presenter Laura Whitmore, singer-songwriter Una Healy, Banshees of Inisherin actor Pat Shortt, the Honorary Rory Guinness, MasterChef Anna Haugh, Ballymaloe pastry chef JR Ryall, and the Muff Liquor Company of which Russell Crowe is a key investor.
Mannion tells how Swipe Films embarked on “an innovative campaign of immersive screenings for the Irish and UK theatrical release.” It set up partnerships with global brands such as Jameson Whiskey, Baileys, Hennessy, the Muff Liquor Co and Bulmers and wineries Chateau Leoville Barton, Phelan Segur and the Rothschild-owned Chateau Clarke for a series of (sold-out) screenings across Ireland and the UK at the likes of Midleton Distillery in County Cork, Baileys Farm in County Wicklow, the Irish Whiskey Museum in Dublin and the Wine Geese Festival in Enniskillen.
The film will have its French premiere at the Cite du Vin Wine Museum in Bordeaux on July 16 in partnership with Bordeaux Wine Board, the CIVB. The film also tells the little-known story of the Wine Geese, Irish emigrants who established world famous chateaux in Bordeaux, Cognac, Napa Valley and Australia and New Zealand.
“[A Sip of Irish] is a cinematic toast to Ireland’s culinary and drinks legacy and tells a fascinating story that will surprise international viewers who think of Ireland as just the home of Guinness and Irish stew,” comments Mannion. “There are over 82 million people around the globe with Irish heritage, so they are our target audience. The film should be perennial viewing every St Patrick’s Day, so with the help of our international distributors, we should be able to turn our screens green every St Patrick’s Day!”
“We have conducted extensive research on Irish audiences over the last couple of years,” Mannion continues. “The consistent feedback was that independent film aficionados want a memorable theatrical experience. We answered that call with immersive screenings where the audience has an opportunity to sample the product shown on screen. It has been a big crowd-pleaser, and we plan to repeat its success and follow that model in other territories. In particular, we plan to continue those partnerships for the North American release of the film.”
