Kilkea Castle was built in 1180 and is the oldest inhabited castle in Ireland. Having been purchased in 2016 and following a substantial investment across the resort, Kilkea Castle has rightfully earned the reputation as being one the leading castle hotels in Ireland. 

Due to the popularity in and resurgence of Irish whiskey, they have created a new whiskey menu that is suitable for guests who have a passion for whiskey and guests who are new to the world of uisce beatha, alike.

Their new whiskey list is home to over 70 pot stills, malts, and bourbons from around the globe. A tasting experience at The Keep Bar in Kilkea will bring you across the world in pursuit of your perfect blend. With guidance from top-class whiskey experts, guests can learn about the drink’s dynamic history which, unbeknownst to many, began in Ireland as far back as the 12th-century.

If your idea of a great evening is sipping on a good Irish whiskey, whilst gaining an insight into the various tasting profiles of whiskies from around the world, then you should reserve a Whiskey Tasting Experience with one of the in-house connoisseurs at Kilkea.

This will give the guest a one-hour tasting experience, with a blend of entertainment, tales of the different selection of whiskies and an overall evening that will begin or continue their whiskey experience.

At this tasting you can expect to taste whiskies from Japan, USA, and Scotland as well as blends produced right here on Kilkea’s doorstep in Co Carlow. 

Their carefully selected, high-end whiskey range includes the Midleton Very Rare 2022 and Whiskey Dunville 18 which only had 989 bottles released, as well as Glendalough and Teeling 25-year-old.

Their whiskey is sourced with a view to unearthing hard-to-find bottles, many of which have been purchased at Irish whiskey auctions.

The jewel in the collection is the Bushmills 25-and 30-year-old Irish Single Malt Whiskies. In celebration of the 415th anniversary of its licence to distil, Bushmills Irish Whiskey has revealed two new rare, aged whiskeys which have been created as permanent additions to its core range – a 25-year-old and a 30-year-old single malt.

Drawn from the greatest reserve of aged Irish single malt whiskey in the world, and among the rarest small batch whiskeys ever produced at the distillery in County Antrim, the 25 and 30-year-old mark Bushmills’ bold entry into the ultra-prestige single malt segment. Both are superb whiskeys, distinctively Irish, with deep triple distilled smoothness and are wholly complex and utterly unique.

Bushmills 25- and 30-year-old Irish Single Malt Whiskeys are available in selected retailers. Bushmills 25-Year-Old is bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered and priced at €850/£790 for 700ml. Bushmills 30-Year-Old is bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered and priced at €2,000/£1,900 for 700ml.

Only 120 bottles of each were released in the Republic of Ireland.

If you are a fan of the Irish nectar of the gods, a visit to Kilkea Castle should be on the cards.