The inaugural Kerry Drinks Festival will take place on Saturday, November 15, at Killarney Racecourse.

The festival was officially launched this week with key sponsors Dingle Distillery and Carry Out Killarney.
The festival will bring together more than 65 distilleries, breweries, and producers for a day of sampling and socialising. Each brand will offer selections of their products to try, from whiskeys and gins to craft beers, ciders, and liqueurs. Every attendee will receive a Kerry Drinks Festival glass to take home. Artisan food will also be available for purchase.
The day will begin with a Trade Expo at 2.30pm, which is for professionals from the bar and hospitality industries. Attendees will have the chance to meet with producers and make business connections.
A masterclass will be held from 6pm to 7pm, where Dingle Distillery’s Paddy Foley and Dave Cummins will guide guests through a tasting. The main event for the public runs from 7pm to 10.30pm. During this time, guests can meet with producers, sample a range of products, and watch live barrel-making demonstrations by Dair Nua Cooperage.
A special 10-year-old Dingle single malt whiskey, created for the festival, will be exclusively on sale at the Carry-Out Killarney stand.
The event is organised by Sonya and Laurie O’Dwyer, who also run the Cork Whiskey Fest. Speaking at the launch, Paddy Foley from Dingle Distillery said, “As a Kerry-based business, we’re excited to raise a glass to the first-ever Kerry Drinks Festival. More than a festival, it’s the launch of a movement that celebrates Ireland’s drinks heritage and current innovation.” John Fleming from Carry Out Killarney added, “We are delighted to be part of and an official sponsor to the inaugural Kerry Drinks Festival here in Killarney. For the town to host an event like this is a fantastic achievement.”
For more information and to secure your spot, visit kerrydrinksfestival.com. Tickets for the masterclass cost €27.50, and general admission is €47.50. A 25% discount is available for members of the emergency services.

SIDE BAR
A greener festival

In line with Killarney’s policy to reduce single-use plastics, the Kerry Drinks Festival will be a cup-free event.
Every guest will receive a specially crafted tasting glass to use for sampling. The tulip shape glass is designed to concentrate flavours. Rinsing stations will be available throughout the venue to ensure clean glasses between different tastings.

A Killarney bus driver has suggested a simple measure that he believes could ease one of the town’s ongoing traffic problems.

He claims that cars parked outside the Friary, at the roundabout linking Upper College Street and East Avenue, are causing significant tailbacks stretching back as far as Lewis Road and Rock Road.
According to the driver, when vehicles attempt to turn right onto East Avenue and the pedestrian lights at the rear entrance to the Outlet Centre turn red, buses and cars heading straight on towards Lower Park Road are blocked. He says the parked cars effectively make the filter lane redundant, leading to gridlock.
With up to ten buses an hour passing through the junction between Local Link, Bus Éireann, and the new Anseo service, he argues that the issue needs to be addressed urgently. He warned that the Anseo service will be undermined if buses cannot access the station at the upper end of the Outlet Centre efficiently.
He has suggested that removing the parked cars or installing bollards to prevent parking would allow traffic to flow more freely and resolve what he describes as one of the key choke points in the town.