A €24m investment on the Ring of Kerry, just outside Killarney, will be Ireland’s largest independent brewery, distillery and visitor centre and two flagship products have been launched to mark its arrival.

The 62,000 sq ft Killarney Brewing and Distilling on the N72 is expected to open later this summer. It aims to attract 100,000 visitors a year and will employ 85 people.

 Parent company KBD owns both Killarney Brewing Company Ltd and Killarney Distilling Company. It was founded in 2013 by Killarney men Tim O’Donoghue, Paul Sheahan, and their Chicago-based business partner, Liam Healy, who has family connections in Kilbrean, Killarney.

 

The Fossa facility, on the coach and bus route,will have a rooftop garden, as well as a 250-seat event space, a chocolate shop and other facilities. 

 On St Patrick’s Day, the company unveiled two products: an eight-year-old premium blended Killarney Irish whiskey, partnered with an imperial stout. The stout has been matured in the same Killarney whiskey casks and designed to complement the flavours of the whiskey blend.

 

On completion, the new premises will be Ireland’s “largest independently owned and co-located distillery, brewery and visitor experience”, the company said.

 

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