So you may have seen from my social media that I’ve been in Killarney Ireland for the TBEX travel blogger conference. I really enjoyed the conference and the experiences that they gave us – including lots of opportunities to drink local gin! Not only did TBEX showcase local Dingle gin and one of my favourites, Bertha’s Revenge at the opening night party, but we also had the chance to make an Irish martini at the Ross Hotel. So here are my recommendations on where to drink gin in Killarney:
Killarney Gin Guide
*Disclosure: please note that this post contains affiliate links – these help keep me in martinis via commission when you click on them, I’ll never link to something I don’t rate!*
The Pink Lounge @ The Ross Hotel
The Ross hotel is fun and trendy and the Pink Lounge is no exception. As the name suggests it has a LOT of pink.
The Ross Rocks!! (especially everything pink in the Pink Lounge)
I was lucky to have a martini making lesson as part of the TBEX experience, they take their gin seriously here…
A seriously well curated gin selection at the Ross
With around 80 Gins and growing, the Pink Lounge focuses on quality gins from around the world, as well as the best of Ireland. While they can arrange gin tastings for you, I think the classic cocktails are amazing here.
The dry gin martini served with a twist
Bar manager Patrick showing us how it’s done – note the jars of botanicals lined up at the front of the bar, they host gin tastings here and these are the best props!
So we may have had a few martinis… from front to back dry, dirty and strawberry (Monkey 47 shaken with strawberries for a subtle fruit flavour)
They love gin so much at the Ross that they made their own!
The story of the Ross’ own gin starts with a passion for great gin and ends after the bar team spent a day at a distillery testing recipes. Each of the staff members had their own recipe, from floral to heavy citrus, and these were taste tested before they came to a decision on the final flavour. Which one won? Well it was the most floral of the gins they made.
The key area of decision making for any bar making a gin is versatlity. So whilst having the gin neat in a martini is great, it needs to work well for the staple gin and tonic serve. And the Ross nailed it! They serve their gin and tonic garnished with pink grapefruit and basil to complement the floral notes and it makes a very refreshing G&T.
Celtic Whiskey bar
Yes I know it says whiskey in the name, but this incredibly well stocked bar not only has an IMMENSE selection of Irish, Scottish and even American whiskey, but also gin!
Check out just some of the gin selection in the menu below:
Celtic Whiskey has a great selection of gin!
And in case you can’t decide which gins to try, they also have an Irish Gin & Tonic flight that let’s you sample four – Dingle, Bertha’s Revenge, Glendalough and Thin gin.
The selection is very broad and includes seasonal variations on some of the local gins. There is definitely something for everyone in this bar, even for whiskey haters like me…
And in case you need something to line your stomach, I highly recommend the cheese board!
I would totally recommend visiting for the food too, sometimes a tasting requires some nibbles on the side.
JM Reidys bar
JM Reidys is a Killarney institution. This bar is a maze of different rooms, different bars and even a courtyard. Definitely keep exploring and don’t stop in the first room you find! You will discover live music in at least 3 different places even on a week night!
Look at these great shelves!
Some beautiful bottles
They serve their drinks in copa glasses with the most amazing garnishes
Two of those I tried – Gunpowder Irish gin (named after the tea included as a key botanical) and Mor which has an amazing red berry flavour
And the local gin – made literally up the road in Dingle! I drank a lot of this in my time in Killarney
Murphys Ice Cream shop
So I know this is *technically* eating and not drinking, but it’s the most inspired way to have gin! (Or should that be #ginspired?!)
Behold I’ve found the holy grail of ice cream!
All of their options sound amazing, but I only had eyes for the Dingle gin ice cream
The recommended pairing with the gin ice cream is the blackcurrant sorbet.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, I hope you find some ginspiration in my gin guide to Killarney – now you know where to drink gin in Killarney!
Let me know if you have any more recommendations in the comments below!
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Anna says
I absolutely love the focus of gin on your blog! You’ve certainly found some awesome places to find it, and I nearly fell off my chair when I read about the gin ice cream! The look on your face in that photo is priceless! I will go there someday, that’s for sure ?
Katie Hughes says
Haha let me know if you do go there Anna – ps that picture was after about 2 whiskey cocktails and 2 Dingle g&ts!
Adrienne says
Your post is making me thirsty!! And hungry… gin ice cream?! Sounds too good to be true haha. Thanks for all your tips here, hopefully I will make it to Killarney and some of the spots you recommend! Do you know if Dingle gin is available in other countries? Never heard of it but now I want to try!
Katie Hughes says
Hi Adrienne – I’m sure you can get Dingle Gin in Europe (I know they have distributors in the UK for example) – check out the Dingle Distillery website: http://www.dingledistillery.ie/gin/
Lisa says
I needed to know this when I was there! Will need to head back to visit these bars. Great post.
Katie Hughes says
Thanks Lisa!
Faith Coates says
So sad I missed TBEX, I have just arrived in N. Ireland and am planning a great deal of touring and tasting on this trip as it is going to last 6 months. Great piece I don’t like gin but these new artisanal ones are so tasty I may become a gin drinker.
Katie Hughes says
Even if you don’t like the gin they serve great cocktails and plenty of whiskey Faith!
Margarita Ibbott says
We visited the Beara Peninsula on our pre-tbex tour and we sampled the very first batch of Beara Ocean Gin. It was glorious. I regret not buying a bottle and bringing it home.
I also did the whiskey flights at Celtic Whiskey Bar and Larder and came to appreciate Irish Whiskey so much.
Loved the food too.
Katie Hughes says
I’d had loved to visit Beara – can’t wait til they distribute in London!!