Re-opened, expanded and with a new spotlight on social street food gatherings with a splash of live music, the Smithwicks Experience in Kilkenny has come on board as one of the main sponsors for this year’s Savour Kilkenny food festival.
Since reopening in the autumn of 2022, Smithwick’s Experience Kilkenny has become one of the city’s top tourist attractions and a magnet for visitors from across Ireland and overseas. As the home of Ireland’s oldest ale, it’s a little to be expected. To celebrate, Smithwick’s Experience Kilkenny has become one of the main sponsors for the four-day-long festival which runs from 27-30 this month. Throughout Savour, festival-goers will be able to enjoy Smithwick’s in the Brewers & Distillers Tent in the shadow of Kilkenny Castle on The Parade.
Admission to the nearby Smithwick’s Experience Kilkenny will be discounted for the weekend and the adjoining Barrel Yard venue is very much being touted as the place to be on the Sunday evening for a not-to-be-missed free event that includes live music and sees various tasty tacos paired delectably with Smithwick’s ales. Manager of of the Experience on Parliament Street in the city centre, Ignacio Peregrina, says Smithwick’s has a long history of supporting festivals in Kilkenny and it is delighted that Smithwicks Experience is a main sponsor of this year’s Festival.
“Since our reopening last autumn, we have been at the fore in promoting the rich food and brewing heritage of Kilkenny and its hinterland. The brewing of Smithwick’s is dependent on the highest quality hops, malt and barley from the grain farmers of the South East region, many of whom have continued this fantastic tradition for generations.”
“We look forward to meeting beer drinkers at the Brewers and Distillers Tent in the festival area on the Parade, to welcoming guests to the Smithwick’s Experience and to our event on the Sunday from 6pm onwards in The Barrel Yard.”
“We have given huge prominence to the local brewing and distilling tradition since our festival began, highlighting the growing local drinks industry which uses the best of local ingredients. The tradition of brewing has been central to the food industry in Kilkenny for centuries and we are glad to have one of the names most associated with that tradition providing support for and participating in our festival”, added fesival manager Marian Flannery.
“As a local employer who rely on visitors to our city, we know that the Smithwick’s Experience Kilkenny have also recognised the role our festival plays in promoting our proud food and drinks culture. We are also looking forward to having the Barrel Yard as a new and exciting venue in the Brewery Quarter hosting an exciting event on the final evening of our Festival.”
And as a local (me, that is), who was there for the original launch of the Smithwick’s Experience, if you’ve not had the chance to pop in and take a tour or see the space for yourself, the October bank holiday weekend might just be the right time to do it.
