Two new additions have been added to the Smithwick's Experience museum in Kilkenny, which recently reopened following a long closure dating back to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Smithwick’s Experience tells the story of the drink and its 300-year history, at the place where it was once brewed in Kilkenny’s Abbey Quarter.
The attraction closed in spring of 2019 when the pandemic started and owners Diageo announced last year that it would not be reopening because of lower-than-anticipated visitor numbers pre-Covid, as well as difficulties with implementing social distancing requirements of the time.
However, following a local campaign, Diageo reversed that decision and the museum has reopened with new features the Barrel Yard and the Flavours Room.
The Barrel Yard is the location of the former brewery yard where, historically, wooden barrels were repaired and stored, later to be filled with Smithwick’s and distributed to pubs around the country.
It is now designed as a space for visitors and tour groups to relax before and after their visit to the Smithwick’s Experience and for people to gather on a social basis in Kilkenny.
Meanwhile, the Flavours Room explores the ingredients and flavour profile of Smithwick’s.
It is the penultimate stop on the tour and, according to the museum, "visitors’ sense of sight, smell and touch will be engaged as they learn from the experts how the core ingredients of the iconic red ale evolve from their rawest form into the beer itself".
Speaking at the launch of the new Barrel Yard and Flavours Room, Diageo Irish Brand Homes managing director Catherine Toolan described them as "fantastic new additions" to the Smithwick’s Experience which will give visitors a "heightened appreciation" for what they are seeing.
