Guided Meadery Tour
An entertaining hour-long tour of Ireland's first meadery in 200 years. You'll hear the myths and legends of mead, taste three unique raw honeys, and follow the meadmakers from fermentation through maturation to bottling.
Kinsale Mead Co.
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About
Ireland's first new meadery in 200 years, tucked behind Lidl in Kinsale and only a ten-minute walk from the town centre. Drop in for a tasting or book an hour-long tour that ends with a flight of award-winning meads in an oak bar cut from a 300-year-old tree.
Things to Do
Tasting in the Oak Bar
Every tour finishes in the oak bar tasting room, where you sample a range of the award-winning meads and compare their flavours. The bar itself is cut from a 300-year-old oak that fell on Fota Island.
Drop-in Tasting
Short on time? Just call in for a guided mead tasting lasting around 15-20 minutes, for €12 per person. No tour booking needed, though tastings are only for adults.
Shop and Take Home
The on-site shop stocks the full range of bottled meads, tasting gift sets, West Cork wildflower honey, T-shirts and illustrated historic maps of Ireland's mead and honey heritage.
Myths, Legends and History
The tour is as much a history lesson as a drink one, illustrated with artwork tracing mead's place from Celtic Ireland to the wider world. It's a good wet-weather option in Kinsale.
Honey, Bees and Sustainability
The tasting introduces the raw honeys behind each mead and the vital role of bees. The company runs a 'Save the Bees' sustainability programme and is an Origin Green member.
Plan Your Visit
- Hours: Tastings: open 7 days a week, 11am-5pm (hours updated regularly on Google). Guided tours: May-Sep 7 days a week; Oct Tuesday to Sunday, at noon, 2pm and 4pm.
- Admission: Tasting €12 per person; guided tour €22 per person (includes the tasting)
- Parking: Free parking right in front of the meadery, in the yard behind Lidl.
- Food: There is no cafe or kitchen on site, as visits centre on the mead and honey tastings. Kinsale town centre, a 10-minute walk away, is known as the Gourmet Food Capital of Ireland, with plenty of cafes, pubs and restaurants.
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