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Private rural Ireland whiskey tour with Tullamore D.E.W.
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From €489 per person
This is the whiskey tour for people who want to get beyond Dublin and into the Ireland the coach tours never reach. Your driver-guide collects you in the morning and heads west through the Midlands, where the rolling countryside, stone walls, and small market towns feel genuinely removed from the capital. Over ten hours, you take in two working distilleries and Ireland’s oldest pub, tasting your way through some of the most distinctive whiskeys the country produces.
The first stop is Kilbeggan Distillery, one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Ireland. The masterclass tasting here is the real thing - you work through Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, Kilbeggan Single Grain, Tyrconnell Single Malt, and Connemara Single Malt. That last one is worth noting: Connemara is Ireland’s most famous peated whiskey, and if you’ve only ever tried the smooth, triple-distilled style, it’ll change your picture of what Irish whiskey can be.
From Kilbeggan, you head to Athlone for free time and lunch, then stop into Sean’s Bar. This isn’t tourist theatre - the Guinness Book of Records recognises it as Ireland’s oldest pub, with records going back over a thousand years. Sean’s also produces its own whiskey, and you’ll taste both their Single Malt and Specially Blended expressions.
The day wraps up at the Tullamore D.E.W. Distillery - a state-of-the-art facility producing one of the biggest Irish whiskey brands in the world. The tour is impressive, the tasting is premium, and it rounds off a day that takes you from small-craft heritage to world-scale production in a single loop. You’re back in Dublin around 6:30 PM, having covered more whiskey ground than most visitors manage in a full week.
Kilbeggan is worth slowing down for. It’s one of the oldest licensed distilleries in the world, not just Ireland, and the fabric of the building reflects that - pot stills, water wheel, wooden vats that have been in use for generations. Your guide at the masterclass will give you the context that makes the tasting land properly, so ask questions.
Peated Irish whiskey surprises most people. The Connemara Single Malt in the Kilbeggan tasting has a smokiness that most visitors don’t expect from an Irish whiskey. If you’re a Scotch drinker who thinks Irish whiskey is too soft, this one’s for you. If you’ve never tried peated whiskey before, try a small amount before committing - it’s a distinct style.
Sean’s Bar is worth lingering in. The pub dates back over a thousand years and the walls literally show it - archaeological investigations found wattle-and-daub material and coins behind the plaster. It’s a real working pub, not a recreation, and it still draws a local crowd. Have your tasting, but stay for a second drink and just sit in the room.
Athlone deserves more than a quick lunch. The town sits on the Shannon, with a medieval castle on the bank and a compact west side full of good cafes and independent shops. Your guide can point you toward somewhere decent to eat, and if you’re there on a Saturday there’s a market worth checking.
The Midlands countryside isn’t what people expect. Most visitors picture Ireland as all dramatic coastlines and mountain passes. The Midlands are quieter - bogland, cattle farms, long straight roads flanked by hedgerows. It’s a completely different pace, and that’s part of why this tour works.