Shot after shot, you will be hearing “Sláinte!” a lot. The Gaelic word means “Good Health” in English, and is often shouted as a form of “Cheers!” before a drink.
This is not a sponsored post.
Sláinte!
Location
The day we arrived to Dublin was wet and rainy. The streets were littered with distressed and destroyed umbrellas that could not handle the Irish winds. We marched our way a few blocks in the rain—from the Spire to the Jameson Distillery—and was promptly welcomed by the warmth of the Irish: Jameson Irish Whisky.
The displayed whiskey still.
We entered their historic distillery with dripping wet clothes and was greeted by vintage and industrial style of the Jameson Distillery. The hallways are decorated with the history of the distillery and Jameson Family. For the museum lovers out there, you will enjoy the set up and learning about the history.
Cost
Prior to our trip, we ordered the tickets online, and could pick them up at the ticket office there. That way, it was a quick line and wait before the tour started.
The floors are clear in some areas to show the original structure.
Out of all the packages available, we choose the Bow Street Experience. This tour included a 40 minute, interactive tour, comparative whiskey tasting and a complimentary whiskey drink. The cost was 20 Euros (or about $23 USD) per person.
What to Expect
After you wait for all the members of the tour to collect in the museum section of the distillery, the tour guide will lead you to the first room. In the first room, we circled around a large table in the center of the room. As the tour guide spoke about the history of the Jameson family and progression of the distillery in Ireland, images were projected onto the surface of the table and told the visual story. It was like a mix of a video and hologram, and mesmerizing to watch.
The Jameson displays.
Next, we were led into the second room. Throughout the room were stations for us to stand around while the tour guide walked us through the process of distilling the whiskey. At each station were samples of the different types of barley and wood from the barrels. This interactive activity was a lot of fun, but it doesn’t stop there.
The last room was the comparative tasting room. Here, we each had three shot glasses and a glass of water in front of us. The beauty of Jameson whiskey is it is distilled three times. First, we tasted American whiskey, which is distilled once, and we felt the burn in our mouths. Second, we tasted the Scottish whiskey, which is distilled twice, and we felt the burn in our throats. When we took the last shot of Jameson whiskey, we could definitely taste the difference, and could feel the warm burn in our chests.
The three types of whiskeys.
Finally warming up with the entertainment and warm liquors, we moved to the main room of the distillery for a complementary drink. Since it is not a full service bar, the options of a whiskey drink were very limited. However, the atmosphere and Irish cheer (aka. The amount of whiskey in each drink) made up for it.
My complimentary drink.
Things to Know
Jameson Whiskey is the #1 Irish Whiskey in the world.
You may see the family motto “Sine Metu” on the bottle. This means “Without Fear”.
The distillery did not sell whiskey by the bottle until 1968. Prior to that year, they sold the whiskey by the cask.
Smiles after sips.
The Experience
Jameson Distillery Bow St. Experience tour is a must when visiting Dublin, Ireland. Despite Guinness being the poster child for Ireland, I enjoyed the tour of the Jameson Distillery more than the Guinness Brewery. Even if you are not a big whiskey drinker, the interactive presentations and activities were entertaining and informational, which is something I cannot say for Guinness tour.
If you want to learn more about the Guinness Storehouse, check out my post Is the Guinness Storehouse Worth It.
___
Have you been to The Jameson Distillery? Let me know your thoughts!
