OLD
JAMESON DISTILLERY - DUBLIN
Touring Whiskey Making in Dublin
John Jameson
began making whiskey in Dublin in 1780 after purchasing a distillery
on Bow Street in west Dublin already in operation. Jameson
was actually a Scotsman, but built the Irish Whiskey brand into the
world’s number one whiskey by 1805. Jameson is not the oldest
Irish Whiskey maker, that distinction belongs to Bushmills in the
north of Ireland, but John Jameson and Sons is still the largest
exporter of Irish Whiskey and the number three whiskey seller in
the world. The Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin no longer actively
makes the whiskey, the distilling operations have moved to Cork in
the south, but the old buildings now house a tour, bar and restaurant
entertainment center and museum.
Visitors
to Dublin can take the Old Jameson Distillery tour, which provides
a look into the history, processes and mystique of whiskey
production. While not a ride, the Old Jameson Distillery Tour shares
something in common with an amusement theme ride. After waiting in
the restaurant and bar in the main hall, the tour is taken in a group,
entering through a door on the appointed time to watch a film about
the history of Jameson and whiskey process. Before the movie begins
the guide will ask for volunteers. If you like tasting whiskey, volunteer,
because this will play an important part at the end of the tour.
After the film,
the tour leads through the stages of whiskey making the Jameson
way, past stone grinding wheels, copper vats and cutaway
barrels, learning how malted and unmalted barley is mixed, kiln dried,
milled into grist, mixed with water in a mash and turned into a liquid
called wort, added with yeast to ferment, then distilled to separate
the alcohol from the water, matured, mixed and vatted. What you’ll
mostly hear about on the Jameson tour is the difference between Irish
Whiskey and other whiskeys like Scotch and American blends, bourbons 
and Jack Daniels sour mash. Irish Whiskey, especially Jameson prides
itself on its smoothness, created by three distilling steps, compared
to two distillations of Scotch whiskey and only one for American
whiskeys. And where in Scotland Scotch peat smoke infuses the malt
with the distinct flavors of Scotch, Jameson’s Irish whiskey
uses the barrel fermentation to add flavor to the alcohol. This distinction
will now play its part in the end of the tour, when tour guests get
to enjoy a glass of Jameson’s with a mixer, and those volunteers
join a panel of tasters to sample the different aforementioned varieties
of 
whiskey while friends, family and other tour-goers get to watch
their fellows get a bit sloshed. From a brand marketing point of
view, it is hoped that the tasters will chose the smoothness of the
Irish Whiskey over that peaty old Scotch and sour mash of an American
bourbon, though the Irish doesn’t always win. After the tour,
guests are invited to go shopping in the Jameson gift store with
a full range of Jameson products for sale, or have a bite and a glass
in the 3rd Still restaurant or JJ’s Bar.
While the tour
is certainly a brand marketing tool, it is an entertaining and
informative hour journey through the world of whiskey, with an
opportunity to imbibe a bit in the dusky liquid of kings. The Old
Jameson Distillery tour is open 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm with
the last tour at 5:30. In the evenings, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays
from April to October, music and entertainment parties called “Shindigs” can
be booked with advance reservation. A similar tour is also offered
at the distillery in County Cork at the Jameson Experience. Bow Street
is a little side street one block west of Church Street north of
the river from Cornmarket. For city bus 90 from city center the stop
is Aston Quay, or the Old Jameson Distillery is a stop on the Dublin
On-Off Bus Tour route. By car, parking in the Smithfield Car Park
on Queen Street, or side streets with 2 hours meter time. © Bargain
Travel Europe
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Web Info
Jameson
& Sons Distillery
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
SEE ALSO:
DUBLIN’S TEMPLE BAR - PUBS & IRISH MUSIC
COLLINS BARRACKS - MILITARY AND ARTS
ST. COLUMB'S CATHEDRAL - LONDONDERRY
ULSTER
AMERICAN FOLK PARK
CLIFFS
OF MOHER - THE BURREN SEA COAST
TULLAMORE
DEW WHISKEY & IRISH MIST
