Dublin… the home of the most recognizable whiskey in the world – Jameson! Finding yourself in town it is unacceptable not to see one of the most famous and visiting landmarks – The Old Jameson Distillery. The museum of everyone’s Irish people favorite whiskey!
Where is it located and how to visit it?
I’ve always imagined that way the perfect place to visit – an interesting story, a cozy atmosphere and a glass of nice whiskey… The old distillery is located in the heart of the city, on Bow Street. It is easy to finding. But if you decide to visit it (which is obligatory if you are in Dublin) it is nice to book a tour in advance from the site – HERE. The price ranges from 17 to 22 euro. Depends on the desired hour of visit, as they start from 10:00 am. I advise you to take an early hour. Starting the day with a glass Jameson is very encouraging!
The interior of the Distillery and the start of the tour
As we enter, we are entering the world of Ireland’s most famous whiskey! Beautiful chandeliers, decorated bars and walls that preserve the history and diversity of whiskey… Stunned by the beautiful scenery we find ourselves somewhere around portraits of John Jameson and his wife, Margaret Haig… in anticipation of our guide. And let me just say… they had 8 sons and 8 daughters! So… The tour starts and takes us to the far 1780… This is the year in which the Bow Street distillery starts making whiskey by unknown way to anyone… Today it functions only as a museum. I can’t miss one fact… Irish people are unique in storytelling! So captivating and magnetic that you listen to them with pleasure…
Inspirational and precise – John Jameson
And John Jameson’s personality is very interesting! He is Scottish… That’s right, it’s from Scotland! Don’t you believe that the man who made the most famous Irish whiskey is Scottish? I didn’t believe it either… but it is! And his wife’s father, John Haig, is one of the most famous scotch whisky distiller in Scotland! Interesting, isn’t it? Mr. Jameson is known to have been an extremely charismatic and inspirational person. He liked to visit the ordinary neighborhood bars and have a drink with his workers. But when it came to work… the pedantry was uncompromising! The grain, the barley, the water, the cascs, the maturation… every detail was strictly monitored and tested to the utmost precision!
John makes his distillery the largest in Ireland, boosting production from 30,000 gallons a year… to 1,000,000! The family motto (Sine Mu), dating from the sixteenth century, has been followed over the years and translates to “No Fear”! There is also an interesting story about its origin but it will let you hear it on the spot. So… following him, John creates one of the smoothest whiskeys, which survives through two World Wars, the Civil War in Ireland and even the Dry Regime in USA! “So smooth I would drink it even if my name were not on it.” … the words of Mr. Jameson himself. And I dare to agree with him… It’s hard to try something better in Ireland…
Triple distillation
The tour also takes us through a hall where we can convince ourselves of the power of triple distillation… First theoretically and then practically. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the tour! You will have the opportunity to taste American Whiskey – single distilled, Sctoch Whiskey – double distilled and of course… Jameson! You will feel the difference yourself…
When is a one whiskey called ‘Irish’?
As we have already stated, it is not because of John Jamison himself, because he is not Irish! 😀 Joke aside, because the topic is very serious! The Irish are strict about the law of acquiring this nickname. The truth is that it has to stay at least three years on the island in order to be called “Irish”! And our favorite whiskey follows it closely! Certainly the period of maturation of each cask can‘t be the same but not smaller than necessary… An interesting fact is that 2% of whiskey is lost every year due to evaporation… This process is called „Angel’s Share“!
Drink time
It had passed imperceptibly 1 hour and at the end of the tour we will meet with the bar… We have one drink. Two ice cubes in the glass and a nice aroma of Jameson, caressing the senses… And at that moment you realize that the words of Raymond Chandler (written on the wall) are the truth… “A good story cannot be devised, it has to be distilled!”. And Jameson is certainly a good story…
