(Welcome to the Old Jameson Distillery! )
Almost everyone knows that the Irish love to drink! And, it's not at all a coincidence that the famous Guinness beer comes from there... if you are interested in the history and visiting the Guinness Storehouse, you can check out one of the reviews that I have written about it on my profile.
However, another of the most well-known attractions that you definitely have to visit (and is less than a 10 minute walk from the Guinness Storehouse) is the Old Jameson Distillery, known for selling its famous Irish whisky, John Jameson & Son Limited (or JJ&S). I'm very sure that you will have already tried it because they say that it's one of the best in the world.
How much does it cost to visit?
Standard tour tickets cost 20€ each (approximately $23. 69), but I recommend that you buy your tickets online in advance because the price will always be lower. We decided to buy the Dublin Pass, which includes entry to more than 25 attractions in the city, priority tickets, and lots of discounts for a much lower price than what you would pay by visiting (and paying for) each one separately. If you what more information about what the pass includes and how to get it, don't hesitate to visit my personal blog where I explain how having bought our Dublin Pass benefited both myself and my family.
If you are an Erasmus student, the tour will only cost you 16€ (approximately $18. 95). Do you see now? Being a student has its advantages from time to time, especially when it comes to travelling around Europe.
I don't consider this place to be "family-friendly" in terms of coming with children, but if you want to bring them, their ticket will cost 10€ (approximately $11. 84), and if you come with a couple of them, you will able to benefit from family tickets which make it much cheaper. The latter is also possible if you come in groups of 15 or more.
Exclusivity, charm, and elegance upon entry
Unlike many tours that you can do at your own pace and with a device that translates it into multiple languages, this tour is a little different... One of the drawbacks of this tour is that it's guided by a woman speaking in English, and you have to follow the group. This tour is a little less lively than others, like those of the National Wax Museum, the Guinness Storehouse, or Dublinia, however, they also have their own charm. Without a doubt, the staff at the distillery deliver the tour full of excitement and energy, almost as if they were doing so for the very first time. If your concern is that you aren't going to necessarily enjoy it, don't worry, I can assure you that you'll leave having loved it.
Like all group tours, you will have to wait until it's time for yours to start, but it's fine to grab a drink in the bar or admire the original entranceway, of which the decoration and design is unique and original, while you wait. It's worth taking a photo of it - don't worry, it's completely fine to do so. I recommend that you take photos of the candelabra made from whisky bottles and of the floor, which is, in parts, made of glass, and below, you will find a kind of hidden stone path illuminated in a very elegant way.
(With a bar like this, nobody would have any problems waiting the necessary amount of time for the tour to start. Observe the elegance of the glass floor, the lighting and the unrivalled design. )
The time has come: time to start the tour!
Before I start, I wanted you to know that this is the oldest distillery, founded in 1780 by John Jameson with the motto, "Sine Metu", meaning "fearless", which clearly worked, as his business was successful in the spirit of entrepreneurship. This was also something that helped with all the changes that were made within the company and the methods of distillation used to ensure that its whisky was the best in the world - apparently, it was of some use. This old motto appears on all the Jameson bottles, in case you hadn't noticed it before. These facilities were there for almost 200 years, until 1971, when it was decided that production was to be moved to the other side of Ireland, to the county of Cork, where tours are also given. The facilities were joined together in order to run excellent tours, which I will talk a little bit more about below.
During the tour, we were grouped with ten people. It all began in a little cinema room, where the guide asked us to sit down and watch a brief video in English about the history of the factory and its current importance in a global context. The video doesn't last long, maybe somewhere in the region between five and ten minutes.
(It's in this little cinema room where the tour will start. Here, you will meet both the guide and your future tour companions; maybe you can make some friends and have a drink with them afterwards. )
After getting into a literal time machine, the guide is going to explain the eight stages involved in the production of Irish whisky in the different rooms and floors that form just a small part of Old Jameson.
Grain store
In the first stage, we will be able to see the grain store, where they explain a bit about the three main ingredients in the factory to you: Irish water (the same that's used in Guinness), they say that the quantity and quality is excellent; malted barley; and, finally, untreated barley. In this particular room, they emphasise how the barley was transported during the harvest season, by horses and old wheelbarrows. The daily work was extremely tiring for the workers, as before they had levers and pulleys, the sacks (that weighed up to 224 pounds, approximately 100 kilograms) had to be carried on the workers' backs. This was not only incredibly tiring, but also very dangerous, and led to many accidents in the workplace. In this first room, you will be able to see a replica of an old, wooden, two-storey wine cellar that housed all the sacks of barley; you can also see a scene recreation of a man carrying the sack on his back whilst trying to climb a wooden staircase.
(In the background, you can see a man lifting a sack up the wooden stairs. Don't focus your attention on the man playing the piano, as the one who is truly suffering is the man in the background! )
Malting
The second stage is malting, and it's here where we moved to another room, where there was a small projection to better show the malting process to us. Despite there only being 15 to 20 people on each tour, the guide always uses the microphone to ensure that no one misses their lively explanations. Although this is just one of the earlier stages in the process, it's one of the most important in terms of guaranteeing the smooth taste and preventing it from becoming smoked. This process has changed, as the barley was previously dried in closed ovens.
The process of whisky production differs from country to country. For example, in Scotland, the process involves the barley being smoked with peat, as this gives it a different taste, which is preferred in that country. This smoked taste can be appreciated if you end up trying Scottish whisky, but you won't find it in the Irish version.
Grinding
The third stage consists of grinding. Previously, the barley was ground to obtain the grain that was kind of like flour with a thick consistency. In the past, a type of water wheel was used, which consisted of a system of teeth and wheels, to turn the mill's main wheel. It's for this reason that, in this room, you will find replicas of old mills.
(This replica is a lot bigger than it looks in the photo - the mill is the size of a person like you or me. )
Soaking
This fourth stage consists in soaking, where the batch obtained earlier was mixed with hot water, not boiling, at a temperature of around 60°C in a receptacle called a "soaking barrel". In the room, you will find yourself with one of these aforementioned soaking barrels, which will be in working condition, so that your experience is more realistic. This mixture was usually shaken with some huge rakes so that the starches found in the grains would become fermentable carbohydrates. This process takes around four hours: the liquid that was obtained, known as "wort", was sweet and was then sent to the next stage of the process.
(During this stage, the soaking process is explained: the yellowish liquid that you see is what they call "wort" and that tube on the right leads it to the fermentation stage when it is ready. )
Fermentation
Fermentation is the fifth stage (calm down, we're almost finished! ). This is one of the most interesting rooms, as you will be able to see the enormous, yet very old, tanks where the "wort" (obtained in the soaking stage) was moved to another, larger container, where a liquid raising agent was added in order to start the fermentation process. The containers had to spend approximately 80 hours like this so that all the sugar turned into alcohol. This liquid obtained in this stage still isn't whisky - it's called "wash" - because it only contained around 8% alcohol, which is just a little more than the percentage found in beer. However, this was already a big step in the right direction because it was now ready for distillation process.
(This is where the "wort" was fermented in order to become "wash". These are the old and huge containers where everything is just thrown in together. The guide is a good comparison tool for you to work out their true size. )
Distillation
Distillation is the heart of operations here at the distillery, as this process is the one that makes the whisky one of the best and most well-known in the world. For those who don't know the distillation process well, it consists of the separation of the alcohol and water due to their different boiling points. For example, if we put alcohol and water together and begin to boil them, the alcohol will evaporate faster (given its low boiling point) and will cool down rapidly in a pure state. Traditionally, this process was carried out in the so-called "pot stills", which are made of copper and are absolutely huge, and this was where the "wash" from fermentation and the alcohol were condensed.
Now, here comes one of the secrets as to why Jameson is one of the best whiskies in the world: this whisky has passed through the distillation process not once, not twice, but three times in order to purify the alcohol as much as possible. In general, American bourbon is only distilled once, and Scottish whiskies twice! The theory is that the more it is distilled, the higher the quality and the smoother the taste. In fact, in one of the rooms during the tour, they give you three glasses of whisky: one American, one Scottish, and the last, Jameson Irish. In this way, you can really compare the effect that the different distillation processes have on the whisky. This whisky tasting is free and comes included in the price of the tour, although it's not for everyone... well, at least in my case it wasn't, as pure whisky is a very strong drink that not many can stomach. For those who are unsure, you will be sure to find a glass of water in the event that this experience is equally as strong for you as it was for me (well, only if you finish the whiskies as fast as I did).
(It's in this special room where they give you three different whiskies to try, so that you can compare the flavour that each distillation gives each one. )
Maturing
The penultimate stage is that of the whisky maturation. During this stage, the alcohol was emptied into oak barrels and were stored in large storehouses that had to be dark and full of aromas to help the whisky reach its full maturation. Who would have thought that the aroma in the storehouse would help speed this process along? The barrels are usually imported from Spain, America and Portugal; if you didn't already know, it's important to mention that Portugal is famous for its wine production and produces some of the best wines in the world. In my blog, you can read a little bit about my experience in the wine cellars in Porto. The barrels from these countries are usually used for the maturing of sherry, port and bourbon.
Another thing you learn about on the tour is chemistry! In the barrels, different tannins can be found, which give the Irish whisky its trademark golden colour.
Previously, there was a job that isn't very common nowadays. The coopers were those who were tasked with the assembling and maintenance of the barrels; in fact, Guinness Storehouse also talk about the importance of the coopers during their tour, which is also highly recommendable. This worker would learn how to make the barrels over a seven-year period! After this, he would make a barrel in front of a master cooper to establish if he was qualified and whether he passed "the test".
Barrelling
Woooo! We have arrived at the final step: the barrelling of the whisky before leaving it to rest. This stage came before the alcohol went to be bottled; the mature whisky was emptied into an enormous barrel and was left there for some time, in order to reduce the alcohol concentration level to 40%, until it is ready to be tasted. The process is currently still the same, it's just carried out with new technological innovations in terms of the machinery used.
Don't leave before having your free drink!
With your entry ticket, you have the right to claim a free drink made with Jameson whisky! In a climate-controlled room with several rooms and a nice atmosphere, you can go to the bar to order your ginger ale with Jameson Whisky. This drink tastes incredible - in fact, my mother and I ended up drink my friend's and my cousin's too. Although, mind you, drink it responsibly because the alcohol level is quite high and you soon feel the effects (I am speaking from experience).
(Here I am with my first sample of ginger ale. This photo is compulsory. )
(And this photo was taken after having stolen my cousin's ginger ale, although that's obvious, right? Remember that the alcohol levels are high and sometimes you don't feel them, hahaha. )
(A lovely restaurant located by the exit where you can try even more. The decor is equally as elegant and doesn't leave anything to be desired. Didn't you already realise that they try to keep a consistent golden colour scheme in the entirety of the distillery? It's exactly the same colour as the whisky itself! )
Take a walk around the gift shop
You cannot leave without buying something for your family, your friends, or, at least, yourself. In the Old Jameson shop, there are items ranging from whisky (of course) to clothing. So, I am sure that there will be a little keepsake that will fit into your budget (a keyring, at worse, no? ). The shop is very elegant and they accept all types of payment with any international credit or debit card.
Something that you absolutely cannot leave without is your personalised bottle of whisky that you will be able to get for just 100€. But what's special about this bottle? Well, it's a bottle that you can fill up yourself with Jameson Select Reserve Cask Strength Black Barrel, and then you will personalise it by putting your name, the date, the number of the barrel and bottle, and the percentage of alcohol (approximately 60%) on the label. In doing this, your name forms part of the history of the whisky and is a really original gift for the recipient... so much so that they won't want to even open it. It's one of those gifts that cannot be compared with anything else in the world.
Sign up for the Jameson Whiskey Masterclass
If you were left wanting more, sign yourself up for the "Jameson Whiskey Masterclass", which consists of you being guided by experts to taste the difference between grain whisky and malt whisky whilst trying four samples: Jameson Original, Jameson Reserve, Jameson Black Barrel and Jameson Gold. This experience is not included in the tour, but you can enjoy it for just an additional 30€ (around $35. 54). Bear in mind, however, that this masterclass experience is only available from Friday to Sunday and you have to reserve your place in advance.
Final Recommendations
If visiting this distillery wasn't enough for you, you can go to the current factory located in Midleton (in the county of Cork) and have a Jameson Experience at the facilities there.
- The taking of photos and videos is permitted at all times during the tour.
- Bear in mind that the tour is usually conducted in English.
