Jameson Distillery ~ Midleton, Ireland
The Jameson Distillery in Midleton is where they actually make the whiskey today. The distillery in Dublin is the old distillery that is no longer in use. Between the two, I chose to tour the one in Midleton because if I went to the store and bought a bottle of Jameson today, I know exactly where it came from and to a Nerd like me, that's pretty cool. I'm sure the old distillery is equally cool because it's more historical - we're talking about Irish Whiskey - there's no wrong option here!
Can I just say that I love touring distilleries. I love seeing how things are made in general, but the science and art of making alcohol is fascinating to me. The Jameson Distillery offers a great tour - very informative (but not boring). As usual, it ends in a tasting room where you get to sample some whiskey. They give you a sample of a scotch whisky, Jameson, and an American whiskey (I believe it was Jack Daniels) so you can really see the differences in the flavors because of how each kind of whiskey is made.
There are multiple tour options depending on what you're looking for. They offer a premium Whiskey tasting where you get to sample some fancy whiskeys, so if you're a Whiskey kind of person, then maybe the €25 price tag on this sampling would be worth it for you to try some of the high-end options. My brother is a big Jameson fan. We still opted to do the standard tour but then he splurged on a rather expensive bottle of Jameson that they only sold directly at the distillery. To me, splurging on a bottle of whiskey that you can't get anywhere else in the world is well worth the hefty price tag. So I would always suggest you do the standard tour and save your €25 to put towards a bottle of something in the shop instead. That way you can take it home with you and continue to enjoy long after you've returned from your trip.
**See my full Ireland itinerary here.
Adventure Always.
Mary Kate
