The Scrap Heap

Irish triple-distilled whiskey is a process in which whiskey is heated to the point of evaporation, gathered up, and cooled down back into liquid form three times. Or something like that. The guide gave us cocktails at the beginning of the tour, talked reasonably fast in a charming accent, and admittedly my partner and I were both taking lots of pictures and cracking jokes with the tour guide. I might’ve missed something.

Let me lay down what I remember from touring two distilleries and the Guinness Factory over the course of less than three days:

about whiskey

The Irish distill whiskey three times because the Scottish distill whiskey two times, and they age it for three years and a day because the Scottish age theirs for only three years.

Most whiskey is made and stored in County Cork, not in Dublin. This is because it should be rightfully illegal to store that much alcohol in a population center.

Whiskey used to be made in Dublin up until the late 1800s. There was a big fire at some point, I forget why, and over a dozen people died. Supposedly, not from the fire, but from drinking the whiskey that flowed down the street which was so potent (over 90% alcohol, I believe) that they drank themselves to death. I heard that on not one but four different tours, so it must hold some degree of truth in it.

There’s been a rebirth in the past eight years where distilleries are reopening across Dublin and young folk are drinking whiskey again that’s brewed from the source. Teeling Whiskey is the first, and they’re leading the way with distilleries after a century and some. They’re having a bit of a renaissance, and it’s beautiful.

guinness factory

The biggest factory and largest tourist draw in Dublin is Guinness. Guinnesss Factory complex is over 64 acres of land and Guinness is older than the government of Ireland itself. When Ireland became a national government, they wished to use the Irish harp for their logo, but Guinness had already patented it, so the government had to flip it 180 degrees in order to use it. Seriously, about a dozen people told me that and I heard it every day on the bus tour. Some facts did stick.

The Guinness family was huge. Arthur Guinness started his business in the 1750s with a small brewery and then by 1799 or so switched to just the dark porter beer it’s known worldwide for today.

St. James’ Gate Brewery has a nine thousand year lease on it, so Guinness is rolling in money and not paying hardly any rent. They’re huge, and at their height, a significant portion of Dublin worked for Guinness.

The Guinness family paid for the restoration of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and that’s why the clock was repainted gold and black, the colors of Guinness. They also built several historical buildings around the city, blocks and blocks of them. There is no Dublin without Guinness, and the Guinness experience is the number one tourist destination in Dublin for good reason.

I visited on a Friday, purchasing my tickets weeks in advance because we were told they often sold out. It took my partner and I a few hours to tour the six story facility, and we ate at one of the restaurants along with enjoying our complementary pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar after our tasting experience. Viewing all of Dublin with a pint of Guinness in hand felt like the best way to kick off a weekend of whiskey and walking.

jameson distillery

Our second destination on Friday was Jameson Distillery, the sole distillery that survived the 19th century big closure where most whiskey distilleries went out of business. Jameson whiskey is no longer made in the Dublin distillery, and they’ve converted their facility into tasting rooms and a cultural center for tourism with one of the most interactive and best rated tours in Dublin.

The tours are kept under thirty people, and everyone is gifted a Jameson-inspired cocktail before being led through the distillery by a fantastic and very well-informed guide. This is where I stopped taking pictures.

We chose the tour where you could taste three whiskeys, and maintained this habit for every tasting we had afterwards regardless of where we went. The more trials, the better.

I feel the need to say that I’m not a whiskey drinker, but when in Rome Dublin, do as the Romans Irish do. My partner enjoys whiskey, so here I was attempting to blackout any memory I had of previous whiskey experiences and reacquainting myself with the liquor.

Let me tell you now: it was worth it.

Whiskey is delicious.

We tried three whiskeys, and I liked all of them. In fact, I’m sitting here now with a snifter of Jameson neat, having added it to my liquor cabinet.

I’m a convert.

I believe I simply needed to know how to drink it better, just like wine. For that reason alone, I believe this tour was one of the most worthwhile. We learned so much about how to drink and appreciate whiskey, what to look for to know what makes a good one, how to examine the glasses, to sniff, to drink and to savor. We learned to look for the legs as they drip down the side of the glass, what a quick versus a thick looks like and feels and tastes like, and how that makes a difference. We sniffed various different whiskeys, some of which we didn’t try. We savored the drink in a way I’d never thought of before.

It’s complex. There are aftertastes, and the barrels do make a difference, as well as who you’re around who’s drinking it.

I believe I just needed someone who knew the drink to teach me how to appreciate it.

If you’re ever in Dublin, go to Jameson. Let them teach you whiskey.

teeling whiskey

Teeling Whiskey was the only distillery where we were able to see the actual process of brewing in front of us. Everywhere else, the distilleries were more cultural museums or tourist destinations. Teeling, however, brewed their whiskey right there on site as a point of pride, and you could feel it from the moment the tour started.

They were more of a start-up, and it felt like it in all the right ways. They were young, excited, and wanting to show you the ground level of what whiskey was and what it could be.

Because I had been other places, I think I appreciated it more. I love people who love their craft, and it means all the more for me when they’re as into the tour as I am into the whiskey.

Inside, the place was hot, and I mean burning up hot. It was easily mid to upper 20s in there, and I was wearing a sweater. We were sweating, which at first seemed welcome considering how cold it was outside, but later on it became a touch sweltering.

However, seeing the process in person was a lot more immersive than having it explained to us like it was at the Jameson Distillery or at Guinness Factory. It felt personal to look at these big machines that were named after the founder’s daughters and the first casks brewed by this distillery. The history was being made in front of us, and we were witnesses to all of it.

The tasting experience, however, left a bit to be desired. The emphasis was on the tour, and the whiskey was more of an afterthought. Yes, we were trying it, but the tasting experience was not there as much. It was more casual, and the presumptions were made that we knew what we were doing.

Thankfully, we did, but if we hadn’t been to the other places first, I would’ve been lost the entire time.

The whiskey itself was delightful, though noticeably stronger and not as deeply colored. They’re a newer distillery and I’m sure part of that shows.

In comparing the two, I purchased Jameson, and of course there is Guinness in the fridge.

where to next?

I’m sure there’s more to remember about that golden triangle of amber liquid, but that’s all I have for the moment. The weekend was full of laughter, jokes, and some of the best whiskey I’ve ever drank.

These posts might simply be me regurgitating fun facts for a while until I figure out a better way to structure something interesting or more narrative.

I admittedly spend an awful lot of my trips running about learning things and then promptly forgetting them. Maybe you all can help me with that.

Onto the next adventure.