St. Patrick’s Cathedral was more photogenic
At the beginning of August 2019, some of Scotchology went to Dublin for ten days. The aegis of the trip was a church choir residency at Christ Church Cathedral, but when not ensconced in a church pew for the daily evensong, we wandered the streets of central Dublin. But we’re not running a travel website here, so this post isn’t about the myriad of great things you can see whilst traipsing around yon fair city. The following is a collection of notes and pictures of all the distilleries (and one iconic brewery) we visited. If you want to find more in general about the trip, we suggest looking at our Twitter and Instagram profiles. We’d need an additional post of equal length to begin tackling all the pubs. We applied for asylum at the Dingle Whiskey Bar but must have appeared too shifty. Can’t say we blame them.
A more general note to begin things. After a long decline throughout much of the 20th century, the 21st century has seen a veritable flowering of Irish whiskey, bearing fruit first seeded in the 1980s. There were only four operating distilleries as recently as a decade ago, but as of June 2019 there are 25 operating distilleries, with several more planned. In fact, all the distilleries below are relatively new since Dublin had not contained a working distillery in 125 years until Teeling distillery opened in 2015. Let’s begin our journey there. Buckle in!
Teeling Distillery
Founded: 2015
Stills: 3 pot stills
Capacity: 500,000 liters per year
Irish Coffee at the Bang Bang Bar.
The “oldest” distillery now operating in Dublin, this distillery is polished and has a good rhythm. Even though the brand itself is new, the Teeling family has been in the whiskey business for generations. John Teeling founded the Cooley distillery in 1987 amongst others, so sons and Teeling owners Jack and Stephen grew up in the trade. The staff know what they’re doing too and the tour itself is excellent, striding the line between craft distilling and big industry. Being able to get so close to the wash backs is a treat and seeing some of the barrels aging in their tasting showcase room is a lot of fun. While you can select different tour package levels, everyone gets the same tour with the difference being what you get at the end-of-tour tasting. We went for the basic option and it was lovely, being a few of their core line whiskies and a delightful breakfast cocktail that went down very easy! Even better, the space where you end your tour enables you to leave your mark by writing on the walls. Even for those who don’t want a full tour, there is a manageable gift shop, cafe with some creative food options, and the Bang Bang Bar. The Bang Bang Bar is a Dublin must, and the first thing you should order is their Irish coffee, a Teeling special. While you’re there, it can be worth exploring some of the other Teeling expressions available, especially those you might not find at home. Have a bit too much to drink to feel confident navigating the streets home or driving? Stop by the front desk and they will press a literal taxi button. Within minutes, a taxi will pull up to the front door just for you. Speak the secret code they give you to the driver and you’ll be on your way to the next adventure.
Pearse Lyons Distillery
Founded: 2017
Stills: 2 pot stills
So wrong yet so right
The Pearse Lyons Distillery is housed in the gothic St. James Church, built in 1860. It was deconsecrated in 1963 after an earlier lightning strike and declining attendance. The location has been the site of a church since the 12th century and the graveyard holds some notable Irish (and English) luminaries of Dublin. The building was bought by Dr. Pearse Lyons in 2013 and refurbished into the present distillery. The tour was full of information and was the longest tour by far at 90 minutes beginning to end, perhaps spending overlong on the history of the church, graveyard, and neighborhood before we even entered the distillery proper. The melding of craft and church inside is remarkable. The stills exist where the old altar was and the stained glass windows have been replaced, swapping stories of Holy Spirit for Whiskey Spirit, and are beautiful. Having everything so immediate brings a great feeling of intimacy to the tour, as intimate as you can get in a working distillery. The hall where you finish the tour is large and can accommodate many different group sizes, though it can get a little unwieldy with larger groups from a logistical standpoint of handing out the samples. It also transitions nicely into the gift area, with some delightfully creative choices. While we were not necessarily blown away by any of the whiskies on offer, we also understand that this distillery is still extremely young and we believe what they currently offer shows some promise for the future. The most interesting sample was from a few barrels meant for finishing that they’d accidentally left in ex-sherry casks for several years. Definitely not what they’d intended, but it made a good story and the whiskey itself was fascinating to sample. We’re glad we brought a sample bottle home with us. In fact, good on them for offering sample bottles in their gift store, one of the few places that did. It can be hard to splurge for a full bottle if you don’t know the whiskey and have limited room in your luggage. A sample bottle increases the chance of tourists walking out of there with at least a little something. If they like what they sampled, they’ll be more interested in full-sized bottles. We had several members from the church choir accompany us on this tour and they all seemed to enjoy themselves immensely. This distillery clearly loves the local neighborhood and is happy to be there.
Dublin Liberties Distillery
Founded: 2018
Stills: 3 pot stills
Andy pouring us something tasty
The Dublin Liberties Distillery (DLD) is a block away from the Teeling distillery in the heart of the historic Liberties neighborhood. Like many distilleries in the area, history and locality are a big deal. The distillery entrance is not large and you can walk right by it if you’re not paying attention. The young woman who greeted us did the not-uncommon thing of asking where we were from (us clearly not being Irish) and when we answered in a general sense, surprised us by asking for more detail. Turns out she’d done a study abroad year at the University of Minnesota recently and so was passing familiar with Scotchology’s home! We then began the tour, and as luck would have it we had the guide all to ourselves. The tour did a great job of mixing the history of whiskey with the history of the Liberties and how the distillery was proud to assume its place among the titans of the past. Our guide Andy also did a good job of going through the whole whiskey making process, easily able to dive into more specific details after we assured him we were quite familiar with the basics. This was easily the best tour of the entire trip, as Andy was an absolute professional, brimming with expert knowledge of the distillery, the processes, the neighborhood, and explosives. Explosives, you say? Turns out that when you are thinking about building a distillery, this is something you consider. If you have a catastrophe with your distillery in the middle of a field, it’s only bad for your distillery. If your distillery is in the heart of an urban neighborhood and something catastrophic happens, you might have just been responsible for wiping out a few historic city blocks. No one wants to be that guy. Therefore, several areas of the distillery are blast proof, along with other safety features Andy helped implement in the design, because knowing how to blow things up also means knowing how to keep things from blowing up or at least doing so as safely as possible. And we don’t even have space for all the stories he had from being a veteran of the Irish armed forces (hence the explosives expertise). By the end of the hour, it felt like we’d been shown around a new friend’s home and we are certainly looking forward to going back. Thankfully, the whiskies we had were also good and showed much promise, being very clear they have an idea of what they want their style to be. One last fun note is that the names of all their offerings are called after a person, place or thing out of Liberties’ history.
Roe & Co.
Founded: 2019
Stills: 3 pot stills
Also cool: we’re standing on a glass bridge here
Our second favorite tour by a close margin, Roe & Company sits but a block or so away from Pearse Lyons near the River Liffey. While it isn’t a church, the building is a very imposing site behind gates replete with paid security outside the door. Roe & Company is funded by the spirit conglomerate Diageo, and it is here the benefits of being a piston in such a machine are shown. The interior is expertly designed and meticulously planned. They are the newest of the distilleries we visited but they could have been open for years if you didn’t pay close attention because of smart execution. The waiting area, which doubles as a gift shop, is compact and intimate, with some couches and chairs to take your leisure before the tour begins. Our tour guide (Samantha?) was knowledgeable, energetic and witty. Sometimes a good tour can be elevated by an exceptional guide and I think that was what we got here. Even though the distillery is owned by Diageo, it still thankfully had the feel of a small craft distillery. A standout from their tour unlike any other was that the centerpiece was a room with stations where each person was encouraged to build their own cocktail. The ingredients were pre-blended but you could focus on flavor profiles, sampling some before and then after adding the Roe & Company base whiskey to notice the difference. This seemed genius to us. Having a spirit so young, their current angle is to encourage its use in cocktails, and this element of the tour gives people a chance to see it thus firsthand. It was a fun experience, especially if you’re with people who don’t mind sharing their own concoctions. Our tour group was only four people, so it felt pseudo-private. An honorable mention does go to another room that showcases all different flavor profiles that go into the base whiskey, a bottle for each barrel. Boxes at a table contain different elements that impact a whiskey’s flavor, from barley to barrel. With the black walls and creative lighting, it was a striking space. And that seems to be what the tour focuses on, less on filling you with facts about the distillery or the neighborhood or whiskey creation – though there is plenty of that – and more about solidifying your time in a few memorable experiences. Bonus points to Samantha for totally giving us shit when we handed her a Scotchology business card. Thankfully we’d already completed the tour so she didn’t have far to throw us out.
Guinness Storehouse
Founded: 2000
Obligatory Guinness
Yes, Guinness really does have a 9,000 year lease on its property. Arthur Guinness negotiated the deal for the unused St. James Gate brewery. A copy of the lease can be viewed from the lobby as it is built into the floor. Although the Guinness building is decidedly a tourist trap, it’s a fairly enjoyable one on a rainy day, especially if you don’t mind self-guided tours and understand that one of things you are paying for is two free beers. The beer production portion of the “tour” is sadly the least engaging. If you are really curious about how beer is made, we recommend finding a local craft brewery to give you a personal tour. However, the climb up the tallest pint glass does have some pause-worthy points. The section on Guinness advertising was quite amusing, especially since Guinness is known for its rather irreverent marketing. By pure luck, we arrived at the 2nd floor tasting area at one of the few free sample times. Although we had not traveled to Ireland to drink an American West Coast style IPA, a free sample of beer is a free sample of beer. The most enjoyable part of the tour was the Guinness Academy, where you learn how to pour a perfect Guinness and why you really do need to use a Guinness glass. You can also have an official certificate printed out attesting your expertise at the Guinness tap. The 3rd floor is a collections of cafes and restaurants. Definitely a place to visit for the initiated, since you’ll likely need something to soak up your first pint before having your second. The 7th floor is home to the Gravity bar, which allows a 360° view of Dublin and drives home the point of what a low skyline the city has. Something to keep in mind is the bar ONLY accepts drink tickets, no cash or credit whatsoever. The bar was very crowded though the staff did an excellent job with getting pints out to people. The view is lovely but do not count on being able to snag a seat to enjoy it much of the time. As luck would have it, there was an actual rainbow stretching across the city while we were there. Very postcard-esque. The gift shop is located on the first floor, conveniently before you exit. It is not the best or even easiest place in Dublin to go and get a Guinness, but with the right mindset and the acceptance of spending a few Euros, it’s a fine enough time. Does Guinness really taste better at its source? Sort of. It tastes better than the average Guinness found in the United States. If possible, find one right after a new keg has been tapped, which is pretty close to how it tastes in Dublin. We figure it’s just fresher in Ireland because they drink more of it and it has a shorter distance to travel.
Jameson Distillery Bow Street
Founded: 1997
A small, intimate gathering
The Bow Street location of Jameson is rightly called The Jameson Experience and has been recently refurbished. Whiskey was made for centuries on this site up until 1971, but the location is now used for visitors. Stepping into the space feels almost overwhelming at first, with branding and bottles splashed all over the place. This was the last place we visited so opted not to spend the €50 for the basic tour. All the other distilleries had multiple tour options starting at far less than that. Unless they ended the tour with some exceptional pours, which I know they did not, then it was just a little too rich for our blood especially since I knew we’d be hearing much of what we’d already heard half a dozen other times about how whiskey is made. That being said, we decided to conduct our own tour by stepping up to one of the multiple large bars and having the bartenders guide us through the menu. Having sampled several of the offerings helped narrow it down and spending a few minutes to ask questions was very beneficial. It is worth the time coming here to pull up a seat and watch people move about the place. Wander around the small gift shops and other areas open to the public. They have chandeliers made from empty Jameson bottles for goodness sakes! A far different experience than some of the smaller distilleries nearby but worth the experience especially for that difference.
Tullamore DEW Distillery and Visitor Centre
Founded: 2014
Stills: 4 pot stills
Capacity: 1.5 million liters per year
Tullamore Staircase
Tullamore is a picture-perfect Irish town located about an hour’s rail ride from Dublin. We spent our free day – which unfortunately turned out to be a bank holiday, scuttling our plans to also visit the nearby Kilbeggan distillery – traveling to Tullamore, walking around the place without too many people about and of course stopping at Tullamore DEW. Like the Jameson Experience in Dublin, the place you visit here is more properly a visitor center. It had been the location of a bonded warehouse from when the old Tullamore distillery was active before shutting down in 1954. The new distillery was constructed nearby in 2014. The Tullamore DEW brand has gone through a few different owners before being bought by William Grant & Sons in 2010, when construction on the new distillery began. The visitor center opened in 2012. While it is sad not to be able to view the stills and other distillery production areas, the tours are quite informative and everything is very, very polished. No rough edges here. The two standouts for us were the room where the guided tour began, centered around a large table full of barley with stairs winding up to higher levels (pictured to your left), and the tasting room at the end, which is creatively outfitted with bottles, comfortable seating, and branding placards along the walls. The DEW in the name comes from the founder’s initials, Daniel E. Williams, and thus is always capitalized. It is not our favorite style of Irish whiskey yet remains quite pleasant, especially the 18 yr. Just because we don’t gravitate toward it as much as others, we can certainly see why it is as popular a whiskey brand as it is. Even the younger offerings having something nice to offer, which is not a thing every brand can claim. We decided to supplement our journey by swinging by the old Tullamore distillery nearby, virtually unmarked but still standing.
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As you can see, we enjoyed ourselves immensely and can’t wait to return to Ireland in general and Dublin specifically. We’re not about to change the name of the website to Irishology or anything like that, but don’t be surprised if a few more reviews of Irish whiskies crop up now and again. We did find a few bottles at the Celtic Whiskey Shop and Mulligan’s Whiskey Shop to bring back with us, after all. One final note, we are appreciative of everyone who we encountered in Dublin, from pub servers to distillery tour guides, they were all kind and accommodating. A special sláinte mhaith to the Dublin bartenders and tour guides who allowed us to share with them some American whiskey from Liberty Pole Spirits we’d brought with us. It was fun to bring a little bit of America to Ireland with us and most everyone agreed their job descriptions included professional development, which included tasting something they’d never had before and hearing its story.
