Temple Bar, Guinness Factory, Old Jameson Distillery
- Big Changes are Coming! New Job, Dublin, and Auckland Marathon!
- Dublin Marathon 2013 Trip Introduction
- Flight Dublin-Sydney Update – 11 hours in Lufthansa New First Class!
- Layover at CDG, The Louvre and iPass Lounge CDG
- The Louvre in Paris
- Diverted Flight and First 24 hours in Dublin
- Dublin Marathon 2013 Expo and Packet Pickup
- Temple Bar, Guinness Factory, Old Jameson Distillery
- Cheap Eats: Hot Wok and The Italian Connection
- Dublin Marathon 2013 Race Day and Review
- Irish Food: Quay’s Restaurant and Oneil’s Pub
- National Museum of Ireland
- Clarion IFSC Dublin Hotel Review
- Clarion Dublin Airport Review
Ireland is well known for their Guinness beer, Irish Coffee and Whiskey. I managed to try all of these along with their Irish Apple Cider, Bulmers.
Temple Bar
Temple Bar is an institution in Dublin. The entire nightlife area with all the bars and nightclubs is named after this bar. It didn’t look so big from the outside and looking into the windows but it occupies quite a bit of space. There are multiple rooms inside and some outdoor seating with a roof cover so you can sit there without getting wet in the rain. You are also allowed to smoke in those areas as they are considered outdoors.
The last picture was taken after I left about 11pm. The crowds started to form in front of this bar.
I had a glass of the Guinness (first picture), Bulmers Cider and an Irish Coffee (second picture) to finish the night. Everything was great. I still remember the Irish Coffee I had.
I met two couples who were there for vacation as well. A couple from Minnosota (Grampa Marathon) and another from Germany. They attended the same private concert in Belfast and decided to meet up at a few bars in Dublin. They bought me a drink (my cider) but I couldn’t return the favor. We talked for about an hour before they moved onto another bar.
Guinness Factory
I went there first thing in the morning after Temple Bar. I got up at the crack of 10am. I got a bagel sandwich at a small coffee shop across the alleyway from the hotel, barely seen in the first picture. It is the first shop in the shadow on the left hand side. It was about 5 EUR which wasn’t so bad for breakfast.
I got to the Guinness Factory around 11am. I took the Luac from the hotel to the Guinness Factory. It was a convenient ride.
I got my ticket online as I could save some money. I actually did it only because the line for tickets was rather long and I did it instantly on my phone while waiting online. The machines didn’t pick up my reservation when I tried to pick up my ticket at the automated kiosk but I went to an attendant who saw my reservation and printed out my ticket. Below is the line that goes straight to the machines to pick up your online ticket (on the right).
The tour is self guided so you can go in whenever you want. The last entry is at 5pm so make sure to get there before that. You go through various levels and rooms throughout the Factory.
The store and two rooms are on the first floor, another two sections on the second floor, and a few more on the third floor. There was a tasting room on the third floor, with the pouring experience on the fourth. There are two bars and a restaurant on the fifth floor.
There was a waterfall in one of the sections. It was a display to show how important the water is to the beer making process. The second picture is of how beer used to be moved in barrels.
The below pictures shows the section devoted to display how beer used to be moved by trains and ships to other European countries.
This pictures shows the various escalators in the Guinness Factory.
There are a total of five levels above ground, where you first enter in and see the Guinness Store.
The next set of photos is for the Tasting Room. They do a shock and awe to your senses where you walk through a dark hallway (first and third picture) and then come upon a bright room (fourth picture). You actually get a mini pint (maybe 6-8 ounces) to taste. The actual room where the tasting occurs is in a very dark room with someone walking you through the tasting. This room was a bit too dark to take good pictures in.
After you leave, you see a wall of fame, famous people that has visited Guinness. Bill Clinton also visited here.
The next section was a history of their advertisements throughout the years. There was also a wall of many of their past bottles, which was also very interesting to see.
The pouring experience was in a large dark room with two double Guinness taps at each section of the bar. Each group (~10-12 people) does their pouring at each section of the bar.
The Vertical bar is on the 7th and top floor. It has an amazing view of the city and nearby area. I was there when it was sunny so I could see pretty far out. About 30 minutes later the clouds rolled in so much less could be seen. Below is a picture of my perfectly poured glass of Guinness.
The odd thing is where the bathrooms where. Some of the workers there said there were both bathrooms on each floor. That was certainly not true. The signs also said there was a men’s room on the fourth floor. Not the case. I had to search around before finding the men’s room.
Old Jameson Distillery
I found out that Jameson had a tour right in the city from a flyer at the “Tourist Centre.” I didn’t know they had one in the city. The Tourist Centres are everywhere as they are just stalls that you can buy bus and walking tours. I could have taken the Luacs as I had a day pass but I decided to walk down Henry Street and Mary Street. It was a great choice as I saw all the major stores open there. I couldn’t see it the night before as everything was closed by the time I made it down to O’Connell street.
I got there around 4:30 and got a ticket for the tour. It left in about 15 minutes as the one leaving in a few minutes were full. The tour after mines was about 30 minutes later. Make sure to get there early enough to get a ticket for a tour.
There was a list of Jameson cocktails and also a package with dinner and a tasting.
The tours are scheduled and first there is a 10 minute entertaining movie, then a tour through the 7 step process of Jameson Whiskey production. The first picture is the model ship that was used in the Jameson commercial where John Jameson (not a real story, I checked) dives off of a ship to save a barrel of his Jameson whiskey. The second picture is of a small theater with the movie.
Below are a few pictures of each of the steps of production.
The key points I got from the tour is that the whiskey is triple distilled, a first in its day. Also, the whiskey is aged in different barrels that were previously used for sherry or port and then they are mixed together. They call this step “marrying.” This step takes a few days for the flavors to mix and then it is bottled.
The our leads to a tasting of a glass of Jameson neat or with Ginger Ale and Lime. A select few (I didn’t make the cut) got an opportunity to try the Jameson along with two American whiskeys, Johnny Walker Black and Jack Daniels. From previous experience, I would say that the Jameson I tasted was much smoother than either one. I was really glad I got it neat instead of with Ginger Ale and Lime.
There was a reserve bar where you can have a tasting of more rare Jamesons. The second picture is of the lobby after they have closed. The store is to the far left, with the tour ticket booth is in the middle of the picture. To the right is the full bar (not pictured).
