5 Distilleries in Dublin to Visit
Ireland is internationally known for producing superior whiskey, perhaps one of the key selling points to many when considering visiting. Of course, Jameson is the most recognized label to come from Ireland, as well as one of the most famous names in the world, but that’s not to say that Ireland doesn’t offer far more options, many of which are more unique and often preferred.
However, while whiskey is perhaps one of the things Ireland is most and best known for, it’s worth noting that for nearly a century, distilleries in Ireland were closing up shop, leading to what was almost the end of Ireland’s presence in the whiskey industry. It wasn’t until Cooley Distillery, which was owned by the Teeling family before being purchased by Beam Incorporated in 2012, did Ireland truly see the beginning of its whiskey resurgence, especially in Dublin.
Now, Irish Whiskey is the fastest growing premium spirit internationally, with countless new distillers popping up, bringing a fresh approach to this practiced trade. In the last decade alone, four new whiskey distilleries have opened in Dublin. If that doesn’t seem like a big deal, think again. In 1985, there was only two operating distilleries in Ireland, now there are over thirty (including those that are currently operating, in construction, or permitted for future openings). In fact, it was predicted that by 2025, Ireland will have nearly 50 working distilleries. Of course, that may change due to COVID-19, though perhaps recent events will only further demonstrate the demand for premium whiskey. After all, what else was there to do during lockdowns?
So when visiting Dublin, it makes sense to want to explore this famous part of Ireland’s history, especially as it’s going through a modern renaissance. Find four newer distilleries to tour in Dublin’s Liberties, a neighbourhood steeped in distillation history (this is where the old distilleries were located before closing their gates), which also happens to be home to the Guinness Storehouse. Then you can cross the Liffey and explore Jameson Bow Street in Smithfield. While Jameson no longer does the bulk of its production here, the original distillery is still open for tours and tastings, and sells a Bow Street exclusive whiskey limited to this location. It also has a fully operating bar, perfect for trying out whiskey cocktails or exploring their various bottles.
Jameson Bow Street
When people think Irish whiskey, Jameson tends to be the first name that comes to mind – rightfully so as it’s the most famous brand from Ireland, perhaps only second to Guinness. With a long history of distilling, it’s no wonder that Jameson is internationally recognized with a first-class tour experience for guests. Though the Bow Street distillery is no longer the main production site for Jameson whiskey - now it’s located in Midleton – it is still worth visiting to tour the original distillery, learn about the history of the brand and distillation process, as well as enjoy a nice drink at the bar, which not only offers a wide selection of reserves and blends, but has an extensive whiskey cocktail menu - perfect for those who don’t necessarily enjoy a whiskey neat or on the rocks.
When visiting Jameson Bow Street, there are various tours and class options you can choose from, allowing you to tailor your visit to your tastes and interests. The most popular, which runs every day, with multiple tours an hour is the ‘Bow Street Experience’ - a 40 minute guided tour that introduces you to the process and the history of the Jameson brand, a comparative taste testing, and a complimentary drink.
Discover the tour options available below:
Secret Whiskey Tasting
€30 p/p
4o minute whiskey tasting of 4 premium blends, including two Bow St. Distillery exclusives
Available daily, 7 days a week, but with limited time slots
Bow Street Experience
€25 for adults, €19 for students
40 minute fully guided tour
Comparative whiskey tasting (Jameson vs. leading competitors)
Complimentary drink (whiskey straight or a mixed whiskey drink)
Available daily, 7 days with multiple tours an hour
This tour is also available in French at select times
Cask Draw Experience
€20 p/p
Learn how to cask draw and enjoy a tasting
Live maturation warehouse visit
Limited persons and availability - the tour runs daily but limited time slots available
Whiskey Cocktail Making Class
€50 p/p
Learn how to make whiskey-based cocktails using Jameson
Taste and create three Jameson recommended whiskey cocktails
Includes a complimentary Bow St. Journal to take home with you
Offered daily; Limited availability
Black Barrel Blending Class
€60 p/p
90 minute whiskey blending masterclass
Taste premium Jameson whiskeys in the maturation warehouse
Cask draw your own bottle, creating your own blend to take home
Limited persons and availability - the tour runs daily but limited time slots available
Teeling Distillery
For whiskey aficionados, there’s a good chance you’ll have heard of Teeling before, whether from reading up on the history of whiskey distilling in Ireland, or because of their recent attention and awards.
While the Teeling family has a long history in distilling whiskey - dating back to the late 18th century - the Teeling Whiskey Company itself was only established in 2012, the distillery opening in 2015. Since formation, they have received numerous accolades, including the ‘Best Irish Single Malt’ and ‘Best Irish Single Grain’ at the 2016 World Whiskies Awards. Recently they broke world records with the release of their Single Pot Still whiskey, their first barrel-aged whiskey distilled on site in Dublin. Not only was it the first commercial whiskey to be distilled in Dublin in nearly 50 years, but it broke a world record for most expensive bottle of whiskey sold from a new distillery; the bottle sold for £10,000 at an auction in September 2018 to launch their new Dublin distilled whiskey.
As noted above, Teeling credits itself with bringing back whiskey distillation to Dublin as they were the first distillery to open in the city in nearly 50 years. With a claim like that, how can one not want to explore and join one of the offered guided tours, which includes a tasting, perfect for any level of whiskey drinker.
All three of the main tour options include a tasting and fully guided tour of the distillery, which will cover the history of the brand, the rise of whiskey production in Ireland, international demand and exportation, as well as the various issues that plagued the industry until its recent revival.
Tour Option 1: The Teeling Tasting
Cost: €17
Fully guided tour of the Teeling Whiskey Distillery
Tasting of the Small Batch Teeling Whiskey
A hand crafted seasonal whiskey cocktail using Teeling Whiskey
Tour Option 3: Distillery Select Tasting
Cost: €30
Fully guided tour of the Teeling Whiskey Distillery
Premium sampling of flagship and distillery exclusive whiskeys, including: Teeling Small Batch, Single Malt, Distillery Exclusive, and Single Pot Still.
Tour Option 2: The Teeling Trinity Tasting
Cost: €22
Fully guided tour of the Teeling Whiskey Distillery
Tasting of the Teeling Trinity Collection: Small Batch, Single Grain, and Single Malt
There are also private and more premium tours are available, including the luxury ‘Fill Your Own’ experience for €150. This allows you to cask pour and fill your own bottle of whiskey, personalizing the label to your specification, on top of a distillery tour and premium private tasting.
It’s always recommend to book in advance, regardless of the tour type, though walk-ins are available – you may just need to wait until the next available further explore your options.
If you are looking to take a tour in another language, it is especially recommended that you book online in advance as there can be limited days, times and options, whereas the basic Teeling Tasting Tour runs every 20 minutes from 10am daily.
While Pearse Lyons Distillery only dates back to 2012, the distillery’s grounds go back to the 12th century, lending an air of gravitas and history to this newer distillery. Occupying the former St. James’ Church and cemetery, the distillery taps into Irish history and invokes a similar sense of awe and dedication that the church once did, despite only moving the distillery to these hallowed grounds in 2016.
Before anyone gets up in arms about a church being turned into a distillery – all hail whiskey – the church was closed and sold off in the 1960s, going through various phases of repurposing before Pearse Lyons snatched it up. Now when you tour the distillery, you can learn about St. James’ church and tour the cemetery as well.
As for touring the distillery, there are various options based on price point and how much whiskey you want to drink/try. Most opt for the ‘Trilogy Distillery Tour’ which is the standard and includes a tour of the distillery and graveyard, and a sample of three whiskeys from the Pearse Irish Whiskey range/collection, costing €20 per person. Each tour goes up by €5 increments, adding an additional whiskey to each one. Your options for the more standard tours are outlined below:Roe & Co
Tour Option 3: The Legacy Tour & Tasting Experience
Cost: €30
Tour of the distillery, where you learn about the brand and how they make their whiskey
Tour of the graveyard and the history of St. James’ Church
Five tastings, including: Pearse Original, Distiller’s Choice, Founder’s Choice (12 year-old single malt), the limited edition Pearse 5-Years-Old Single Malt, and a special tasting of the distillery exclusive – Marriage of Malt
Tour Option 1 (the standard): The Trilogy Distillery Tour
Cost: €20
Tour of the distillery, where you learn about the brand and how they make their whiskey
Tour of the graveyard and the history of St. James’ Church
Three samples of the Pearse Irish Whiskey range
Tour Option 2: The Signature Tour & Tasting Experience
Cost: €25
Tour of the distillery, where you learn about the brand and how they make their whiskey
Tour of the graveyard and the history of St. James’ Church
Four tastings, including: Pearse Original, Distiller’s Choice, Founder’s Choice (12 year-old single malt) and a limited edition Pearse Five-Year-Old Single Malt
If you’re looking for more of an experience, or are as much a foodie as you are into whiskey, consider their premium Food & Whiskey Tasting Experience for €85. It needs be prebooked, allowing you to sample four signature whiskeys while also enjoying a lovely meal using local suppliers and vendors. It also includes a whiskey cocktail upon arrival and a distillery tour.
For those who are less into whiskey, it’s worth noting that you can also partake in their gin school here, with their brand Ha’Penny Gin. While many know Ireland for whiskey and beer, it should equally be known for their gin, once called mother’s ruin. While many know to look to England for a fine gin, Ireland is actually a huge producer of high quality and delightful gins, with countless brands to explore – Ha’Penny being just one of the many.
At this gin school, which has yet to open but will in the near future, you can create your own bottle of gin to bring home with you. The class, which is approximately two hours, will go over the history of gin, teach you how it is made, introduce you to the different ingredients and botanicals used while helping you to pick your own, and then let you distill your own bottle of gin. You choose the flavours/signature notes, you choose the alcohol percentage, and you choose the bottle’s name/label. It’s the perfect opportunity to learn something new, try a different activity, and create the perfect souvenir. Plus, through the class you’ll get to snack on light bites and snacks while sipping gin and tonics provided for you.
And if you think there’s not much to know about gin, think again! For instance, there are six main styles of gin you can find, not including any of those protected with Geographical Indications (i.e. Mediterranean gins). Popular types include: Compound gin, Genever, London Dry gin, Distilled gin, Old Tom gin, and Navy Strength. Just one of the many things you’ll discover in the Ha’Penny Gin School at Pearse Lyons. To learn about the gin school or register interest, click HERE.
Another new distillery in Dublin’s Liberties neighbourhood, Roe & Co. is a modern distiller that pays respect to one of the most famous Irish whiskey brands to have existed during the Golden Age of whiskey production in Ireland – George Roe & Company.
George Roe & Company were once the largest exporter of Irish whiskey, helping to put Ireland on the map and making Irish whiskey something to be desired. With massive grounds, they employed hundreds, breathing life into this quarter of the city, along with their neighbour Guinness. However, as whiskey exportation slowed, George Roe & Company had to shut their gates; closing their doors and halting production in 1926, their name quickly forgotten.
But now with the birth of Roe & Co., this contemporary brand has brough the name Roe back to the whiskey business, in a new and fresh way. Just look at their bottle design, which veers away from more traditional shapes and colours for whiskey marketing. Round bottles with pale turquoise labels and an air of industrial chic; it’s marketing gold, hitting home with young adults who appreciate great branding as much as they enjoy great taste. And there is a great taste to the Roe & Co. products – the Master Distiller having over 30 years experience.
Tours of the distillery are only available Thursday to Saturday, from 3pm-8pm, with two options to choose from. If you’re a cocktail drinker, consider the flavours workshop, where you’ll learn to make your own whiskey cocktails while exploring the mixology behind each one. If you’re more into learning about the blending method for whiskeys, then the 106 Blending Experience is for you, where you’ll discover the art of blending and learn brand techniques.
Both tours are 40 minutes long and include a 45-minute table reservation at the Power House Bar and Cocktail Village on site. Of course, if you just want some Roe & Co cocktails and whiskey in the distillery without a tour, you can pop by the Power House Bar and Cocktail Village and treat yourself to one of the many delights on offer – no tour of the distillery required; it is open from Thursday-Sunday.
To learn more about visiting Roe & Co, click HERE.
Take a tour of this relatively new craft distillery in Dublin, which will introduce you to the method of blending and distilling whiskey using copper pot stills, with a tasting to introduce you to the brand, its award-winning whiskeys, , and what you should take note of or consider when trying whiskey. On your tour, you’ll also learn about the iconic neighbourhood where the distillery is located - Dublin’s Liberties neighbourhood. It has long been home to whiskey production in Ireland, but after a period of falling to shambles, this area of the city is being reborn.
Aside from an immersive visitor experience and tour, you’ll find a bar loaded with whiskeys and whiskey based cocktails to try, along with a cafe to satiate any hunger or caffeine withdrawals.
There are two tour options available; the ‘Discover Tour’ for €16 p/p and the ‘Explore Tour’ for €29 p/p.
