the jameson distillery

i know i don't have the most creative title for this post, but really how many of you after hearing i visited dublin didn't assume i would be writing about at least one distillery or brewery tour? i know my audience. you're no fools, so i'll pretend i'm saving my creativity for future, less obvious postings.

the big to do in dublin seems to be the guiness tour, which i also made sure to do so i could remain in the good tourist books. personally, however, i was much more excited about visiting the distillery of my favorite whiskey - jameson.

booking my tour online, i decided i would once again take a chance on my "youthful looks" and purchased a student rate ticket for the tour. they never even checked my ID - fortune favors the brave. or the babyfaced?

despite the fact that they have actually moved most production to their facilities in cork, i really enjoyed my tour. especially the part when i volunteered myself for a whiskey tasting at the end. along with my complimentary jameson and ginger cocktail (yum!), i was given three shots of different bourbons for comparison. one shot was jameson, one was a scotch, and one was an american whiskey. we tasted all three, taking some water in between to taste the differences. my lovely (and really good looking) tour guide asked me if the american whiskey reminded me of anything. "like, college?" he asked. um have we met? maybe at balls?

another plus of taking the tour is the opportunity to buy a bottle of the jameson 12 year distillery reserve, which is only available for purchase in the distillery in dublin for 49€. being that jameson is my favorite whiskey, i was immediately pulled into a cartoonesque situation - on one shoulder was the practical budget traveler angel and the other was the once-in-a-lifetime experience craving devil. ok, maybe it wasn't so black and white as to who was playing the devil/angel roles. fortunately, the decision of whether or not to purchase this limited edition whiskey was quickly solved by the cashier. unfortunately, it was due to my decision to buy and ship the whiskey (not exactly backpack friendly) and the US customs laws prohibiting the shipping of alcohol from other countries that my decision was NOT to buy the whiskey.

sooooo, any friends taking any trips to dublin anytime soon? let me know. and leave some room to bring back a 750ml green glass bottle...