Today we grabbed a light breakfast. We went to a place small chain called Obriens. We had a light bite and headed out for day 2 on the bus. Today was our day to go to the Jameson Distillery. Jameson was a couple of blocks for the bus stop. We lucked out as the next tour went was to only start in a few minutes. In the beginning of the tour, the tour guide asks for 3 female and 3 male taste testers. Well I guess my imitation of Horshack (from "Welcome Back Kotter") was enthusiastic enough, because I wasn't picked.
We went through the tour and then received our choice of a shot of Jameson, Jameson and Cranberry, Jameson and Ginger ale, or Jameson
and lemon I think. After grabbing our drinks, we gathered around the taste testers who tasted 6 different whiskeys, including the most popular Scotch (Johnny Walker Red), and a couple of other Irish Whiskeys.
We went back to the hotel, rested for a short time, then headed out for an early dinner at a local pub. We both had a delicious meal. Whoever said Irish food is bland, hasn't been to Ireland lately. While we ate our dinner, we listened to some live Irish music. It was a little loud, since they also had speakers throughout the pub. After dinner, we walked around a bit, then went back to this same pub to start a Musical Pub Crawl. For 12 Euro (10 for Students), a couple of musicians lead you through the streets of Dublin to various pubs while playing traditional Irish Music and giving you some history behind it all.
We went 3 pubs in all. After it was over a few of us decided to try one more pub
. One of the folks, Megan (from Australia), was familiar with Dublin and brought use to an Australian Pub,
The Woolshed Baa & Grill, not far away. When we arrived, she ordered a pitcher of rum (or so we all thought). The bartender took a pitcher and started to fill it with rum. All our eyes bugged out when we saw this and asked Megan what the heck she ordered and she said a pitcher of rum. Why not just get the whole bottle we thought. Well it turned out she actually ordered a pitcher of Rum & Coke (Whew!). She introduced us to an Australian Rum called
Bundaberg Rum. It is definitely worth trying it you get the chance. The rest of us ordered a variety of pints.
There were 6 of us a the table. Two college grads from Kentucky
- Shannon was here name and I don't remember his - we'll just call him "Kentucky" - a recent graduate from UK (University of Kentucky that is) in Electrical Engineering, Luke from Ohio, Megan from Australia (a horse expert), and the two of us. It was a fun group, Kentucky had loads of Kentucky "Redneck" stories, the more he drank, the more stories he had. If you can imagine a redneck story, I think Kentucky told it. Shannon just sat there and smiled as he rambled on, however she didn't have such stories to tell. It was an entertaining evening and a fun group.
ually see the distillery. The tour doesn't go through the current distillery, but it does bring you through where it originally started, including the actual buildings. If you've been reading this whole Blog, you'll know that I didn't make the taste testing at the one in Dublin, so I was eager to be part of the tasting here. As soon as our tour guide mentioned it, I quickly raised my hand. Since I was the only one, apparently word didn't get out in Middleton to raise your hand quickly, I was on the 3 men chosen. They pick 3 men and 3 women.
us about. It is apparently law that American Whiskey be made in new barrels only. A law that was designed to keep Coopers (the craftsman that make them) in employment. Irish Whiskey is made in used barrels, much of which come from the US. Guinness is also made using used barrels as well.
