The ultimate Irish Whiskey tasting holiday – long weekend
This is the perfect Itinerary for an Irish Whiskey tasting holiday if you only have one long weekend of time! With 14 Irish Whiskey samples, your own whiskey blend creation and at least one full size Whiskey based cocktail – you will need a detox after this. 😉
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Overview of the ultimate Irish Whiskey tasting holiday – long weekend
- Day 1 – Arrival in Dublin & First Tasting
- Day 2 – Museum, Jameson Distillery & Temple Bar
- Day 3 – Irish history & Whiskey Cocktail Workshop or Guinness Beer
- Day 4 – Trinity College, Teeling Distillery & Departure
Day 1 – Arrival in Dublin & First Tastings
On the way from the airport to the inner city you can stop at the National Botanical Gardens of Ireland about half way. Admission is free and the paths are paved and flat, so you can bring your luggage.
Check in at Castle Hotel
Under 100€ per night is a small miracle in Dublin, but for a little more (the earlier you book, the more affordable it will be) is the Castle Hotel*. Breakfast is included and they offer single rooms for solo travellers!
Irish Whiskey Museum
The Irish Whiskey Museum* was founded by an Irish family in 2014 and operates independendly from any one distillery. Over the years they have amassed a varied selection if Irish Whiskeys from all over the country. The tour starts with an hour long introduction to Irish Whiskeys history in general, the rise – the fall – the revival. Then a whiskey tasting follows, the kind and amount depends on which tour was chosen. The one I have linked has options for three (the one I did) or a more premium one. The whiskeys are selected for you, but you can ask about specific ones, or tell them which you have already tried or are included later in the itinerary (e.g. Bushmills & Hinch from Northern Ireland) to maximise your tasting experience!
Afterwards you can eat dinner at Masa. Tacos and a drink for under 15€! In Dublin, you can find good international food!
Day 2 – Museum, Jameson Distillery & Temple Bar
Day 2 begins with a hearty breakfast at Castle Hotel, then you can take the green line from Parnell to Dawson to visit the:
Little Museum of Dublin
The Little Museum of Dublin is located in a former residential house and filled with all kinds of knick-knacks from the past, most of which were donated to the museum. Every wall is filled with pictures, paintings, posters, newspaper articles and much more. Not many of the artefacts have an explanation written down anywhere (since most people don’t read them anyway), but the tour guides there will happily answer all the questions you have.
The museums tour is short, sweet, to the point and very interactive. It was obvious that the guide was passionate about his job, as well as the rich history of his city and country.
After the visit to the museum you can cross the Ha’Penny Bridge and take a leisurely walk along the Liffey river until you reach the Four Courts (the old domed building houses the main courts of Ireland). From there you walk past it, turn towards the city and walk another 500m to the Jameson Distillery.
Jameson Distillery
At the Jameson Distillery* you have two choices (and no, you can’t do both in one day).
A 45 minute tour* about John Jameson and how the Distillery at Bow Street started the company off in 1780 as one of the six main Dublin Whiskeys, followed by a tasting (maybe 10 – 20 ml) of three Whiskeys. This is not a distillery tour – the Jameson Whiskey today is distilled in Cork.
Or the Jameson Distillery Secret Whiskey Tasting Experience* with four premium Jameson Whiskeys. What makes this special is the setting in John Jameson’s secret office where they present the seasonal Marker’s Choice Whiskey.
Lunch at Han Sung Restaurant
13 minutes away on foot is the Han Sung Restaurant where you get good Korean food. Again, international food in Dublin is good and affordable.
Temple Bar – the most famous part of Dublin
At the edge of the Temple Bar quarter the Ha’Penny Bridge (you’ve seen it before) crosses the Liffey river. This pedestrian bridge is named after the half penny it cost once upon a time to cross it. Today you can cross it for free on the way from lunch to the next tour. Your way will also take your through Temple Bar, a colourful quarter of Dublin with many pubs, most famously the the red The Temple Bar (I don’t recommend it for a drink though, you pay for the name and it’s always packed).
Whiskey Tasting Tour with food pairings
Instead go for a tasting tour of five Irish Whiskeys* with food pairings of Irish Cheeses and chocolates that starts at Lincolns Inn and ends at the Palace Bar (that’s a total of 800 meters walking during this two hour tour). With a tour like this you are not confined to only one brand of Whiskey.
If you are like me: You will be hungry after this tour. The pairings are delicious and well chosen, but a rich, satisfying meal was calling my name after this much alcohol in one day.
Irish Pub dinner
From an Irish Bar to an Irish Pub, this time for food! At Darkey Kelly’s you can get some drinks, of course, but more importantly a DELICIOUS fried chicken (and other meals, but I had fried chicken)!
Day 3 – Irish history & Cocktail Workshop or Guinness Beer
Day 3 begins once again with a hearty breakfast at Castle Hotel, then you can take the 13 Bus from Parnell Square East, stop 261 to Inchicore Library to visit the:
Kilmainham Gaol Jail
The Kilmainham Gaol Jail is a former prison where many Irish revolutionaries, including leaders of the Easter Rising in 1916, were imprisoned and later executed. But the oldest cells date back much further than that.
The prison was built in the 17-hundreds and some of the very old cells serve as a reminder of the horrible conditions prisoners faced back then. The Kilmainham Gaol Jail Museum offers student discounts to any student with a valid ID.
Lunch at URBAN8
I often don’t trust restaurants with a very diverse menu. If there are many different dishes it often means none of them are great. However at URBAN8 neither me, nor the people I met during the tour of the jail and had lunch with had any complaints and we had very different food (burger, pasta, waffles). I had a “dessert” for lunch, the waffle.
Roe and Co Distillery Cocktail Workshop Experience
There are two workshops offered at Roe and Co Distillery*: Whiskey cocktail creation or Whiskey blend creation. Both workshops start with a tour of the Roe and Co Distillery (which has been located inside the old Guinness Powerhouse! since 2017) and end with a cocktail in their own industrial-chic Power House Bar.
The cocktail workshop seeks to explore the different pillars of flavour (like sweet, sour, etc.) and create your perfect flavour profile for your own signature Whiskey cocktail.
Meanwhile the Whiskey blend workshop starts with a tasting of three of their Whiskeys, paired with chocolates, then you can blend your own Whiskey, according to your tastes.
or visit Guinness Beer
If you had enough Whiskey and want to break things up a bit, visit the Guinness Storehouse* instead! It was once the old fermentation plant of the beer brewery. Today it is a visitor centre & museum about the history and production of Ireland’s most well known beer. Even the air around it smells like beer (The more direct sunlight, the stronger the smell)!
Personally, I don’t like beer. But the museum is incredibly well done, modern, interactive and -for those who care- very instagrammable.
After the self guided tour you can drink a freshly poured Guinness beer at their Gravity Bar, included in your ticket. The view from the bar is usually amazing, especially during sunset (second picture in the gallery below).**
or National Museums – Archaeology
The third option is for those who need a break from drinking. The Archeology Museum has a unique building, which gives you the opportunity to travel back in time over a century to when it was built. The artifacts are sorted time period and the audio guide is very pleasant to listen to as you follow the numbers through the exhibitions.
Drunk-food dinner
At Mad Yolks you can get burgers, bowls and sandwiches. In short: Everything you might want after a (or a few) drink(s). As the name suggests the restaurant specialises in egg-dishes. Try the Huevos Rancheros bowl or the bacon sandwich.
Day 4 – Trinity College & Teeling Distillery
One last breakfast at Castle Hotel and then it’s already time to check out!
Where to leave your luggage in Dublin?
If your chosen accommodation doesn’t let your leave your luggage with them, I recommend Radical Storage Dublin*. They have 41! possible locations all over the city and it’s super easy to book online and store your luggage.
Trinity College and The National Library
To visit Trinity College, The National Library and the Book of Kells Experience I recommend booking a tour. I recommend the “Book of Kells Experience & Trinity Trails Campus Tour”. First you get a guided tour of the campus of Trinity College (about 45 minutes), then you get access to a self guided tour of the National Library and Book of Kells, which takes about 90 minutes to complete, but you can stay in the Library for longer.
If you only want to visit and have a look around, both the College itself and the Library are free of charge!
Lunch with a view
Half way between the College and the next Distillery (15 minutes on foot) – go to Sophie’s. They describe themselves as “European Cuisine” so make of that what you will. It was good food, although a bit expensive in my opinion. However you definitely partly also pay for the amazing view.
Only a small detour on the way to the distillery you can also stop and admire St. Patrick’s Cathedral and its surrounding park. Admission to the church is 8€. It is gorgeous inside, but it is something to consider spending elsewhere, you might also not have the time.
Tour & Tasting at Teeling Whiskey Distillery
The first and only actual Distillery Tour* of this itinerary. The Teeling Disitllery of today is located in the former “Whiskey Triangle of Dublin” and is still used to produce the Teeling Whiskey you get in stores, pubs and restaurants. After a tour of their facility, including a small company history exhibition and the distillation rooms you get to try three Teeling Whiskeys (more ml than at Jameson). After the tasting you get exclusive access to the Teeling Bar above the Distillery where you can enjoy another cocktail if you want to. I went with an Irish Coffee, with Teeling Whiskey of course 😉
Then you will have to head back home – or stay for longer?
Are you looking for a longer holiday? I have similar itineraries for two more Irish Whiskey tasting holidays that build on this one:
**View from the Gravity Bar and the Ha’Penny Bridge pictures are from Renata Moraes, not from me. I only took them years back and the quality is atrocious.
