When you’re in Dublin for only one day, it’s crucial to make the most of it. But that is described a bit later. First, I want to give kudos to the hostel I stayed at. It was the fourth on this trip (not counting the two Airbnb rooms). Of them all, it was the cleanest, with the best upkeep, and best breakfast selection. Not big, but it had a few types of fresh fruit, bread served with butter and jam, peanut butter, and a few types of cereal. I tried two of the cereals that looked like varieties of raisin bran - large flakes, but one had fruits and the other mixed berries. The weird part was the peanut butter. For some reason it tasted odd, even though it wasn’t rancid. Just some flavor additive perhaps?
Channeling the American spirit, I was already in the streets by 8:00. As with Great Britain, it appears that they don’t recognize that as a time to be awake, so the city was a bit quiet. By that I mean that absolutely nothing was open. But it does make for a great time to start wandering and looking about. There was much to see along the street, including the Church of SS. Augustine and John the Baptist on John’s Lane. Even though it’s a ‘young’ church by European standards, with construction started in 1862, the spire is the highest point of the city. By honoring Saint Augustine, it upholds the tradition of the Augustinian monks who have been in Dublin since the 13th century.
Then came Jameson on Bow Street. Jameson whiskey was my introduction to the wonderful warming liquid. As one of the first brands I tried, it holds a special place in my heart and palette. Upon learning about their distillery in Dublin I was incredibly excited to visit. In fact, I actually booked a tour of their distillery before I'd even found a hostel to stay at.
Two days prior, I toured Johnnie Walker, which is known for its blended whiskeys. The company owns many distilleries and creates a product by mixing the single malts. Jameson is technically a blended whiskey as well, but rather than using products from many distilleries, they mix differently prepared ones from their own stills. The main tour they offer at this location, the site of the original distillery founded in the 18th century, teaches you about the history of the company, the whiskey making process, and wraps up with a tasting of three of their offerings and teaches proper technique for tasting.
To my surprise, since I used to consider that mostly pretentious acting, it does make a difference. I was even able to feel the difference in alcohol from a pot still, which has more spice and a fuller feeling, vs the column still with its lighter floral notes. Even the bourbon barrel aged (nutty vanilla notes) vs sherry casks (dried fruit) were noticeable. Blended whiskey, although frequently associated with being cheaper, is not actually lower class. In fact, some of the best whiskeys are blended in order to best balance the different notes.
The tour also includes a voucher for a neat Jameson or a whiskey-lemonade at their bar. I went with the neat version, but only after I did the optional extra - visiting the barrel facility. Although it isn’t their primary aging warehouse, they teach more about aging and storing. This portion includes a taste drawn freshly from a cask. For my group, it was the 19,880th cask filled in 2003. What’s especially awesome is that a nineteen year old vintage is not something they directly sell. So I got to try a truly unique beverage.
Christchurch, the main church in Dublin belongs, denominationally, to the Church of Ireland. Since it existed prior to Henry VIII’s foundation of the Anglican Church, it was seized from the Catholics. Although this current building is, for the most part, only a couple hundred years old, due to a pair of roof cave-ins, the site it is built on initially housed a church built in 1030 by the Vikings. The crypts are practically untouched from the 12th century, and have served as the backdrop for some popular shows, like the Tudors. It has some interesting artifacts, like St. Laurence’s heart, and a mummified cat and rat. The heart is supposedly from the patron saint of Dublin, but the animals are a bit more surprising. When the organ was being moved, they were found in one of the pipes. The prevailing theory is that they got stuck during a chase and somehow were preserved.
Next came the walking tour, which I really struggled to find because the instructions on trip advisor gave the wrong meeting location. It was a good tour, with an informative guide, but what really stood out was that after it ended, he was really willing to explain more to me. After seeing all the separatist mentality in Scotland, I’d asked what he saw happening in Northern Ireland if the Scots chose independence in ‘23. He went into great depth, thinking out loud about the different possible outcomes as he saw them, iterating variables that could occur between now and then, and describing how he thought it would change the situation. Really fascinating.
At 17:30, I went my way, most tourist attractions were already closed. I did luck out though- the Irish Whiskey Museum still had a spot for their 18:00 tour and tasting. Unlike the previous two whiskey tours, which were brand specific, this one discussed the history of whiskey in Ireland on the whole. At some point I need to visit a smaller distillery though, since all three of these tours had a lot of showmanship. Really engaging performances supported by some impressive projectors timed to fit their motions, but I wonder what it would be like to see a more grounded one.
Since this was about the history of whiskey, I ended up learning more about my poison of choice. Apparently, the term “whiskey” is an English bastardization of the Gaelic “Uisce beatha”, or “water of life”. Lots of cultures have their life-waters, but it was quite literal in Ireland. When they brewed hooch, they needed to hide it from tax collectors. This had two main results:
- Forgotten barrels invented aging. Young spirits are clear, and when left in the barrel they become amber and get those flavors.
- The separation of methanol and ethanol could cause some people to go into a comatose state from methanol poisoning. Then, they would be given one more drink. If enough ethanol enters the system after methanol poisoning, it can act as a cure. Thus, the whiskey was bringing people back to life, earning its name.
It's also funny how serious the rivalry between Scottish and Irish whiskey is. All alcohols have legal requirements, be they champagne, bourbon, etc. Scottish whiskey, by law, must be aged for three years. Just to one up them, Irish whiskey is, by law, required to be aged three years and one day.
To round out the drinking for the day, I met up with a friend at the Temple Bar, the most touristy of all tourist bars in Dublin. Packed, noisy, and noticeably more expensive than others, but to play along I got an Irish coffee there. We then followed up with fish and chips, mushy peas, and Guinness's at a more reasonable pub, rounding out a day that probably left me more flammable than usual.
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