Dublin is a fun town with loads to do and oodles of history. Our recent ‘one day in Dublin’ was a real eye opener and everyone enjoyed it in their own way. One of the highlights for me, that I did alone, was a tour of the Teelings Whiskey Distillery in the Liberties region, near the heart of Dublin City Centre. The Teeling Whiskey Distillery is actually the first new distillery in Dublin for over 125 years and home to the Spirit of Dublin. It’s a really great whiskey as well.
The Liberties
Ok, so a quick history lesson. The Liberties is a very happening area in Dublin, full of markets, pubs and tourist attractions such as the Guinness Storehouse. A traditional working-class district, in modern times the name ‘Liberties’ comes from a Mediaeval arrangement where areas of land were associated with the city but kept their own jurisdiction or laws, hence liberties. The Liberties has always been associated with whiskey distilling, weaving and brewing.
Interesting Whiskey Fact!
Whiskey in Dublin
In the 18th and 19th centuries Dublin became a global whiskey hub, with six working distilleries in the city: Bow Street Distillery, John’s Lane Distillery (John Power & Sons), Thomas Street Distillery, Marrowbone Lane Distillery, Jones Road Distillery (D.W.D. Distillery), and the Phoenix Park Distillery. In 1887 these distilleries had a combined annual output of 5 million gallons per year, whereas their Scottish rivals were only producing 100,000 gallons per year. But various factors destroyed whiskey production in Dublin – Irish independence and US prohibition to name but two. By 1975 no whiskey was being produced in Dublin. But now, with Teeling, it has made a comeback. Their logo is that of a phoenix.
Teeling phoenix logo
The Teeling Whiskey Tour
The Teeling Distillery and visitor centre is just a short walk from the town centre. It is a good idea to book in advance as the tours are popular. On the day I had my tour there must have been a group of about 30. There are several different tours you can take – a general distillery tour with a small taste of the great whiskey, or tasting tours with a whiskey expert. I chose the general tour, as Tracey and the children sat and waited for me in the distillery cafe.
The tour begins with the history of Dublin whiskey, with some excellent displays and a very good presentation from one of the knowledgeable staff. We then moved into the mash room and were shown how the whiskey is manufactured. The barley is malted and the sugars released by fermentation to make a beer or grist (there are 6 fermenters).
Fermenters
The beer is then distilled to produce the spirit which is aged in various oak casks over a period of some years to make their fantastic Irish whiskey. Currently, the company is bottling whiskey produced before the current distillery was set up in 2015.
The Stills
You could see this was a genuine working distillery. Lots of staff were milling around, sampling the grist and preparing the stills. The stills were all working as we watched them produce the high wines and spirit ready for barrel aging. There are three copper stills at the distillery, manufactured by Frilli, an Italian company. Each one is named after one of the owner’s daughters – Alison, Natalie and Rebecca.
The Three Stills
‘Rebecca’ Still
Each has a different job, as Irish whiskey is famed for its use of a triple distillation method. The tour ended with a walkaround a small warehouse, followed by a tasting of the Teeling Whiskey and a special whiskey cocktail.
Cask Warehouse
At the end of the tour we found ourselves in the store, where you could buy several Teeling whiskies as well as souvenirs of your visit.
Teeling Distillery Store
Branded souvenirs in the Teeling Distillery shop
I enjoyed the tour; it was well balanced and well thought out. I heartily recommend it; the history lesson was fascinating and being able to watch a genuine distillery in action was excellent. On so many of these visits there seems to be nothing going on!
The Phoenix Café
Tracey, Millie-Mae and Toby found comfy sofas in the distillery’s café and rested up while I was on the tour. The café is called the Phoenix Café and it is modern and contemporary in design.
The Phoenix Cafe
Seating in the Phoenix Cafe, Teeling Distillery
Sneaking a peak at some food arriving at adjacent tables, they are clearly famed for their pies and sausage rolls (they looked SO good!) While waiting for my tour start-time, we grabbed a coffee (adults) and cold fruit drinks (children). I have to say, after all the walking we had done, their drinks did look really refreshing!
Refreshments at Teeling Distillery’s Phoenix Cafe
It transpires that once I was on my tour the decision was taken by the others to have lunch (without me!) I believe a bulk order of three cheese and ham paninis was made, along with more drinks. Reports back confirmed the food was really nice (I wouldn’t know!) The sausage rolls had run out apparently; that’s how popular they are.
Ham and Cheese Toasties!
Overall the Teeling Distillery is well worth a visit, even with the children. It’s a short 7-10 minute walk to the Guinness Storehouse, so I’d heartily recommend you visit both 🙂 We travelled home on the ferry with a new bottle of whiskey to add to our collection; for special occasions only!
Wow! This looks amazing, as a huge whisky fan I would LOVE to go on a tour like this!
It was a really good tour
This looks so interesting. I’m sure this is a must for any whisky lover and I bet those refreshments were very much welcome at the end.
Oh those drinks were SO appreciated! We walked MILES that day!
This looks great! I haven’t been to Dublin for years and would definitely have this on my list next time.
Excellent – you won’t regret it
I would absolutely love to visit Dublin one day and this tour wouldn’t certainly be on my ‘to see’ list 🙂
That’s good news – you’ll love Dublin I’m sure
I visited Dublin some years ago but I didn’t have time to really explore. I would love to experience this tour one day.
There’s a lot to see in Dublin. We only had a day there, so we also still have lots to see
I visited the Guiness brewery in Dublin years ago. I am sure if we go again I could persuade my husband to do this tour.
This distillery is just around the corner (well, 5 mins walk) from the Guinness Storehouse
I have never even been to Ireland, let alone Dublin. I bet this was a great tour, my hubby would be in his element, although I am not really a whiskey fan.
In truth, nor am I … but I love the history behind manufacturing processes/I love knowing how things are made (and it’s always a great opportunity to try out their cafe!)
Those copper stills look fab! What a cool little place to have a tour around and interesting to see how whiskey is produced.
I should be ashamed here but I’ve never done this – I travel to Dublin often but alas I’ve never done the whiskey tour ,which is further shocking since I LOVE whiskey 😳 I hope you enjoyed all the hustle and bustle of Dublin too and took a walk over to Temple Bar 😉
We did as much as our poor legs would allow! We also cheated a little and took a tour on a Viking boat-bus thingy that showed us the main sites. Great city!
I’m not a big whiskey fan but I’d definitely try some after this tour – and the ham in that toastie looked amazing too!
Oh that ham … 🙂 There was something a bit special about it – I think it was glazed in whiskey
I’ve always wanted to go to Dublin. This is somewhere my husband would love to go.
Dublin a great, friendly city. We loved it – sure you will do too
I’m not a whiskey fan myself but would be interested in finding more out about the distilling process. Dublin is on our to do list for a city break without the children soon.
Same as me – I just love learning about how things are made!
What an interesting place to visit, I love finding out the history of places like this as well as learning something new
Yes that part of the tour sounded fascinating.
Some lovely information here on the whisky tour. I have never been on one because I am not a big whiskey fan but it sounds amazing. I need to add it to my list cause it seems so informative
I’ve done a few before (before the children came along) … they are fascinating
Oh my parents did this tour in Dublin and loved it! I’ve only ever been once for a hen do and we didn;t see very much at all!
I bet, you lush!!
Oh I do love Dublin and visited the Guinness Factory when I was there last but didn’t know about this place! Visiting Dublin this summer so this is going on the list
Laura x
You won’t regret it – great tour and fab cafe!
I’ve done a couple of whiskey totes, they are fascinating. This is a great read. Thanks.
Thank you x
I’ve never been to Ireland and don’t drink, but this sounds like an awesome experience! It must be so cool to see all the processes
I’m not much of a drinker either, but the tours are fascinating
This was such a thorough guide! I truly appreciate the effort that you put into making sure you left nothing out, and now I feel like I must visit this soon! Your photos are great as well
Thank you 🙂
I have never been to Dublin but have always wanted to go – even more so after reading this great post, thank you! Kaz
Thank you – it’s a great place to visit x
Oh this looks like an interesting place to go I’ve always wondered how it’s all made.
It’s quite a process!
I had no idea that we had Irish monks to thank for whiskey distillation! It’s been ages since I’ve visited a whiskey distillery, though we have a quite a few here in Scotland too.
Yes … just a few in Scotland!!! We went to one back in February!
This looks like an interesting tour. We did the Guiness Storehouse but I would love to do a gin tour
That sounds like a great tour! I opted for the Jameson tour on my visit last weekend,as it was my first time in Dublin. But, I will try the Teeling distillery on another visit!