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Old Jameson Distillery

Established	Distillery: 1780, Visitors Centre: 1997
Location	Smithfield, Dublin, Ireland
Website	http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/ie/tours/

Old Jameson Distillery (informally the Jameson Distillery) is a whiskey-themed tourist attraction located just off Smithfield Square in Dublin, Ireland. Since opening as an attraction in 1997, it receives between 300,00 and 350,000 guests per year.

The Old Jameson Distillery is the original site where Jameson Whiskey was distilled until 1971. It now houses a museum that provides tours, a restaurant, and a gift shop. The distillery is laid out over two floors and sits above the remnants of the original stills, which can be seen through the plexiglass floor in the atrium. From the first floor atrium you can access the distillery gift shop, the Reserve Bar, and purchase tour tickets. As of May 2014, adult ticket prices are €14 and include a glass of Jameson Whiskey or a Jameson cocktail at the Jameson Discovery Bar. Tours take approximately 1 hour and continue all day operating every 20 minutes. The second floor houses aspects of the tour, a special event room, and the 3rd Still Restaurant.

History

The original distillery on this site was called the Bow Street Distillery and was established in 1780. In 1810, John Jameson took full ownership (he was previously the general manager) and expanded the distillery in 1805. By 1810, the operation was officially renamed to John Jameson & Son’s Bow Street Distillery. The distillery grew to an upwards of 5 acres by 1886.

At this time, it was described by many as a “city within a city”. The distillery also housed a Smithy, Cooperage, saw mills, engineers, carpenters, painters and coppersmiths’ shops. Water for the distillery came from two deep wells dug underneath the site. Cellars were also dug underneath nearby streets to store maturing whiskey, while four stills and two wash stills, each holding 24,000 gallons, were heated by both fire and steam coils above.

Following a difficult period that included American Prohibition, Ireland’s trade war with Great Britain, and the introduction of Scottish blended whiskey, the Jameson distillery fell on hard times and decided to form the Irish Distillers Group with their previous rivals, the Cork Distillers Company and John Powers in 1966. Eventually, it became one of the last distilleries in Ireland to close in 1971. The operation was then moved out of Dublin to the New Midleton Distillery.

By the late 1990’s the distillery had fallen into disrepair, following a devastating fire. However, in the early 2000’s, it was decided to convert the building into the Old Jameson Distillery, a visitors centre rather than an operating distillery. The Old Jameson Distillery as it is known today opened to the public in 1997. (CITE: Ireland Guide, Gill & Macmillan Ltd, 2000, pg 20

Visitor Attractions

The Old Jameson Distillery tour explains the history of Jameson Whiskey. The story is told through a series of reconstructed scenes from the original distillery, exhibition areas that show the seven stages of whiskey making, and a video that shows what the distillery was like when the creator John Jameson was alive. Small numbers of tourers can also participate in a taste test between Jameson Whiskey, Scottish whiskey, and American whiskey to become a "Qualified Irish Whiskey Taster". In 2014, a new event called the Barrelman’s Feast was announced and has been added to the distillery tour offerings.