WHISKEY TASTING TOUR
Five nights tour of Ireland – 3 in Dublin and 2 in Cork
DAY 1 - THURSDAY
Afternoon arrival Dublin Airport
Meet our guide and friendly coach driver.
Enjoy a scenic drive through Dublin’s city centre and learn something of the unique history of our Capital City, which started as a Viking settlement from about dating from about 840 AD.
We see Trinity College, Grafton Street and the Dail (our House of Parliament) before travelling around the famous Georgian Squares of Dublin city centre.
Welcome drink on arrival at Hotel for check in.
Transfer to Jameson Whiskey Distillery. We start with a short presentation, detailing the history of Irish whiskey and specifically the John Jameson Distillery throughout the ages. Every step of the distilling process has been recreated, from malting and storing barley, to mashing and fermentation, to distilling and maturation. We now enjoy a complimentary glass of Jameson for everyone followed by a whiskey tasting, which compares and explains the differences between Jameson Irish whiskey, Scotch and Bourbon whiskies. All participants are awarded with their very own Whiskey Tasting Certificate.
Dinner, after which we enjoy a private dinner in the distillery.
Transfer back to hotel after dinner
DAY 2 - FRIDAY
Early morning, travel west along the banks of the Royal Canal – one of Ireland’s oldest waterways – we arrive at Tullamore approximately 1.5 hours drive. Tullamore is almost in the centre of our island and is home to the world famous Tullamore Dew Whiskey. Here we will be guided by a special escort who explains the uniqueness of this famous drink.
We then travel a short distance to visit the nearby Locke’s Distillery.
Locke's Old Kilbeggan Distillery is situated in the heart of Ireland on the main route from Dublin to Galway in the small town of Kilbeggan in Co. Westmeath. This old distillery, which had closed in 1954, is now once again distilling and maturing whiskey. It is the oldest continually licensed distillery in the world and has enjoyed the good times, but also the tough times for Irish whiskey, over its 250 year history.
Afternoon return to Dublin with some free time to do some shopping. See the new landmark - the spire (right).
Dinner - Depart Hotel for the Irish House Party. As well as dinner this is evening includes Irish Song Dancing and storytelling. A great fun evening with opportunity to meet lots of Irish people and learn to dance like River Dance experts!
Evening transfer back to hotel
DAY 3 – SATURDAY
This morning we depart early by private coach with guide, and drive for approximately 90 minutes to Newgrange and Knowth. These are ancient temples dating from the Neolithic period about 3200BC. This area was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1993. Visit the Heritage Centre and enjoy a tour of either of the burial mounds of Newgrange and Knowth.
Afternoon - We now travel cross country to the Cooley Peninsula to visit the Cooley Distillery. Nestled in the foothills of the Cooley Mountains, the Cooley Distillery enjoys a perfect location for a whiskey distillery due to its access to clean, pure water from the river that runs down from the mountain and right by the distillery.
The Cooley Distillery currently produces 1.5 million litres of pure alcohol and fills approximately 12,000 200L ex-Bourbon casks annually. It distils both grain whiskey in column stills and pure malt whiskey in traditional copper pot stills and operates a double distillation process. Cooley therefore produces Single Malt whiskeys and blends, both under their own labels and for independent bottlers and distributors.
Return to hotel with some time to relax
Transfer by private coach to Shelbourne Park to experience, along with many of the locals, a unique Irish experience of Dog Racing. Here we receive racing cards and get some advice from an expert about which dogs to bet on.
Dinner - Enjoy dinner while watching the races and have time to meet lots of Irish people – and if lucky collect the winnings from the bookies.
Evening transfer back to hotel
DAY 4 - SUNDAY
Check out from the hotel and depart Dublin travelling by private coach down the east coast of Ireland where we stop to visit the Wicklow Mountains and see the beautiful Lake of Glendalough.
Continuing south we come to the ancient Viking City of Waterford sited on the Suir. We make a short walking tour of the old streets and see Reginald’s Tower.
We now visit the world famous Waterford Crystal factory and showrooms. Here we see the craftsmen blowing and cutting this very special crystal glass.
Afterwards, we drive for approximately 1.5 hours to the town of Midleton which is nearby Cork City. Visit Jameson’s Midleton Distillery – The sense of heritage is everywhere at the Jameson Experience. Some of the original buildings date back to 1795, built as a mill before being converted for use as a distillery. The water wheel, which once operated all the machinery at the distillery, still turns and operates the cogs and wheels in the Mill Building, where visitors can also admire one of the original steam engines installed in the later half of the 19th century.
The Still House is always a highlight, the three original pot stills still gleaming like burnished gold. One of these pot stills, installed in 1949, can hold 31,000 gallons (141,000 litres), making it the largest pot still in the world.
Dinner - Enjoy a whiskey tasting session followed by dinner at local restaurant.
Overnight in Cork
DAY 5 - MONDAY
Guided walk through the charming Viking City of Cork
Full day visit Cork City with guide to see Cork City Hall and the English Market with its great selection of fish, meat and vegetables.
On then to see the Crawford Art Gallery, Shandon Bells, Cork Regional Technical College and University College Cork with its original campus dating back to 1845.
We now travel to the nearby old shipping town of Cobh. Here we visit the Heritage Centre which tells us the history of shipping for hundreds of years and we learn the stories of so many people who were forced to leave Ireland over many hundreds of years.
Now on to visit Blarney Castle which is famous in USA and has great views from to the top. There is also time to shop for great souvenirs in Blarney Village Outlet Shops nearby.
Dinner - Final dinner at specially selected local Restaurant
DAY 6 – TUESDAY
Check out and make our way to Cork Airport for our departure from Ireland
Arrangements to include:
Deluxe air conditioned coach and friendly driver for 6 days
5 nights accommodation, 3 in Dublin & 2 in Cork in specially selected 4**** and 5 ***** hotels.
Entry charges at each location
All local taxes and gratuities and service charges
Full backup of our company during the entire stay