One of the best Irish whiskey tours to take while in Ireland is the Distiller's Apprentice Tour at the Jameson Midleton distillery. This tour is a must if you have a big appreciation of Irish whiskey! The tour is a very exclusive and a super in-depth experience. You will get to know all the ins-and outs about Jameson and the Irish whiskey making process, and see a lot of the behind-the-scenes of the number one best-selling Irish whiskey in the world. It's an experience of a lifetime that includes an exclusive visit to the current Jameson production facility and several tastings of some of the finest whiskey.
The tour takes you from the historic grounds of where Jameson was made at the Midleton distillery starting in 1825, all the way to the actual high-tech production facility where Jameson is made today. Jameson's one and only production facility in the world! The tour also dives deep into the science and art behind the whiskey process including a visit to the Irish Distillers Irish Whiskey Academy & Laboratory where they do their experimenting and research, aka chemical engineering. Plus an exclusive visit to one of the 34 storehouses where they keep the world's inventory of the barrels of spirits that are used to make Jameson. Best of all, tastings of some exclusive whiskey only available on this tour.
What to expect
On the nearly 3-hour tour you can expect the following:
(Check out our TWD Jameson Whiskey Tour video)
1) Jameson Video: A quick video about the story of Jameson whiskey.
2) The Original Historic Midleton Distillery: A walk-through tour around the original historic Midleton distillery that was built in 1825. Here you get to see the historic buildings and the traditional methods they used to make Jameson whiskey back in the day. >> Highlight: the world's largest hand-made pot still, and two of the oldest copper pot stills left in the world ( all three no longer in use).
3) The Micro-Distillery: Jameson does all of their R&D production and test batches here; as well as produce a gin using the oldest gin still in the world. Everything that is produced here and released to the market is sold under the 'Method & Madness' label.
>> Highlight: The oldest functioning Gin still in the world.
4) The Original Maturation Room: Here you get a closer look at the maturation process. Traditionally (and legally) whiskey cannot be called an Irish whiskey until it's aged a minimum of 3 years. Back in the day this room stored the entire inventory, now it is the home to the most exclusive Jameson barrels including ones reserved for celebrities and royalty. There are about a thousand barrels here. >> Highlight: A peek through the door at the privately owned casks of aging whiskey. We are talking $750,000 to 1 Million USD a barrel. These are owned by royal family members, celebrities, and other wealthy people.
5) The Irish Whiskey Distillers Academy: The academy is located on-site in Midleton and here you'll start with a visit to the classroom where the whiskey-making process gets explained in depth. Next, the laboratory and spirit tasting. The laboratory has a glass setup of a triple still. They use this setup to teach future master Distiller's the processes used in an environment where they can see the product actually move through each phase. At the laboratory, you get to taste each fundamental component that makes a Jameson whiskey. The spirit tasting consists of the new make pot still spirit, new make grain spirit, and the new make malt spirit.
Last, the Distiller's Academy lounge and whiskey tasting. Here you'll get to see the Jameson collection that includes some of the finest and rarest Jameson whiskeys in the world. Just to look at, not to taste! Haha.
>> Highlight: The whiskey tasting at the academy where you'll get to taste some of the finer blends of Jameson > the Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel and the Green Spot.
6) Inside look current Jameson Production distillery: An exclusive tour of the current high-tech distillery > the only operating Jameson whiskey production facility in the world. There are no pictures or video of this part of the tour due to safety concerns and proprietary nature. We had to go through security, wear safety gear, and turn in our phones, that’s how official it was. The tour was impressive and informative.
7) Inside a Jameson storehouse: Take a ride on a golf cart to see inside one of the many operational storehouses where they keep all their spirit inventory. Each unit stores a couple thousand barrels. These barrels are on pallets and are stacked 7 tall. Once stacked, these will not move until they are ready to be blended. It is mind blowing to see the quantity of barrels in just one storehouse. There are about 34 storehouses on that location.
Highlight: The absolute royalty of tasting! A straight out of the barrel 22-year old sherry matured whiskey. The whole barrel was valued at $900,000. Wow! The finest of finest for sure. (depending on the tour, it may be a different kind of fine whiskey)
Last stop - Visitor center's Bar & Lounge: There you'll get to pick one whiskey or whiskey cocktail from the menu to taste. A smooth finish to an incredible tour!
(To read more about the visitor center's Bar & Lounge at the Jameson Distillery in Midleton, Ireland, check out my previous post here.)
The Jameson Distiller's Apprentice tour is a must for any whiskey connoisseur! It is such an exclusive and in-depth whiskey experience. It is amazing how much there is to know about the Jameson history and the science and art behind whiskey making. It is such an incredible and unique opportunity to see the current Jameson production facility in action. On top of it all, to get to taste the spirits that go into making the Jameson, soak up all the knowledge from a Jameson expert, and to taste some of the finest Jameson whiskey is all simply amazing.
Until the next departure!
** Experience the Jameson Distillery at Home **
Have a taste of the Jameson Distillery's experience at home by putting together an Irish whiskey tasting at home! To get an idea of what to get, find a list of all the Jameson Whiskeys here.
Or book an event directly with Jameson! They do all kinds of tastings and classes virtually. Check out the Jameson virtual experience page here.
Tour around the historic original distillery (second part of the tour)
The evolution of the whiskey making process of Jameson. From how it started using the old traditional methods, to how it evolved into using the biggest single pot in the world, and eventually the modern process of how it's made today.
The Micro-Distillery (third part of the tour)
Jameson's R&D production and test batch center. Plus the gin production facility of the 'Method & Madness' label.
Original Maturation Room (fourth part of the tour)
The maturation room where it used to keep all inventory. Now it is the home to the most exclusive Jameson barrels including ones reserved for celebrities and royalty.
** Fun fact: The first picture in this gallery shows the age progression of spirits in a bourbon barrel. The first barrel is a year old, not whiskey yet. The last barrel on the far right, is a 21-year old whiskey. Besides the rich color it has acquired, notice how much the volume has dropped. A whiskey barrel loses 4% to evaporation every year, called the "Angel's share". This is the primary reason older whiskey costs so much more, there is just less of it. **
Irish Distillers Irish Whiskey Academy & Lab (fifth part of the tour)
Dive deep into the science behind the making of Jameson. Taste the spirits that go into the Jameson whiskey.
Current storehouses & inventory (seventh part of the tour)
A peek at the Jameson Whiskey inventory. There are 34 storage units filled with pallets and pallets full of barrels of whiskey. Plus an exclusive taste of a 22-year old, Sherry aged whiskey straight from the cask.
Short Video of The Jameson Midleton Distiller's Apprentice Tour
A taste of the Distiller's Apprentice Tour.
Video Bottle Your Own Jameson Cask Strength Black Barrel
The bottle experience is available at the gift shop at the Jameson Midleton Distillery and the Jameson distillery in Dublin. (not included with the tour)