Irish Whiskey Museum
I happened to Google about what to do in Dublin and stumbled upon this link from the Irish Whiskey Museum. My friend being from Canada had some knowledge about this domain but I had zero. However, this visit to the Irish Whiskey Museum was completely worth it and I would strongly recommend it even if you are a newbie like me.
My friend and I booked the Early Bird Premium Tour which cost us around €19.5 a person. You can book it via their website or GetYourGuide. The usual cost is €23 but the Early Bird price is cheaper because you have to be there for a tour booked between 10:30 and 12 (yes, we are kind of adventurous!). You also get a cool nice glass as a souvenir besides the extra whiskey to taste; you get 4 different whiskeys to try in total. The other tours are the Classical Tour which costs €20 with 3 whiskeys to taste but no glass as a souvenir, and the Whiskey Blending Experience Tour which costs €30 where you get to try 4 varieties of whiskey and learn to craft and blend whiskey to your own liking and taste.
As my friend and I entered the museum, we were given a warm welcome by Chaniece who happened to be at the cashier’s desk at the souvenir store. She checked our tickets and asked us to wait for our guide, Shane. We barely waited as Shane came soon after and our tour started. He is a really passionate guy with lot of knowledge about whiskey. Besides walking us through, he was very jovial in his interaction with us besides showing his humorous side as well. After walking around this museum, going to different rooms to see different things, listening to Shane tell stories about how it all started in Ireland, how it evolved and other stuff, he finally took us to this room with these beauties waiting for us.
Oh boy! Looks amazing, doesn’t it? Whiskey, whiskey, everywhere. Our whiskey was waiting for us in these glasses; you get to take one of them home if you have booked the Premium Tour. It is well worth to pay those extra euros in my opinion, not only for the glass but to try another different style of whiskey.
Shane introduced us to different tricks on how to drink the different kinds of whiskeys kept in front of us. Tricks such as shaking the glass a bit, covering it with the hand to keep the air tight, bring a change to the flavor by doing these little little things were completely alien to me. If you have low alcohol tolerance like me, these can give you a buzz after 4 shots, especially at 11 in the morning with an empty stomach. Nevertheless, I survived, and more importantly, I finished all that was kept in front of me.
The tour was blazing fast; it ended in 60-80 minutes or so. We headed back to the souvenir store because I wanted to take some whiskey samples for my friends back home in Germany and India. It was important for me to find samples less than 100ml as I just had a cabin baggage booked. Kaboom, I found this!
I learnt that leaving a review for Shane would mean a lot as he may be entitled to his own whiskey bottle. So, here is an in-depth review of Shane and I am doing my bit to help that bloke get his whiskey. I found this concept really nice and encouraging for the employees out there. So, I proceeded to Chaniece who was busy billing my whiskey samples. In my 3 days in Ireland or many days in Europe, she had easily been the best host/receptionist/cashier I had come across. She was not only being nice to me but others who came around as well. A lovely smile, nice conversationlist, engaging with everyone to make them feel welcome. This really set the mood for my tour. To the team that came up with this initiative to give a bottle to the folks who give a tour, I would sincerely hope they give a bottle, even if it is a small one,to Chaniece as well.
Overall, I loved my tour to the Irish Whiskey Museum. Thank you, Shane. Thank you, Chaniece. Here’s a happy picture to end with.
