Is the Jameson Distillery Tour Worth It?

Verdict: No. As is often the case, the big name place is a disappointment, living off their name rather than the experience. The Jameson tour was quick, over in 30 minutes, there's no distilling on site, the tastings were tiny and felt like a sales pitch. Go to the lesser known but better Pearse Lyons & Teeling Distilleries instead.

Score: 6/10

Save with the Dublin Pass

The Dublin Pass gets you into Dublin's top 40 attractions for one flat fee. It pays for itself after the three big ones that everyone does: the Guinness Storehouse, Jameson Distillery, and the Hop-on Bus. Everything after that is free, EPIC, Christchurch, plus three of my own favourites the Little Museum of Dublin, the Jeanie Johnston Famine Ship and Teeling Distillery.
👉Buy the Dublin Pass here.

The Jameson Tour Experience

Where is the Jameson Distillery in Dublin?

Jameson is located in the Smithfield area of Dublin. It's easy to get to by the Luas tram, get off at the Smithfield stop. Then look for the tall tower and Jameson is beneath it.

It's a 20 minute walk from both central Dublin and the Guinness Storehouse. Many people do both in one afternoon. This tour will brings you to both.

Jameson Entrance

It is a beautiful building. They used to distill whiskey here but that stopped in 1970. It still has the distillery feeling with old brick. There's a bar that is open to the public or people finishing their tours and it was busy. There was a fun atmosphere as soon as I walked in.

Tickets

I collected my ticket at check-in. There is a choice of tours, I had gone for the regular tour because I had a commitment afterwards & I didn't want to drink too much whiskey 😄. But the add-ons were reasonably priced and I would have liked to have done the cocktail making class.

You do need to book ahead because it's extremely popular.

My Tour

I got there at 4 for my 4:15pm tour as instructed and was told I could join the 4:05 tour. I was brought upstairs to collect my 'daily grog', a choice of 3 Jameson drinks, I went for neat and waited. My 4:05 tour started at 4:20pm.

This 15 minutes on your own counts as part of your tour time, the first of the disappointment of the tour.

The Jameson History Room

I'm not sure if that was the real name, but I'll call it that. Our guide, Antonia, came to greet us and brought us into the first room where we stood in a circle and listened as Antonia told us the history of Jameson as some graphics played on the table in front of her.

It was quick but interesting. I learned thing I didn't know and I grew up very close. A word for Antonia, she was superb. She had a very dry wit, knew her stuff and has a good career ahead of her as a sommelier, which she was training for.

The Distillation Room

I knew this of course, but there's no distilling on site here. The last time that happened was in 1970. Instead, there's a presentation on the process of distillation. It was well done, but not the same as watching the real thing. In Teeling, they have windows into the stills where you see and smell the process. In Pearse Lyons, the still is on the altar!

The Tasting Room

We left to the tasting room and there was some confusion whether we were going into tasting room 3 or 4. This really made it felt like we were being processed, they're so busy that they have multiple tasting rooms to handle the crowds.

Three glasses of samples were laid out in front of us and the samples were tiny. The entire thing was a sales pitch for the Distillery Exclusive that was, yes, only available exclusively in the distillery. I was literally waiting for the "but wait there's more, buy in the next five minutes and you'll also get" line.

The Shop

And that was it, after 30 minutes, the tour was over. It was as brief as samples. It ended where all tours end, in the gift shop. There was a lot of whiskey for sale here, including my favourite, Midleton Very Rare. Midleton is where all the Jameson brands are actually distilled, down in Cork. You can tour the actual distillery in Midleton which is a better experience.

Conclusion

Being the best known Irish Whiskey, the Jameson distillery gets huge crowds. That's the problem. It's a money making machine backed by deep pockets and they've learned from theme parks how to push as many people through as possible.

You'll probably still go I know because it's Jameson 😆

Other Dublin Whiskey Tours

The Pearse Lyons remains my favourite distillery in Dublin. It's family owned, in a church, they distill on site and there's a lot of Dublin history in the tour. And you've never heard of them. My kind of place.

Teelings is a good one too, very well presented and they have the advantage over Pearse Lyons of having a bar onsite where you can relax after the tour.

My Pearse Lyons Distillery Review | My Teelings Whiskey Distillery review

After The Visit

If you still want to go to Jameson, I'd suggest you go later in the afternoon and make an evening of it. The area is well worth it.

5pm: Do the Jameson Tour
6pm: Eat dinner at Fish Shop. The best fish & chips in Dublin. Book ahead.
7pm: Go to the Cobblestone for some music. It's becoming a bit touristy for my liking, but since you're in the area, pop in and hear some music.

Stay Near Here

Smithfield is a good area to stay in too. It's just outside the most central area of Dublin and prices are lower here for that reason. The Luas tram makes it easy to get around and you can still get to everything within 15 minutes. It's near Heuston Train station too.

If you like more local areas, then it's especially good because Stoneybatter is around the corner and was named by Time Out magazine as 'one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world.'

I like the Maldron Smithfield Hotel or the lovely McGettigan's Townhouse above the excellent Olive & Figs bistro.

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Jameson Distillery Photo Gallery