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My Irish Whiskey Museum Review

Ireland by Locals

Ireland by Locals

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My Irish Whiskey Museum Review

My Review of The Irish Whiskey Museum

Verdict: My expectations were low for the Irish Whiskey Museum in Dublin. It's not a distillery after all, but I am happy to report that I did enjoy it.

It was a lighthearted, but educational, look at how whiskey came to be in Ireland. The guide was good and the whiskey samples were high quality.

I loved that the tastings were from different distilleries. I even tasted a few Irish whiskeys that I hadn't heard of and I (should) have a PhD in Irish Whiskey!

Its central location is a huge bonus. The actual distilleries are not in central Dublin. Recommended.

Score 8/10

Practical Information

Tickets: Book ahead because the tours are done in small groups
Hours: 10am-7:30pm M-Th. 10am-10pm Fri & Sat
Duration: 1 hour
Location: Central Dublin, in front of Trinity College

The Tours

Location

The museum could not be any more central, it's directly across from the front entrance to Trinity College.

That makes it good for anyone who is short on time in Dublin, the other Dublin distilleries are a 30 minute walk away from the centre.

Entrance

You enter through an alleyway which is decorated with barrel tops with different Irish whiskey logos on it. Clever.

You go up the stairs (or elevator) and check-in at the desk in the gift shop. I checked in with Daniel, who turned out was our guide and told there were only four on our tour.

This was surprising given how busy it was, but most people were doing the Irish Coffee Masterclass. This would be a good thing to do if you've just landed in Dublin that morning, coffee and whiskey to combat the jet lag.

The Apothecary

Daniel brought the four of us up the stairs to the apothecary and explained the story of Irish whiskey. He told us how Irish monks went to Cordoba in Spain and learned to make whiskey there from the monks who made perfume.

Typical Irish 😄

The Shebeen

Then we went into the Shebeen, which was an illicit drinking place back in the day. It was a reconstruction, but done well. It felt cozy as the guide told us about poitín and how whiskey was accidentally created when they discovered a bottle of poitín that had been buried for 3 years. It turned out to be much nicer and less lethal.

There was a coffin in the shebeen and you'll learn about the Irish wake.

Victorian Bar

Next door was Murphy's Bar, a proper Irish pub where Daniel surprised us by telling us what the top 10 selling whiskeys in the world were. I won't ruin it, but I would have never guessed them.

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The tour felt very relaxed. I had been to the Jameson Experience the week before and did not like it one bit. It felt like we were being quickly processed to maximise throughput like a ride at Disney. But at the Irish Whiskey Museum, we had lots of time in each room, Daniel encouraged questions and it was well paced. Sightseeing days in cities can be hectic, a chilled hour with whiskey is a good interlude.

The Tasting Bar

The main event. The tasting room was well decorated, felt like a proper bar, I could have spent the evening here tasting whiskeys.

The big difference compared to going to the individual distilleries is that you taste whiskeys from different Irish distilleries. They are not here just promoting their own product, because they don't have one. So that makes it a very balanced tour.

We tried

  • Fercullen Falls
  • The Irishman
  • Clan Colla 9 years
  • Knappogue Castle 12 years

Knappogue was the 4th drink and only for the Premium Tour folks. Or the "rich guys" as Daniel joked.

I always go for the premium tours on any distillery tour because the premium whiskey is always so good that it makes up for the small difference in price. We were gifted one of the tasting glasses too, which the classic tour folks were. A little embarrassing as they looked on like a jealous younger brother 😆

The Gift Shop

It was small, but had some fun whiskey related items, I nearly bought the "perfectly aged" t-shirt myself.

The Irish Whiskey Museum Bar

There is a bar where you can go before or after the tour. I didn't only because it was full when I was leaving.

Conclusion

I've been to all the distilleries in Dublin and this is something different. The fact that they are telling the story of whiskey rather than promoting their own brand is a change and makes for a good chance to try different whiskeys.

I think it's worth an hour of your time. You could make an afternoon of it and come here, then go to one of the distilleries.

Of the Dublin distilleries, Pearse Lyons Distillery is my favourite, then Teeling and Jameson firmly last.

Next time I go to the Irish Whiskey Museum, I'll do the Irish Coffee Masterclass next time.

Save with the Dublin Pass

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

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