A private three day trail departing from and returning to Dublin. We visit five working distilleries and a Jameson Brand Home. Lots of essential Ireland sightseeing along the way...

Rates

1 person ( INCLUDES SRS | Age 18+ ): 2,708.00 €
2 people ( SHARING ): 1,568.00 €
3-7 people ( SHARING ): 1,188.00 €
8-10 people ( SHARING ): 950.00 €

SINGLE ROOM SUPPLEMENT: 200 EUR per person

Please note: All prices are per person.

Duration

3 days

About

DAY 1
We pick up at your Dublin hotel at 10am and our 3 day whiskey adventure begins! Today, you will discover Ireland’s Ancient East. We’re travelling through the lesser beaten tourism track and we’ve two fantastic distillery visits lined up for you today. Our first stop is in the neighbouring county of Wicklow, famed for it's country estates. We're stopping at Powerscourt Estate this morning and we're visiting Powerscourt Distillery -  a smashing start to this 3 day adventure. The distillery is set in a restored mill house on the estate. A highlight of this tour is the visit to the onsite maturation warehouse. We finish in one of the stylish tasting rooms for a tutored tasting of Fercullen whiskeys. Time at leisure on Powerscourt Estate - pop over to the 18th century mansion for lunch and discover the landscaped gardens - voted No. 3 in the Top 10 Gardens of the World - by National Geographic! We continue south, taking the very scenic route through County Wicklow, all the way to County Kilkenny.

Just on the outskirts of Kilkenny you’ll find a wonderful artisan Irish family farm distillery – Ballykeefe Distillery. It is from this area that the first written account of distilling in Ireland comes in 1324. It was written in the Red Book of Ossory. The word ‘whiskey’ is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic phrase ‘uisce beatha’ meaning ‘water of life’. It’s here that you discover the history of Irish whiskey – at its birthplace. You’ll be walked through the farm’s mill house, to the brewhouse, to the copper pot stills and lastly to the warehouse where their whiskey is still sleeping soundly. You’ll also see the on-site bottling plant. You will finally be taken to the tasting rooms, transformed from the horses stable where you’ll sample Ballykeefe’s own gin, vodka, poitín and their new, eagerly awaited Single Pot Still Whiskey and Single Malt! Ballykeefe is really special – it’s small scale and it’s the first farm distillery to open in Ireland in 200 years. Sustainability is a big part of their story and they are a proper bona fide single estate distillery.

We’re just a short drive to Kilkenny. Kilkenny is a medieval city in southeast Ireland, arguably the most prominent medieval city in the country. We’ll leave you to explore it at leisure this evening. We’ve booked you at a 5* hotel on the edge of town. You can transfer into the city to discover the grand Kilkenny Castle which was built in 1195 by Norman occupiers and overlooks the town. The town has deep religious roots and many well-preserved churches and monasteries, including the imposing St. Canice’s Cathedral and the Black Abbey Dominican priory, both from the 13th century. It’s also a crafts hub, with shops along its winding lanes selling pottery, paintings and jewellery – a shopper’s paradise! There’s no shortage of pubs with live music and great restaurants to choose from for dinner (we’ll ensure you’ve plenty of good recommendations!)

DAY 2
Enjoy a famous full Irish breakfast in your hotel, at your leisure this morning. We’re starting our visits today at a new distillery in Waterford City. Waterford Distillery is focused on establishing that terroir, a term usually associated with wine, does exist in whisky (note they spell it without the ‘e’). This is a really interesting tour.

Waterford is most famous for its hugely successful crystal of course, and after the distillery visit we’ll drop you to House of Waterford Crystal so you can enjoy some lunch maybe or browse the retail store and pick up a new Waterford Crystal decanter maybe! Then we take a 90-minute transit across the county of Waterford to County Cork, finishing today in the town of Midleton in East Cork – a very important town on the Irish whiskey map!

On arrival in Midleton, we head straight for the Midleton Distillery Experience. Jameson was made in Dublin for 200 years (you can visit the Jameson Distillery Bow St. on one of our Dublin half day tours) but since 1975, Jameson has been produced down here in Midleton, East Cork. Discover the home of the biggest Irish whiskey in the world, if you enjoy Jameson – you will love this! You will enjoy a very special extended behind the scenes tour here at Jamesons.

You will also receive a high-end whiskey tasting along the way, enjoying some of the most premium whiskeys to come out of Ireland. Time for shopping in the Jameson retail store follows and then we will drop you at your 5* hotel for check in and you can explore the magic of Cork at your leisure tonight.

DAY 3
Full Irish breakfast at your hotel, at your leisure this morning. We’re turning north towards Dublin this morning, passing the village of Dungourney on the way out of Cork. The Dungourney River is the water source for the distillery in Midleton – all Jameson whiskey sold worldwide is made by water from this river. Just 40 minutes away, we have our first visit of the day, to Blackwater Distillery, on the banks of the River Blackwater. Peter, John and the gang operate a micro-distillery at Blackwater, making a delicious small-batch gin and they are resurrecting the original forgotten processes of making Irish whiskey. You will try some of their initial releases from the ‘Velvet Cap’ family. The distillery is located in the sleepy village of Ballyduff in west Waterford. From here you’ll enjoy lovely scenery as we make our way to County Tipperary – it’s not ‘a long way’ as the song goes, it’s actually only another 40 minute drive from Blackwater.

You will enjoy some free time a wonderful little town called Cashel with it’s imposing Rock of Cashel. Feel free to wander up to this most spectacular archaeological site for a visit and enjoy some lunch in one of the town’s fine pubs or cafes. After, we take our last distillery visit of the trail (sad face) as we visit Tullamore D.E.W. Distillery. This is a seriously impressive visit to finish with. You’ll enjoy a premium / access all areas tour here with various tastings along the way. Then, sit back and relax on board and in a little over one hour, we’ll have you back in Dublin.

NB – depending on availability we may swap out some of the above stops for other distilleries, such as: Royal Oak, Tipperary Boutique (pictured below) or Rebel City distilleries

Package includes

• Private escorted touring through Ireland’s Ancient East, predominantly through counties Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford, Cork, Tipperary and Offaly.
• Travel in executive transport throughout. Bottled water on board
• Whiskey Specialist Host to accompany you throughout, to bring the overall Irish whiskey story to life and to give guided commentary on
each region we pass. All his
expenses included
• Overnights at 5* hotel in Cork & Killkenny. Full Irish Breakfast included each morning
• Six distillery visits over 3 days – a wide variety of experiences and whiskeys! Featuring:
1. Powerscourt
2. Ballykeefe
3. Waterford
4. Midleton Distillery Experience
5. Blackwater
6. Tullamore D.E.W.

• All taxes
• 6% transaction fee added at checkout

Additional information

Private tour. Min 1 / max 10
Over 18s
7 day cancellation policy