It's raining

It's raining daily.
A nice young lady,
We spoke about the rain.
She said sorry for weather.
We drank together,
And cursed the f'ing rain.

Weather: Rain
Temperature: 6˚C
Water falling type: Rain
Predicted weather: Rain
Current lament: Rain
Desiring: Not rain

They're all a bunch of alcoholics!

They're making alcohol everywhere here, it's almost like the culture has a reputation for drinking.

This distillery, though much smaller than Jameson, was far more interesting as it is a functioning distillery, and we were walking through it. It's also located quite literally around the corner from where I'm staying. I was most happy to discover this.

The magic being added (yeast). Mmmmmm. yeasty.

Teeling use a mixture of both oak and steel fermenters, subsequently then blended together.

Two of three pots, where the alcohol is distilled, Teeling like many Irish whiskeys being triple distilled.

Where the magic happens. Though not really, since a large fire in Dublin 1875 apparently warehousing of alcohol is prohibited in the city and Teeling whiskey is matured outside the city near the Cooley Peninsula.

What tour would be complete without a tasting, I opted for the Single Malt tasting which also gives you a flavour of three whiskeys, the Single Malt, 15yo Revival Single Malt, and 21yo Single Malt. I found I most enjoyed the Revival Single Malt.

The other Irish drink

Of course no visit to Ireland would be complete, and indeed is required by Irish law, without a visit to the Guinese brewery. It also boasts the tallest building in Dublin and the view from the bar at the top really does show how flat Dublin is. Apparently it's a city ordinance that nothing can be greater than 60m, with the exception of the Guinness brewery. Beer needs an unobstructed view to brew properly.

Time: 1809h

Temperature: 10°C

Beer: Guiness

Intoxication: working on it

Visited Jameson's Distillery

I could hardly come to Dublin and not visit the old Jameson distillery, even if Jameson is no longer made here.

An interesting visit that cumulated in a whiskey tasting comparing Jameson, "a leading Scotch" (Johnny Walker Black) and an "American Bourbon" (Jack Daniels).

The coughing when people tried the Johnny Walker was amusing.

Finally they offered us a nice drink of Jameson at the end of the tour, which of course I felt obligated to take them up on (it would be rude not too!)

Time: 1530h

Temperature: 10°C

Jameson: Smooth, honey.

The tourist thing

Today I was finally able to do the real tourist thing. With the stressful stuff behind me, I did a relaxing walk around town on my meandering way to my new accomodation.

Location: Newmarket Square, Dublin
Temperature: 12°C
Time: 2250h
Accomodation: Budget but good.

 

Talisker 25

So I did intend to only drink Irish whiskeys whilst here, but the pub I'm at has Talisker 25, which tends to go for $450 to $500 a bottle in NZ and is difficult to find at bars. So I'm having a glass of it here. I have to say it's worth it, even though I'll probably never buy a bottle.

Onward to the other side of town

Time: 0700h
Temperature: 11°C.
Sky: Dark

My sleep pattern is still a bit off, sleeping at 9pm, waking at 5am. Oh well, at least I get a good start on breakfast at 7am.

Today I change accomodations from the Google provided hotel to Airbnb, with my host Ismenia. It's not too far away, but as I understand my local geography, it would be regarded as the other side of the city. I was most surprised to find that Dublin's population is only 500,000. I figured that, being a small town Auckland boy, every city in the northern hemisphere would leave me breathless at the population. Living here would seems like it would be odd for me, moving from a "big" city like Auckland.

I shall endeavour to disprove my old man status by staying up past 9pm tonight.