Not sure which whiskey tour in Dublin to go for? In this guide, I’ll compare my experience trying the Jameson Distillery Tour and the Teeling Distillery Tour to show you which one is worth adding to your itinerary.
What’s a trip to Dublin without a glass of Irish whiskey? On our latest trip to Dublin, we definitely made the most of the Irish love for its two famous drinks: Irish whiskey and Guinness. From a trip to the Guinness Storehouse, many pubs and – of course – a couple of whiskey distillery tours.
While there aren’t nearly as many distilleries in Dublin as there used to be, there are still some awesome opportunities to go on a whiskey tour and visit some of the places where whiskey is (or used to be) made. Still, it’s something to check off your Dublin bucketlist.
We went on two of the most famous whiskey tours in Dublin, the Jameson tour and the Teeling experience. In this article, I’ll give you an honest review of both and share what you can expect if you were to book a ticket for either of them.
Jameson vs. Teeling Whiskey Experience Overview
Before diving into a more detailed review of my experience going to both tours, here is a quick overview with some basic information about both tours:
| Jameson Distillery Tour | Teeling Distillery Tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Pros |
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| Cons |
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| Price | €25 | Three packages available: €17, €22 or €30 |
| Tasting experience | 9/10 | 3/10 |
| Type of tour | Guided | Mostly self-guided |
| Length of tour | 45 – 60 minutes, including tasting | 45 – 60 minutes, including tasting |
| Location | Bow St, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 N9VH | 3 – 7 Newmarket, The Liberties, Dublin 8, D08 KD91 |
| Book tickets |
Who’d Enjoy a Whiskey Tour?
When you’re visiting Dublin, I highly recommend booking at least one tour to a whiskey distillery. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of whiskey, it’s a great opportunity to learn more about the city, its history and the large role whiskey played in it.
I’m definitely not a big whiskey drinker, although I can enjoy an occasional whiskey cocktail, and the tours taught me a lot about the drink. Especially the tasting session (mainly at Jameson, but more on that later), really made me appreciate the drink a lot more. It was fun to actually taste the differences between them and notice some flavours I didn’t know could be found in whiskey.
And, of course, if you’re a whiskey lover, these tours are a must-do. Even if you already know much about whiskey, the tour and the tasting sessions will be a great addition to your knowledge. Plus, it’s amazing to visit the places where these big brands started (and see a working distillery at Teeling!).
Jameson Dublin Tour Review
The Jameson whiskey experience is the best whiskey tour in Dublin, in my opinion. Located in the original place where Jameson was distilled until 1971, the Jameson whiskey tour gives you a real insight into the company and the way whiskey is made.
The tour takes you through three rooms. The first room is where you’ll learn about Jameson’s history through an interactive experience with your guide’s commentary. It was quite a show! Our guide was incredibly entertaining and very enthusiastic, which added so much to the experience.
The second room lets you dive into the world of whiskey with all your senses. Apart from learning how whiskey is made and what techniques are used to give Jameson its unique taste, you also get to touch and smell parts of the distilling process. Since I knew nothing about whiskey beforehand, this was very interesting. Especially since it was an interactive experience.
The third and last room was the tasting room…
Obviously, the whole tour is very much in favour of Jameson and there are some sales pitches, but overall, I thought the tour was absolutely fantastic. Our guide was incredibly enthusiastic and knowledgeable, which made it an unforgettable experience.
The only downside to the Jameson experience is that they don’t actually distil here anymore, so you cannot see where the whiskey is made. However, if you also add the Teeling experience to your itinerary, you’ll still get to see where whiskey is made.
Tasting Experience
After learning about Jameson and how whiskey is made, we moved on to the last room of the tour. We all stood in a large circle with three glasses of whiskey and one glass of water in front of us. The room was lit very mysteriously, and the vibe felt awesome. I was ready to taste some whiskey!
Our guide stood in the middle of the circle and explained – these were three different types of whiskey: Jameson (Irish whiskey), Scottish whiskey and American whiskey. He explained why these types of whiskey have their own distinct flavours.
He then guided us through the tasting process. For someone like me, who has never done a tasting before, this was very helpful. First, we cleansed our palettes with a sip of water. Then, we individually tried the three types of whiskey. Our guide carefully explained what types of flavours you could taste, but also stated that this could be different for everybody, as everybody’s palette is different.
And with this guidance, I was very surprised at how many flavours I picked up! Even more surprisingly, I tasted huge differences between the three types of whiskey. I had never even considered that these have different flavours, but the contrast was huge.
Especially with a guide this enthusiastic and knowledgeable about whiskey, it was an incredibly fun experience to have. I definitely preferred the Jameson, and (to my surprise) really disliked the American whiskey (which turned out to be Jack Daniels!).
After the tasting session, our guide thanked us for our time. We then moved on to the bar, where we could get a free whiskey cocktail or another glass of Jameson with our entree ticket. The bar has an awesome vibe, with very old Jameson bottles locked behind a glass wall.
It made for a perfect ending to our Jameson tour, and I left with a whole new appreciation for the drink.
Teeling Whiskey Tour Review
While I thought the Teeling Whiskey tour was nowhere near as good as the one at Jameson, it still made for a fun experience and a good addition to our Dublin itinerary.
The tour is mostly self-guided, which made some bits a bit harder to understand. For the first 15 minutes, we were left in a room where we could read about Teeling’s history. While it was great to learn more about the brand, in comparison to the interactive way Jameson explained its history, it was a bit underwhelming.
After that came the best part of the experience, in my opinion: the distillery room. Unlike Jameson, Teeling still distils its whiskey in Dublin, so we were able to walk through the room where whiskey was being made. It was awesome! Just for this part alone, I think it’s worth visiting this tour.
It smelled incredible! There were some signs that explained more about the whiskey-making process. There was a guide with us in the room, but he didn’t take any initiative to explain anything further. You could ask him questions, but he seemed slightly disinterested. Plus, I wasn’t even quite sure what I could ask him, since my whiskey knowledge was almost non-existent.
We then moved to the next room, where another guide (who was way more enthusiastic and helpful!) gave us some information about the evaporation process of whiskey and what it does to the taste. She was by far the best person we encounter on the tour, and I wish she’d done the whole tour with us!
After this room, we entered the last part of the tour with yet another guide: the tasting experience.
Tasting Experience
The tasting experience at Teeling was nowhere near as good as the one at Jameson. To be quite frank, I was very disappointed.
There were different tasting packages you could choose from:
- Teeling Tasting (€17 or free with Dublin Go Pass) – includes Teeling Small Batch & Handcrafted Whiskey Cocktail
- Teeling Trinity Tasting (€22) – includes Teeling Small Batch, Single Grain & Single Malt
- Distillery Select Tasting (€30) – includes Teeling Small Batch, Single Malt, Distillery Exclusive & Single Pot Still.
All packages include the same tour of the distillery, the only thing that’s different is the types of drinks you get to taste after the tour.
While only the Teeling Tasting is included in the Dublin Go Pass, we were able to pay for the difference (€5) and upgrade to the Teeling Trinity Tasting package. However, the only difference is that you get to drink some extra whiskeys at the end (without any extra explanation).
The tasting experience itself was rather disappointing, especially for someone who doesn’t know much about whiskey. I guess the experience may have been different if we’d been given another guide, but even then, I doubt it would’ve been close to the fantastic experience we had at Jameson.
All three packages were put together in one room, but you simply were given different glasses of whiskey depending on how much money you’d paid. Instead of getting anything to compare it to, there was only Teeling’s own brand whiskey. And while that shouldn’t be a problem, there was no explanation for what we were supposed to look for when trying them.
They simply said “have a taste!” and let us do whatever we wanted.
Especially since I am a whiskey novice and the only tasting I had done before was at the Jameson Distillery one day prior, I simply drank the three whiskeys in front of me. I had no idea if I did it right or what I was supposed to pay attention to. Yes, they tasted fine, but the difference? Not so sure.
At the Jameson tasting, we were told what types of flavours to look for and where to find them on your palette. For someone who has never done a tasting before and who doesn’t know much about whiskey, this was an awesome experience because I could really taste the difference. Especially since we got to compare them to other brands, it was awesome to understand the difference in taste and the reasons for the difference in taste.
I would’ve liked to get some information about the taste of Teeling, but unfortunately, none was given. Especially since I tried three different Teeling whiskey, I would’ve liked to know why they tasted different (even though I couldn’t really tell the difference) and what types of flavours to look for. To me, it all just tasted of… strong whiskey.
It was also a shame to see that one man got most of the attention from our guide. He had purchased the Distillery Select Tasting and had a lot more experience with tasting whiskey than the rest of us, and our guide only seemed to talk to him, rather than giving others some help or attention (who paid for a less expensive package).
I definitely would’ve enjoyed the tasting experience more if everybody would’ve been given the same attention as the one person who bought the expensive package. Maybe we were unlucky with the lady who was guiding us, but I didn’t learn anything about tasting the whiskey at Teeling.
Jameson Distillery or Teeling Distillery Tour?
If you have enough time to visit both, I recommend doing both tours (especially since they are included in the Dublin Go Pass). However, the Jameson Whiskey Tour was miles better than the Teeling Tour.
The fact that the whole tour was guided and turned into something so entertaining (it was almost a show!) won a lot of points in my book. As well as teaching you about the company, they also explained how the whiskey is made and where it gets its flavour. I loved how interactive it was, letting us smell different smells that are part of the whiskey-making process.
The tasting experience was also almost flawless. We got to try three different whiskeys: Scottish, American and Irish whiskey. Our guide explained exactly what to look for when tasting and where to find the different tastes on your palette. For someone who had never done a whiskey tasting before, this was incredibly valuable.
This information and guidance were completely non-existent in the Teeling tour. But it was nice to see where the whiskey was made, which wasn’t possible at Jameson’s distillery tour.