A bottle shaped corridor at the Tullamore D.E.W visitor centre.
Last week I was invited to a press tour of the newly refurbished Tullamore D.E.W visitor centre. With promise of free whiskey and a free lunch, I made my way to Dublin where I was shipped off on a big green bus with some of Dublin’s top food and drink writers.
After a journey filled with my fellow passengers lamenting wine tastings of old (“I remember when you would fly to Paris for a wine tasting at six , be there til four and stagger onto your flight with the remaining bottles by nine” a writer told me wistfully) we arrived at the canal side visitor centre.
The bar
The cafe
The building itself has been beautifully restored, what was originally the Tullamore D.E.W warehouse has now been turned into a wide open spaced bar/cafe filled with exposed original brickwork and big wooden furniture. with the stools made from their own whiskey barrels.
Our tour began with a short video of the origins of whiskey, and it’s history in Ireland from the first batches made by drunken scoundrels in ditches , to the foundation of Tullamore whiskey in 1829. As the video ended the large screen moved sideways to reveal a hidden staircase as though we had defeated a dungeon master in a computer game and we had been granted access to the next level.
Our guide talking us through the blending process
We were brought step by step through the whisky making process with an impressive mixture of videos, props and voice overs of the workers of old which made it easy and fun for a whisky novice like me to understand.
Aroma pods
But of course, what’s the point of going to a whiskey centre if you don’t get to taste some whiskey? The tour ended with us sampling three. Here, again, they really made sure it was accessible for even the most ignorant person (me) to understand what we were tasting. In the middle of the table we had “aroma pods”, jars filled with apple,grass, spices etc to help us identify the flavours and aromas.
We got to taste the Original triple blend made up of Grain, Malt and Potstill, the Old Bonded Warehouse, which was left to aged for an extra 11 months in an old sherry cask and the 12 year old Reserve. The Original was first, and I was able to pick out the flavour of apple and vanilla and spice. The second was my favourite The Old Bonded Warehouse, it was much smoother, with more spice notes and the taste of the sherry cask coming through. The final one, the 12 year old was smooth and with more flavours of spice and caramel. It was great as a beginners guide but I thought it would have been better with one or two more of their range on show (though I might just be greedy)
Our guide talking us through the tasting
After our tasting we walked down to the Balcone Italiano at the Bridge House Hotel, where we were given a slap up lunch of pork terrine with red onion marmalade, pan fried duck breast and a trio of desserts and I nearly needed a wheelbarrow to get me out the door.
Pan fried duck breast with roast vegetables and poached quails egg
Blackcurrent parfait, tiramisu and honeycomb semifreddo
All in all, I have to say I really enjoyed the tour, the building itself is beautiful, and the tour made whiskey; the history, process and taste, accessible to a beginner, but I feel it might be slightly dull for a real enthusiast. Though it is a far trek from Dublin, I can imagine it would be great for a hen or stag day out, or really anyone who fancies learning a bit more about our whiskey heritage and if you decided to make a day trip out of it Kilbeggan whiskey distillery isn’t too far away either (though you will have to fight over who will be the designated driver)
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