I feel a lucky girl this year: two trips to Ireland within 4 months (see my previous post)…just as well that Dublin never disappoints. The warmth and infectious chatter of the Irish always makes this place a home away from home. This time I was brought by Ireland’s most famous whiskey company – Jameson Irish Whiskey. My journey would take me down to the underbelly beneath Dublin’s streets, through secret fridge doors to hidden bars, and of course to some surprising and interesting eateries…all the while learning about this famed distillery and how its history has impacted Dublin’s history, society, and culture. This is my wonderful journey with the Spirit of Dublin.
After a short swoop over the Irish Sea in a Ryan Air jet I landed at Dublin airport, was met by my driver and escorted to the city in a blacked out Mercedes to the luxurious Marker Hotel. With a flash (and no time to unpack), we headed out for cocktails in the basement of the Clarence Hotel, owned by none other than Bono! This is a really cool bar serving, of course, tonne of Jameson’s cocktails. After nailing a few and having a schmooze with the other 75 guests on the trip (!!), I headed back home to my giant bed to get ready for the day ahead…
There is no better start to a day than a hotel breakfast. Fact. The one at the Marker was phenomenal. After filling my bootstraps (and then some), it was time to go underground under the streets of Dublin to learn about the fine art of Coopering: barrel making. It is difficult to imagine that one of the world’s best loved and widely drank whiskeys is truly engaged with the whole craft of production from cask to glass, but Jameson’s really is. Chief master cooper Ger Buckley leaned the art of coopering (the art of cask making) as an apprentice when he was about 15, and explained to us the full barrel making process. All of Jameson’s barrels are handmade using a mixture of American white oak and Spanish sherry casks. Ger explained that all of the colour for the whiskey and 50% of the flavor comes from the casks, hence why it is paramount that the casks are quality and made by hands with the knowledge of generations behind them.
A fun fact to know is that the name Derry comes from the Irish word Darra which means oak; this wood is part of Ireland’s history and now…its whiskey. The wonderful aromas and flavours of whiskey are created when air passes in and out of the casks, pushing the flavor out from within the wood cells and into the liquid inside.
The casks are made up of long individual staves which are hand cut and burned on the inside. A fire is lit and the staves placed around in a circle, a cable is placed round the outer of the staves and as the heat licks the wood it bends to create the curved shape of a barrel. If you think that sounds easy…it is not. It is imperative for the cooper to ensure that all the staves fit together to the millimetre as each flaw causes the barrel to leak. Ger can make 5 casks a day, which when you appreciate that Jameson’s produces over 50 million bottles of whiskey a year, is extraordinary and shows the importance of this ancient skill! I was quite astounded and pleased to learn that machines had not been put in charge of cask production at Jameson’s. Here tradition and craft reign supreme.
The next stop on our tour was Temple Bar and the surrounding areas, for a street art tour of Dublin with born and bred artist James Early. Ever year the Jameson's limited edition St Paddy's day bottle is reinvented, and James had the prestige this year of designing it.
James, apart from being a lovely bloke, is an incredible artist. He studied graphic design and graffiti at University and has come from a family of stained glass makers. Looking at his design, there are clear influences from his heritage; individual coloured segments on the label appear like broken glass. He talked us through the design whilst showing us around a few of the many bridges which link the East and West sides of the city.
The bottle features one of the main bridges in Dublin; the lamp above the bridge and the seahorses adorning the pillars. He has encapsulated cleverly an iconic landmark of the city but used his own unique graphic style to make the bottle look fresh.
As we circled the cobbled streets of Temple Bar peering up at the numerous offerings of street art, I reflected how mad it was that in all the times I've been to Dublin, like most tourists, I've never really looked up. Next time you visit, do – you will see some astounding pieces of street art. There are some really interesting works here embellished on the sides of buildings and the juxtaposition of old and new is magical.
The rest of my trip takes me to some excellent eateries, a gig and a hidden bar where I learnt to make the perfect Irish coffee. Details of these little gems will be in my follow up piece…
Written by Erin Goodall, FoodGoblin Northern Correspondent
