Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
spicy whisky that tastes like the essence of
the Highlands. After a disastrous 1960 fire,
the simple whitewashed plant was largely
rebuilt, with replicas made of the five old-
fashioned stills—two wash stills for the
first distillation, and three spirit stills for a
second distillation (until 1928 Talisker
even distilled the spirit a costly third time).
You'll also notice on your tour that while
most of the whisky is aging in reused
American bourbon casks, some of the
older vintages are still mellowing in sherry
casks, which was for years the industry
standard.
When you call ahead to book a spot on a
tour, consider the afternoon Connoisseur's
Tour, which includes an extended tasting
session. There's no other distillery to rush
on to next—take time to savor the taste of
Skye.
Carbost (
&
44/1478/614-308;
www.
malts.com).
(
Inverness (129km/80 miles).
L
$$
Sligachan Hotel,
Sligachan
(
&
44/1478/650-204;
www.sligachan.co.
uk). $$$
The Cuilllin Hills Hotel,
Portree
(
&
44/1478/612-003;
www.cuillinhills.
demon.co.uk).
Distilleries
412
Jameson Whiskey Distilleries
It's All Still History
Dublin/Midleton, Ireland
Though they're both tied to Ireland's most
famous whiskey, Jameson's, these two
attractions present the whiskey tourist
with a devil of a choice. Which do you
tour—the snazzy refurbished space in
Dublin where John Jameson actually began
producing whiskey in 1780, or the beauti-
ful historic section of the plant in rural
Cork where Jameson's is made today?
If you're the sort of traveler who needs
to stand on the very ground where impor-
tant events happened, opt for the Dublin
attraction, officially titled the
Old Jameson
Distillery.
Whiskey isn't made here any-
more, but the brick-walled, wood-beamed
building just north of the Liffey is the same
plant where John Jameson began making
whiskey in 1780. Back then, Dublin was the
greatest whiskey-producing city in the
world, and by 1805, Jameson's was the
world's number-one brand. Over the next 2
centuries, it managed to survive the Irish
temperance movement, the rise of cheaper
blended Scotch whiskey, Irish wars of
independence, and finally Prohibition in
America. (On the other hand, it benefited
greatly from the late-19th-century phyllo-
xera epidemic, which arrested European
wine-drinking for several years.) As you
stroll through the “experience,” Jameson's
history and traditional production methods
are illuminated in videos, dioramas, and
replicas of old equipment. Though it's a bit
Disneyland-ish (you almost expect the
molded figures to start singing), the guides
are engaging and, of course, there's a gen-
erous tasting session afterwards.
If you're the sort of traveler, however,
who likes to enter an authentic setting that
evokes a dreamy sense of the past, head
for Midleton, a short drive east from Cork
city, for a guided tour of The
Old Midle-
ton Distillery/Jameson Heritage Cen-
ter.
After Jameson's joined forces with its
chief Irish rivals in 1966, forming the Irish
Distillers Group (now owned by Pernod),
Jameson's shifted operations to a new
modern distillery nearby; this series of
rustic stone buildings in the lush Cork
countryside was that distillery's 1825
