Whiskey And More Whiskey on the Jameson Experience Tour
Along with Guinness, Jameson Whiskey is one of the most recognizable exports from Ireland. A visit to Ireland wouldn’t have been complete for me without a tour of one of Jameson’s distilleries. In fact, one of the main reasons we chose to stay in Kinsale was due to its proximity to Midleton where the Jameson Experience tour is located.
In this review, I go over all the main highlights of the Jameson Experience tour, as well as what to expect with the additional Premium Whiskey Tasting. I also cover all the ticketing info to help you plan your visit.
With that all out of the way, come along with me on the Jameson Experience Tour!
Updated September 2024
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General Info About the Jameson Experience Tour
| Hours | Gift shop open daily 10:00 – 6:00 Tours offered daily, availability changes by season |
| Length of Visit | Base tour is 75 minutes |
| Cost | €26 |
| Highlights | Picturesque buildings, cooperage, whiskey comparison tastings |
The Jameson Experience tour is 75 minutes long. It consists of a short video at the beginning followed by a walking tour through the old Jameson grounds. No part of this tour goes through the modern factory, but you can see it in the distance from some of the grounds.
A single guide takes groups of up to 35 people on the tour. I can’t remember our guide’s name, but he was entertaining and knowledgeable about the factory. I tend to stay on the outskirts of guided tours, either in the front or back, so I ended up being next to him as we walked from stop to stop. He was ready to answer any and all of my questions I asked along the way.
Most of the corporate history of Jameson is provided in the introductory video. This video takes about five minutes or so before you head outside for the tour. The guide will talk about some history of each specific stop, but the tour is more about the processes involved for making Jameson whiskey.
It’s also important to note that Jameson changed the name of this tour since I visited in 2021. It’s now called the Midleton Distillery Experience, but it’s otherwise the same. This seems to have been done to differentiate it from the similarly named tour at their Bow Street location in Dublin.
Highlights from the Jameson Experience Tour
Before the Tour
If you arrive early, take some time to walk around the attractive grounds of the old Jameson factory. There’s a small stream running by the distillery if you want to grab a seat to relax while you wait. They also have a food stand sitting outside selling some basic fare if you need to fill up before your tour.
In the case of rain, you can head inside to explore the store. There are some historical items from Jameson’s history you can view if you want to learn a bit about the company on your own.
Exterior Grounds
The exteriors of the buildings with their Jameson-red shutters are certainly the prettiest parts of the tour. That red is so iconic of the brand that you instantly know where you are when looking at the buildings (in case you somehow stumble on to the tour after too much Jameson). It’s also a very striking image against the cloudy, gray sky above.
The large waterwheel that sits outside one of the buildings is another highlight of the grounds. It’s still running and is impressive to think that this simple contraption once powered these factories to give the world Jameson.
Inside the Factory
The tour takes you through a few different areas of the factory’s innards, but two stood above the rest for me.
In the still house you learn about the actual process of distilling whiskey. It’s interesting hearing the facts and figures on how Jameson distills its famed spirit. You also get to see the world’s largest pot still. This still can hold over 140,000 liters of liquid!
The cooperage was my favorite part of the Jameson Experience tour. I feel like booze fans always get excited about barrels for some reason I can’t even identify. Maybe it makes us feel smart to say things like “Oooh, this whiskey really picks up the vanilla notes from that French oak barrel.”
Who knows! Regardless, it was the best part. It’s always astonishing to hear how many barrels alcohol producers go through. The numbers are staggering when you learn about how much effort goes into making just a single barrel.
Be sure to lean in for a sniff of some of the barrels. Don’t be embarrassed – many others will likely be doing the same thing with you. A few of the ones I smelled gave off some amazing bourbon and oak smells.
Whiskey Comparison
The last tour stop is in a small room where you’re given three different types of whiskey to compare. There’s a Jameson, a scotch, and either a Tennessee whiskey or a bourbon (I can’t remember which for the life of me).
I enjoyed this part because it was like a trivia game, and I love myself some trivia. The scotch was the easiest to identify. It was a little trickier to figure out the Jameson from the American whiskey. If you’re an aficionado like myself (that’s a fun way of saying a sot), you should be able to figure it out after a few sips.
The Jameson Bar
At the end of the tour, you’re entitled to one complimentary Jameson drink. Your choices are neat, on the rocks or a whiskey ginger cocktail. It’s the perfect way to end the tour.
That is, unless you added the Premium Whiskey Tasting. Now, that is the perfect way to actually end the tour! Keep reading to find out more about what this add-on entails.
Premium Whiskey Tasting
After a few minutes, the whiskey expert called us and a few other people back to another room for the Premium Whiskey Tasting. It would have been nice to have a little longer with our complimentary drinks, but I understand they need to keep things moving for other groups.
We were able to take our drinks in with us to have while doing our tasting. The problem with this is that it ends up being quite a bit of alcohol in a short time (especially if your drink is neat like mine was). Make sure to plan to spend a little time walking around Midleton or else have a designated driver to take you back to your homebase once you’re done.
As far as the tasting itself, I thought it was worth the extra money. The whiskeys we sampled were Jameson Black Barrel, Powers John’s Lane Release, Redbreast 12 Year Old and Midleton Very Rare.
The Jameson Black does not seem particularly premium, but it was quite good. I actually picked up a bottle for myself upon returning home in America. The Redbreast and Midleton drams were excellent! They both had a unique taste that made the premium tasting worth it. Powers, on the hand, was not good at all. As our guide said, it’s a traditional Irish whiskey, which is why they include it.
The whiskey expert lent some interesting facts and history about each whiskey. More than anything, he was just fun to chat with during our time doing the tasting.
My only complaint about the entire tour was that at the time of our tour, this tasting was only 20 minutes long. You simply don’t have enough time really savor the different whiskeys in front of you.
Jameson Experience Tour Ticket Options
The Midleton Jameson Distillery offers five different ticket options including four tours and one tasting. We chose the combined Jameson Experience tour and Premium Whiskey Tasting as it offered the most value and I couldn’t pass up a chance for an additional whiskey tasting!
Below is a list of each option with prices and major differences from the Jameson Experience Tour and Premium Whiskey Tasting (I’ll discuss this tour in more detail throughout this article). Ticket costs are in US dollars and are per adult with the exception of the Family Experience. The Family Experience price listed below is for two adults and one child, but you can add two additional children if needed.
| Behind the Scenes Tour | €75 | Two-hour tour, includes the Premium Whiskey Tasting |
| Jameson Experience Tour | €26 | – |
| Premium Whiskey Tasting | €35 | – |
| Jameson Experience + Premium Whiskey Tasting | €56 | – |
How to Get to the Jameson Experience Tour
The three closest major towns to Midleton are Kinsale, Cobh and Cork.
If you’re driving from Kinsale or Cork, make sure you take Cork’s traffic into account. We drove around Cork during rush hour traffic, and it added about 30 minutes to the drive.
From Cork
It’s about a 15-mile drive from Cork via N25 eastbound. You could also take the train from Kent Station to Midleton Station.
From Cobh
The drive from Cobh is about 11 miles. Head north out of town via L2989 until it intersects with R624. Turn right and then continue on this road until the exit for N25 eastbound.
From Kinsale
Kinsale is definitely the farthest drive, but Kinsale came recommended over the other two as a place to stay due to its smaller size and atmosphere. It’s at least a 45-minute drive even without much traffic. Make the drive easier by planning to stop in Cork or Cobh for some brief sightseeing and/or a meal.
Take R600 northbound out of Kinsale for 12 miles, and then take the exit for N40 eastbound. After five miles, take the exit for N25 toward Midleton. Stay on this until you reach Midleton and see signs for the distillery.
Closing Thoughts on the Jameson Experience Tour
The Jameson Experience tour gets a big thumbs up from me. Even if you don’t like whiskey, it’s still interesting to go through the buildings learning the history of this facet of Irish culture. For those of you who are whiskey fans, you’re in for a real treat between all the whiskey-making facts and the various tastings!
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