Discover the Traditional Irish Whiskey Experience at Dublin’s Old Jameson Distillery
(By Elizabeth Tuico) Jameson is synonymous with Dublin. This Irish whiskey evokes a cool, eerie moodiness found throughout the emerald isle. I regularly drink whiskey at home; it just tastes better in Dublin.
If you are not familiar: Jameson is the world's most awarded and bestselling Irish whiskey, ranked in the top four global whiskey brands and number nine in spirits worldwide.
Jameson Toasts American Football
The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to host the Minnesota Vikings in the 2025 NFL Dublin Game on September 28, 2025. This event is the first ever NFL game held on Irish soil. In anticipation, Jameson declared itself the "Unofficial Whiskey for Football Fans."
This new platform incorporates updated content and experiences that show how fans call the shots on game day. Conceptualized by Ogilvy, the advertising campaign will live on Jameson owned channels and in paid media through November 2, 2025.
The Irish are mad about American football. In 2016, I travelled to Dublin to see my alma mater Boston College play Georgia Tech in a rare American football college match. The Irish were all in – the stadium was almost full, and excitement filled the air. My BC gang enjoyed a fantastic trip brimming with Irish hospitality and bottles of Jameson. During that trip, construction closed the Jameson Distillery for renovations. Upon my return in 2025, a visit to this legendary whiskey facility was a trip highlight.
Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin
Architectural details found at the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin.
Jameson Distillery is located at Bow Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7, D07 N9VH, Ireland. Their team continues to make whiskey the Jameson way from the original 1780 recipe. An ancient stone wall hides the old distillery. You may walk right by it, so do not rush down Bow Street. Tourists and Jameson lovers will find the remains of a once-sprawling whisky distribution center that stretched over six acres into Dublin city center.
Multiple generations worked at the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street. Jobs for carpenters, blacksmiths, millwrights, and painters were handed down from father to son. Once hired, Jameson employees had a job for life.
On June 5, 1970, the team distilled the final drops of pot still whiskey at the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street, ending two hundred years of whiskey production in Dublin. For over 25 years, the Bow Street facility remained closed, and fell into disrepair. In 1990, a fire ravaged the site. But that was not the end. The Old Jameson Distillery reopened as a visitor center in 1997 and is now one of the popular tourist attractions in Dublin.
Learn more about the history of Jameson here.
Jameson Irish whiskey on display.
How Jameson Makes Irish Whiskey
Every bottle of Jameson is distilled and matured at the Midleton Distillery in County Cork, Ireland. Due to high demand, Jameson moved its production facility here in 1975. The whiskey’s smoothness emanates from a signature triple distillation process, a proprietary method that makes Jameson unique. Ingredients include malted and unmalted barley grown locally in Ireland and non-genetically modified maize from France. The water comes from the Dungourney river, which flows through the distillery. The word whiskey finds roots in the Irish phrase “uisce Beatha” which translates to ‘water of life.’
The next phase features transferring the ingredients to aged oak barrels. Jameson does not select any old wood container but seasoned casks from the U.S. and Spain that once aged bourbon and fortified wine. From here, the whiskey inherits notes of toasted wood, vanilla, and sweet sherry.
Ireland is serious about protecting its whiskey. A strict law states that a spirit must spend a minimum of three years maturing in Ireland to call it “Irish.” On top of that, about 2% of the whiskey evaporates from casks every year during the aging process. The Irish refer to this loss as Angel’s Share.
The last step is blending. Jameson only uses whiskey produced in their distillery to make their brands which also include Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare, Spot Whiskey, Powers, and Method and Madness. A safely stored bottle of Jameson will stay good indefinitely.
Interested in learning more? Sign up for a Jameson distillery tour.
If you are new to spirits, read about How to Drink Whiskey Like A Pro here.
Irish Whiskey Competition
Jameson is not the only whisky game in town. We stayed at Marriott’s Aloft Dublin City, just one block from the Teeling Whiskey Distillery. The modern facility opened in 2015 as the first new distillery in Dublin for over 125 years. Signs for Teeling whiskey are prominent in the local pubs.
Teeling whiskey tastes good, but its distillery does not have the character or the history of Jameson’s Bow Street distillery. For a traditional Irish whiskey experience, head to Bow Street. Thank you, John Jameson, for crafting whiskey so good, it spans almost three hundred years.
Elizabeth Tuico enjoys whiskey and traveling. She owns Rebel Road Creative, a boutique marketing and content creation consultancy based in Washington, DC.
A skylight adds natural light to the Old Jamison Distillery on Bow Street in Dublin.