After touring the Blarney Castle our next stop was the old Jameson Distillery in Midleton about 30 minutes away. This Distillery was closed in 1975 after 150 years of production. It was very interesting touring the old buildings and learning the process of taking barley through the heating and distilling process all the way to the bottle. This was a great picture of 5 barrels of whiskey with glass ends. This shows the aging process beginning on the left and the oldest barrel on the right after 18 years. As each got older, they turned darker and lost more volume due to evaporation through the barrel. The portion that evaporated is called the Angel's share, so that is why the happiest Angel's are from Ireland. At the end of the tour I was honored to learn the fine art of whiskey tasting. We were given Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker black label, and Jameson Irish whiskey samples to taste. The Irish won by a mile being very smooth. This is an art that not just anyone can master, and it takes years to learn well. You might not believe it but it came very natural to me and I was given an extremely rare certification as a "Qualified Irish Whiskey Taster." Sometimes we waste a whole lifetime trying to find the perfect job.
No comments:
Post a Comment