Teelings Whiskey Distillery*

Last week my husband and I kicked off our 10 year wedding anniversary celebrations in style, with a trip to Teelings Whiskey distillery in Newmarket Square, Dublin 8. We love an aul' child-free date when we can get one, and this was a really fun way to spend an afternoon. (Baby no. 3 in sling barely counts 'cuz she's not asking a million questions).

Conor gave us the tour, and we got to see how the whole process evolves. I adore the copper stills, named after Mr. Teeling's daughters. The Teeling story is a compelling one, the current distillery is owned by two brothers, and is the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years. While it pays homage to the Teeling heritage dating back to 1782, this is a thoroughly modern space, well-designed and completely built with the consumer in mind.

The building holds an exhibition space which hosts various exhibitions throughout the year, as well as a public cafe and upstairs a whiskey bar and gift shop selling chocolates, flat caps and branded glasses among other goodies. They run tours of the distillery every half hour from 9.30am to 5.30pm, 7 days a week. We did their Trinity tasting which ended with a tasting of their three bestselling whiskeys, and we were lucky enough to try one of their signature cocktails too, laced with spices and orange liqueur, a real Christmas treat.

I love that quote on the wall!

We learned so much on the tour and really got an appreciation of the distillation and blending processes. There was a good crowd in with us on our tour, which began with a video of the demolition and re-building on their land in Newmarket Square, off Cork Street, then a walk-through and explanation of the whole whiskey-making process, the ageing process in various barrels and our tour guide answered all our questions with a wealth of knowledge.

Their cafe is always buzzing with visitors, shoppers from the nearby Dublin Food Co-op and Green Door Markets, tourists, people doing the tours, and families enjoying a lunch out. Their food included a hotpot, various sandwiches and great salads. I was really impressed that all their food is locally produced, much of it coming from the farmers selling at the nearby markets. I had a lovely roasted red pepper and mature cheddar on rye. As well as artisan coffees they have a gorgeous range of herbal teas, I went for the elderberry one called "Granny's garden". Comfortable leather chesterfield sofas are everywhere, making me really want one at home too!

This is a great place to meet a friend, have a date or organise a tour for a whiskey lover in your life. Their website is here, go check it out!

Nee x

We received a complimentary Teeling's tour and lunch in return for this promotional blog post. As always all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors who make The Mama's Hip possible.