 Jameson Distillery Bow St. | |
| Location | Bow Street,Smithfield, Dublin,Ireland |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 53°20′54″N6°16′36″W / 53.3482°N 6.2768°W /53.3482; -6.2768 |
| Founded | 1780 |
| Status | Closed since 1971. Visitors Centre since 1997 |
| No. of stills | four stills and two wash stills, each holding 24,000 gallons |
Jameson Distillery Bow St. (informally the Jameson Distillery) is a formerIrish whiskeydistillery and atourist attraction located just offSmithfield Square inDublin,Ireland.[1] Jameson Distillery Bow St. is the original site whereJameson Irish Whiskey wasdistilled until 1971.[2] It is now a visitors centre that provides guided tours, tutored whiskey tastings, JJs bar and a gift shop.
The original distillery on this site was called the Bow Street Distillery and was established in 1780. John Jameson took full ownership (he was previously the general manager) and expanded the distillery in 1805. By 1810, the operation was officially renamed to John Jameson & Son’s Bow Street Distillery. The distillery grew to upwards of 5 acres (2 ha) in size by 1886.[3][2]
At this time, it was described by many as a "city within a city". The distillery also housed asmithy,cooperage,saw mills, engineers, carpenters, painters and coppersmiths’ shops. Water for the distillery came from two deep wells dug underneath the site. Cellars were also dug underneath nearby streets to store maturingwhiskey, while four stills and two wash stills, each holding 24,000 gallons (109,000 litres), were heated by both fire and steam coils above.[2]
Following a difficult period that includedAmerican Prohibition, Ireland’strade war with Great Britain, and the introduction ofScotchblended whiskey, the Jameson distillery fell on hard times and decided to form theIrish Distillers Group with their previous rivals, theCork Distilleries Company andJohn Power & Son in 1966. Eventually, it became one of the last distilleries in Ireland to close in 1971. The operation was then moved out of Dublin to theNew Midleton Distillery.[3]
