Day 5 of 21 "Train from Dublin to Tullamore"

Today we took a train from the Irish railway station in Dublin to Tullamore. There was a 15-minute delay due to a technical glitch (they apologized several times and assured us all was well...train engineers like to keep a tight schedule!), but we were soon on our way. It's only an hour to Tullamore with one stop in between, and it didn't take long to see green pastures filled with sheep, horses, cows, and the deepest brightest fields of yellow flowers. Not sure what the flowers were, and I didn't get a picture. 

We walked a few blocks, easily wheeling our luggage, from the train station into downtown Tullamore to the tourist center to find out the best way to get to the Tullamore Distillery. We had reservations for the 3:00pm tour.  A 15 euro taxi ride got us there in plenty of time. 

There was one glitch in our plan. Lunch. We had hoped the distillery served food, but they didn't, and we didn't have time to eat lunch in Tullamore, so we dug into our snacks and ate crackers, just enough to hold us over until dinner, which meant we would do the whiskey tastings on a less than full stomach. Oh well!

The Tullamore tour was AMAZING. We learned how to make an Irish Coffee, got to drink the Irish Coffee, saw tens of thousands of barrels of whiskey stacked 7 barrels high in the warehouse (no pictures allowed), sampled more whiskey straight from a barrel in the warehouse, and then enjoyed three more samples in the final tasting room. ALL the world's Tullamore whiskey comes from this one distillery. To be called an Irish whiskey, it must be made in Ireland. That's the law of the land. 

We also learned what the DEW stands for in Tullamore D.E.W.  A young stable boy began his career with Tullamore whiskey at age 14. After ten years, he became the lead distiller at Tullamore. His name was Daniel Edmund Williams (D.E.W), and it was right there all along, hidden in plain sight, his name and signature on almost every label.  I may have to do some family heritage research to find out if I'm a descendent of this Tullamore dynasty. 😜

But wait, there's more.....

Several months ago, I told Patrick that I wanted to stay in a castle somewhere in Ireland on my birthday. Well, Patrick found one just a short taxi ride from Tullamore in a town called Kinnitty, and that's where we are now, at Kinnitty Castle. We are definitely "not in Kansas anymore."  When I saw the castle from the road, sitting on a hill with acres of green pastures as its front lawn, I had what may have been a similar reaction that Elizabeth Bennett had in "Pride & Prejudice" when she saw Darcy's castle, one of complete disbelief, but we are really here and we'll be here for the next 3 nights and 3 days.  

🏰🐎🐑🦌 🍀

I'm not sure who I'm making this blog for more.... me, Patrick, or for you, our friends and family who are traveling with us. It's not even the first week, and choosing this Ireland experience is, by far, one of the best decisions I've ever made, next to marrying Patrick. 😊 He's making this trip very easy and fun.


                                                      Breakfast in Dublin



                                      Train to Tullamore departs 11:25am on Platform 8 "On Time" (almost)


                                                             Irish railway station in Dublin  


                                                                  Welcome to Tullamore (still no rain!)


                                                  The yellow building is the Tullamore tourist office.


                                                Before the tastings....




Fun fact: The Buena Vista in San Francisco CA makes the most Irish coffees in the world.... over 2000 Irish coffees every single day.

How to make an Irish Coffee:  1) always use glass  2) preheat the glass with hot water 3) pour out the hot water 4) add 1.5 ounces of Tullamore whiskey 5) add one tablespoon of natural sugar (brown) 6) add coffee 7) shake whipping cream a Boston shaker until thickened 8) pour thickened cream over the back of a spoon so the cream sits on top of the coffee.   When done correctly, it'll look like a Guinness pour!




                                                                (Our room circled)










                                                Goat Cheese Salad and Chicken Spicy Pizza


                                                                         Dining Room
                    
                                          The official welcomer.... "Boots" the castle cat.


                                       He shows up everywhere we go outside.  ;) 


                                                         Kinnitty Castle pickleball court 

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