Irish Whiskey Museum is a tribute to the Irish love for Whiskey.
This Dublin Museum narrates 2000 years of Irish whiskey history, and as part of their tours, also offers tastings of a wide variety of Irish whiskeys.
Since it is independent of all whiskey distilleries (it isn’t affiliated to any one brand), visitors get to taste 100+ different types of Irish whiskeys.
Even though it opened only in 2014, the Irish Whiskey Museum has quickly become an integral part of any Dublin visit.
In this article, we share everything you must know before booking your Irish Whiskey Museum tour.
Top Irish Whiskey Museum Tickets
# Irish Whiskey Classic Tour
# Irish Whiskey Premium Tour
# Blending Experience
Table of contents
- What to expect from Irish Whiskey Museum
- Irish Whiskey Museum tours
- How to reach the museum
- Irish Whiskey Museum hours
- Irish Whiskey Museum tour duration
- Best time to visit
- Visiting Whiskey Museum with kids
- Irish Whiskey Museum tickets
- What to see at Irish Whiskey Museum
- Tripadvisor reviews
- Irish Whiskey Museum FAQs
What to expect from Irish Whiskey Museum
Locals and tourists can book four kinds of tours at the Irish Whiskey Museum – Classic & Premium, the Whiskey Blending Experience tour, and Whiskey and Brunch.
Irish Whiskey Museum tours
Irish Whiskey Museum offers four types of tours.
- Whiskey Museum’s Classic Tour
- Whiskey Museum’s Premium Tour
- The Blending Experience
- Museum Brunch (on weekends only)
In this section, we explain all the tours and also provide their prices.
Classic Tour
Whiskey Museum’s Classic Tour is a 1-hour guided tour where whiskey experts of the Museum take you through the history of Irish Whiskey with the help of stories and visual aids.
Visitors learn how the popularity of Irish Whiskey has kept dwindling over time, and today is on the rise again.
As you explore all the rooms, you get to see whiskey memorabilia dating back to the 19th century.
At the last leg of the tour, you get to enjoy three perfectly crafted Irish whiskey tastings.
Classic tour ticket price
Adult ticket (13 to 64 years): 20 Euros
Child ticket (5 to 12 years): 10 Euros
Student ticket (with valid ID): 18 Euros
Seniors ticket (65+ years): 18 Euros
Family ticket (2 adults + 2 kids): 50 Euros
*On the ticket booking page you must select ‘Classic tour’
Premium Tour
When you book Whiskey Museum’s Premium Tour, you get everything that the Classic Tour gets you, plus one more beautifully aged Irish Whiskey thrown in during the tasting session.
So in effect, on a Premium Tour one gets to taste four world-class Irish whiskeys.
At the end of the tour, each ticket holder also gets a unique souvenir whiskey glass to take home.
Premium tour ticket price
Adult ticket (13 to 64 years): 23 Euros
Student ticket (with valid ID): 21 Euros
Seniors ticket (65+ years): 21 Euros
*Since the Premium tour benefits don’t apply to kids, you must book the ‘Classic tour’ tickets for them.
**On the ticket booking page you must select ‘Premium tour’
For just 39 Euros you can get the Dublin Hop On Hop Off Bus and Irish Whiskey Museum combo. Find out more
Blending Experience
The Irish Whiskey Museum’s Blending Experience is a 90-minute adventure that is sure to blow your mind away.
First, you tour all the exhibits on display even as you listen to amazing stories by the tour guides.
The fully guided tour is followed by an interactive tasting of four varieties of Irish Whiskey.
On the third leg of the tour, you learn to craft and blend Whiskey to your taste and take home a 30ml Irish Whiskey Museum branded bottle.
This Blending Experience tour is available only twice in a day – at 4 pm and 6 pm.
This experience is open only for 18+ visitors.
Blending Experience tour price: 30 Euros per person
Irish Whiskey Museum Brunch
The Irish Whiskey Museum Brunch is a 90-minute experience, reserved for 10 am on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
You first explore the Museum, listening to the guide’s stories, and then get a taste of three of the best Irish whiskeys during the tasting sessions.
After the one hour of exploring and tasting, you sit down for a brunch of Irish smoked salmon, fresh bread, and Irish Whiskey Museum marmalade.
The minimum age for this experience is 18 years.
*Vegetarian items available on request.
Museum brunch price: 28 Euros per person
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How to reach the museum
Irish Whiskey Museum is in the middle of the city, located directly across the main entrance of Trinity College.
The Address: 119, Grafton Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. Get Directions
All public transport options such as the bus, LUAS tram, train, taxis, etc. can get you closer to the attraction.
If you are traveling from around Dublin City Center, get onto Bus No. 123, 9, 13, or 40 and get down at College Green (Stop 1278).
Even though one can find a few car parking slots in the area, we don’t recommend it because the Museum is in a busy area.
Irish Whiskey Museum hours
The Irish Whiskey Museum opens at 10.30 am and closes at 6 pm, every day of the year.
They are open even on St. Patricks Day, Christmas day, and New Year.
Tour timings
Classic & Premium tours are the most popular at the Irish Whiskey Museum, and they start at 10.30 am.
A new tour rolls off every half hour, and the last one is at 5.30 pm.
The Whiskey Blending Experience tour happens at 4 pm and 6 pm daily.
The Whiskey and Brunch Experience, which is limited only to Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, starts at 10 am.
Irish Whiskey Museum tour duration
Classic and Premium tours are two of the most popular tours at the Irish Whiskey Museum, and they are one hour long.
At 1 hour and 15 minutes, the Whiskey Blending Experience lasts a little longer.
The Irish Whiskey Museum Brunch takes 90 minutes, one hour for the tour and 30 minutes of dining.
After your tours are over, visitors can hang around in the Museum’s McDonnell Bar, which overlooks the historic main gates of Trinity College Dublin.
Best time to visit
The best time to visit the Irish Whiskey Museum is as soon as they open at 10.30 am because that gives you the whole day to visit yet another attraction.
Some visitors prefer the evening time – around 5 pm so that they can continue their drinking session late into the night.
Visiting Whiskey Museum with kids
Children are welcome to join the Classic and the Premium tours at the Irish Whiskey Museum, Dublin.
Kids below five years don’t need to buy tickets, but those between the ages of 5 to 12 must purchase a discounted ticket, which costs 10 Euros.
However, during the whiskey tasting, the children will either get a glass of water or a soft drink.
*Non-drinking adults will also get the same.
Irish Whiskey Museum tickets
Before we tell you about the tours, let us tell you about the Irish Whiskey Museum tickets.
Delivery of ticket
Since the Whiskey Museum tickets we have recommended below are online tickets, they get emailed to you within minutes of purchase.
Online tickets are cheaper than the ones you will buy at the venue.
Inclusions
The tickets include the tour of the Museum, whiskey tastings (3 or 4 whiskeys, depending on your choice), and if you opt for the ‘Blending Experience’, you also take home a personalized bottle of Whiskey.
Audio Guides
All the Whiskey Museum tour tickets come with free audio guides in Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Mandarin.
If you aren’t comfortable in English, you can decide to use these audio guides to keep pace with the guide.
Cancellation
Cancellation is available depending on your ticket selection. If you opt for the ’24 hours cancellation policy’, you may have to pay a little bit extra.
Are the tours timed?
Yes, tickets at Irish Whiskey Museum Ireland are timed, which means you need to opt for a time slot while booking the ticket.
The fourteen time slots you can choose from are 10.30 am, 11 am, 12 noon, 12.30 pm, 1 pm, 1.30 pm, 2 pm, 2.30 pm, 3 pm, 3.30 pm, 4 pm, 4.30 pm, 5 pm and 5.30 pm.
To get your preferred time of visit it makes sense to book your tickets online in advance.
Is ticket printout needed?
No, you don’t need to worry about carrying a printout of the ticket.
On the day of your visit, show the tickets in your email, on your mobile, and join the Whiskey Museum tour.
What to see at Irish Whiskey Museum
The Irish Whiskey Museum in Ireland is three floors of fun, including a coffee shop, gift store, and McDonnell’s Bar.
As part of the tours, visitors get to explore all three floors at the Museum.
First Floor
All visitors enter the Whiskey Museum at this level.
This floor has the reception and the gift shop, which stocks more than 100 different Irish whiskeys and beautiful Irish souvenir gifts.
Second Floor
The tour starts from the second floor, which has three rooms – the Apothecary, the Shebeen, and the Victorian Bar.
To give you a sense of the size of the rooms – the Apothecary and the Shebeen can each hold 25 people standing, while the Victorian Bar can hold 45 standing people.
Each of these rooms narrates the history of Irish Whiskey, during a particular time.
Apothecary Room
The story of ‘The Origin of Irish Whiskey’ is told inside this room.
In here, one finds out why the Irish called whiskey ‘Uisce Beatha’ (or water of life).
This room traces the origins of Irish whiskey beginning with early attempts at distillation.
Shebeen Room
This room is all about the ‘The Olden Times of Irish Whiskey.’
The room got named after Shebeens, which is an unlicensed bar or private house selling illicit liquor in the rural area.
During this period, Ireland was full of backyard distillers who used their crude stills and made poteen, the traditional illicit Irish drink.
Victorian Bar
This room is styled like a Victorian bar and narrates the story of ‘The Boom Times of Irish Whiskey’.
During this golden era of Irish Whiskey, Ireland had numerous multinational distillers who were exporting to all parts of the world.
Third Floor
The third floor at the Irish Whiskey Museum in Dublin has the Renaissance room and the Tasting and Blending rooms.
Renaissance room
This is the final exhibit room of the tour, and in here you explore the decline of the Irish whiskey industry over the 20th century and its resurgence starting from the 1980s.
Tasting Bar & Blending Room
After 35 minutes of Irish Whiskey history, you reach this room for a 15-minute session on the flavors and aromas of 3 Irish whiskeys from different distilleries.
If you have opted for the Premium tour, you get to taste four different whiskeys.
After the tasting is over, your tour is officially over.
You then get back to the first floor in a spectacular glass lift, which allows you to enjoy the building’s Edwardian architecture.
Once down, you can head to the fully functional McDonnell’s Bar, which has an impressive selection of Irish whiskeys.
Tripadvisor reviews
Irish Whiskey Museum is highly-rated on Tripadvisor.
We share below two of Ireland’s Whiskey Museum reviews, which give you an idea of what to expect.
A must-do while visiting Ireland
I did this tour last year in May, and I still talk about how informative and fun the trip was. I enjoyed learning the history of Whiskey, Mark, our tour guide, made the experience very interesting, not to mention the Irish coffees my husband and I had while waiting were super delicious! I would recommend this tour to anyone who loves history with great Whiskey. – Malorie T
Great learning experience
My friend and I did the Irish Whiskey Museum tour & tasting on March 12th. Paddy was our guide, and he was fantastic. The trip was a great combo of educational and fun! I learned a lot about the rich history of Irish Whiskey. If you’re in Dublin, I recommend it! – Matt S
Fancy some Jameson Whiskey? Find out which Jameson whiskey distillery is better.
Irish Whiskey Museum FAQs
When it comes to Irish Whiskey Museum, visitors have lots of questions.
We try to answer a few of them –
- Is the Irish Whiskey Museum worth it?
This unique Dublin Museum is totally worth it for three reasons.
It is the biggest Whiskey Museum in the world, it is the only Irish Whiskey Museum in the world, and it is not associated with any Whiskey Brand, allowing it to be an independent chronicler of whiskey history. - Can non-drinkers join the Irish Whiskey Museum tours?
Yes, non-drinking adults can also join the tours.
During the tasting sessions, they can ask for a cold drink or a glass of water. - Can kids visit the Irish Whiskey Museum?
Yes, kids of all ages can visit the Whiskey Museum in Ireland. However, kids below 18 years of age can’t participate in the whiskey tastings.
During the tasting sessions, they will be offered a cold drink or a glass of water. - Do visitors need a tour ticket to visit the Bar at the Irish Whiskey Museum?
No, visitors don’t need tickets to access the McDonnell’s Bar and the Gift shop.
- Can whiskey tastings be done at the Bar at the Irish Whiskey Museum?
The Whiskey Museum offers different whiskey tasting ‘flights’ at the McDonnell’s Bar.
During these tasting sessions, the bartenders who are also whiskey experts talk about the whiskeys and guide the visitors. - Can I buy Irish Whiskey Museum’s tour tickets at the door?
Yes, visitors can buy tickets from the ticket counter at the Museum.
However, we don’t recommend it for two reasons – online tickets are cheaper, and during busy periods/weekends, your preferred time slot may already be sold out.
This is why it is better to book your tickets in advance. - How many people are there in each Whiskey Museum tour?
The tours can have a maximum of 28 people. However, the guides don’t wait for these numbers to be achieved before starting their tours.
The tours start at the stipulated times, with all the available tourists. - Does Dublin Pass allow free entry to the Irish Whiskey Museum?
Unfortunately no. The Dublin Pass gets you free access to 30+ attractions in Dublin but misses out on this Whiskey Museum.
- How to go from the Irish Whiskey Museum to Guinness Storehouse?
Guinness Storehouse is 2 kms (1.25 Miles) from the Irish Whiskey Museum.
Some visitors walk this distance in about 25 minutes, while others opt for a cab that can get you there in five minutes.
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