The Old Midleton Distillery is, as its name implies, located in the nearby town of Midleton. This is one of the three whiskey tours in Ireland. (Should you be surprised my husband and I have been to all three?) It's mostly a walk through the old buildings and machinery, with an explanation of the whiskey making process. (And a little propaganda on how Irish whiskey is better than Scotch since the Irish don't let the smoke in to affect the flavor.) You start off with an audio-visual about whiskey - and Jameson, in particular - through the ages. You also get to learn that the word "whiskey" or "whisky" is derived from the Irish word "uisce," meaning water. (See, Wikipedia says so, too.)
The most important thing to remember is that they ask for tasting volunteers at the end, so have that hand ready to shoot up in the air, folks!!! (Ok, so don't feel too bad if you don't get chosen. You won't get a certificate as an Official Irish Whiskey Taster... or some really bad Scotch and Bourbon for comparison's sake... but you will still get a shot of Jameson.)The Cork Tourist has these nice pictures of it.
