St. Paddy's in Dublin

C'mere it's Jammers

Is there anywhere better to spend St.Patrick's than in Dublin? I "tink"* not. As the Irish say "Cead Mile fault" - a hundred thousand welcomes, that's how the great city of Dublin embraces you all dressed in green. Not only do they shine green but everyone drinks green and feels that Irish charm. Jameson whiskey showed us how true Irishmen spend St. Paddy's weekend in the capital of the Republic. It was all about "craic". Pronounced like "crack", it means exactly what the weekend entailed: pleasurable social sciences of chatter, laughter, indulgence and loads of finest whiskey drinking.

But before the drinking started we went to go visit the legendary cooper Ger Buckley, noted craftsmen with hands that descend from a lineage of master coopers. Nothing like witnessing first hand how the artistry of casks making happens. Ger explained, that you can make the best whiskey barrels from white oaks, but it depends where the tree had it's roots. American oak gives a vanilla sweetness while european oak takes a nuttier, spicier and more distinctive taste to mature the gold. Essentially the timber needs to be cooked so caramelizing of all the sugars can be released into the whiskey. By all means this is not an easy task making casks! But to a master like Ger it's like blinking an eye. Although these days he spends them inspecting and controlling the 850,000 casks at the Jameson Middleton Distillery. Not much time for banging that hoop hammer so it was amazing to see this old technique that has been practiced since the very first century.

We were off to dip and sip our palettes at the best Irish pubs. We started our crawl at L.Mulligan Grocer with a true Irish meal located in the district of the Stoneybatter, all I can say is basically deliciously lovely. We managed with full satisfied bellies to go in the direction of Dawson Street where Peruke & Periwig stands. Well debauchery can start here as this gorgeous bar transports you to the 18th century. The walls are filled with portraits of Periwig-gers and red velvet sitting but decor aside the cocktail list is killer. Either try these must-haves "The Smoking Gun" & "Kismet" and see where your destiny takes you. Jameson linked us up with the guys from This Greedy Pig - Dubliners that know the best and coolness of Dublin and took us off the beaten path. We hit some stores of local creative minds like the studios of me&him&You and the Irish Design Shop, bringing back spotlight on the natives.

When flying over and into Dublin you witness rolling green pastures with cows grazing the scenery. Naturally we had to taste cheeses at Sheridans. Time to wet the tongue again so we popped into Grogan's Lounge. The avant-garde spot was established already in 1899 and doesn't play music. It's about getting your toasties with Irish Chedder and get your intellectual craic on. We proceeded to crawl over to Damson Diner, where everything is finger licking delicious. At the hands of Oisin Davis you can't go wrong, a true thespian of booze the 'Irish Made' way. What's great about this place you can stay for hours and then just move downstairs to dance.

The evenings were all about jamming, we tickled our fancies and lingered and mingled at an unplugged session at the Old Jameson Distillery. Dancing and grooving to the raw sounds while dancing above glass floors that expose the original 1780 stone foundation. Jameson Live shamROCKed the following evening with two Irish bands Funeral Suits and Darling followed by the headliners White Lies for a more rocking set at at Ambassador Theatre.

St. Patrick's day in itself is the patriotic joy and all show their green, white and oranges around the city streets. The enjoyment is celebrated by thousands you can feel the happiness flowing throughout the city. So" sláinte," may you celebrate St. Paddy's in the great city of Dublin 2015! 

Only 350-some days for the weekend to start all over.

*"tink" means think - I just love how they pronounce the word.

words and photos by Marchi Marchell