the day in which the eloquent speaker becomes a certifed irish whiskey taster.

It's not enough...

We're getting ready to head out of Cork and venture to the airport. Our plane departs for London at 9:20, and we should land there by 10:40. We're taking a bus to...somewhere...and Lisa Cillesen is going to pick us up and help us get to the Scholars girls' flat! I'm not ready to go through airport security again. It's such a tedious process, and I already know they're going to confiscate my hair gel, and that'll be depressing, even though it was only .74 euros. Oh well. Here's to crappy hair tomorrow! :)

Emily and I are hanging out at the hostel right now. We had to check out early this morning, but they let us leave our luggage here so we wouldn't have to drag it around with us. Hostels are funny places. Ours seems to be overflowing with testosterone, which you would think I would like, but it's slightly annoying. They're all sorta weird and are awkward at starting conversations. Oh, and let's not forget that sometimes they just stare at you. And sometimes they smell weird. And sometimes they listen to their ipods really loudly, and they show what obnoxious tastes in music they have. And sometimes they cook nasty food, and sometimes you can't understand them, and you have to question if they're talking about you. Yeah, I don't think Mom and Dad need to worry about me picking any boys up at a hostel any time soon. But anyway...

Today Emily and I took a 30 minute bus ride to Midleton, Ireland. Our bus dropped us off right outside the Jameson Distillery, and we joined a large tour group going through the place.
While it may not sound like the most exciting thing to do, it was actually really neat to see how the Irish whiskey has been made throughout the years and to learn a bit of history regarding it. The following picture shows whiskey that has been in barrels for different amounts of time. Obviously, the whiskey on the right has been there a lot longer than that on the far left.


While the tour itself was pretty interesting, the Jameson people definitely saved the best for last! They picked 6 people out of our group of 50 or so to be "whiskey tasters" (the other people all got a free glass of Jameson). Em, 4 people we didn't know who were there for a school trip (yeah, crazy Irish people!!), and I were chosen! The other four people in our little group were really fun. Their bus driver volunteered to drive us back to Cork so we wouldn't have to take the city bus, and two girls out of their group videotaped the experience for Em and me (If you want to see the video, just ask! :)). Here's our little group:

They start out by giving you 5 shots of whiskey: 3 are Irish whiskeys (1 is Jameson and the other 2 are something else), 1 Scottish whiskey, and 1 American whiskey (Jack Daniels). They have you smell them first, and then you can try them. I sipped each one, although I didn't down any. It was strong stuff! You can definitely tell a difference between them all, though. When you're done trying them, they ask what you like best, and of course, everyone says, "Jameson!" Then, the people bring you out an entire glass of it. I mixed it with Coke to make it taste better, but again, I did not drink it all, so don't worry, Mom! The real reason I wanted to participate in the whiskey trying session was not to taste the whiskey...


The real reason was because I wanted to become a CERTIFIED Irish whiskey taster! How many people can put that one on they're resume?! Haha! Yup, now that I've kissed an Irish boy and become a certified Irish whiskey taster, my life's pretty much complete. Just kidding!


It's a fun little story to tell, though, and hopefully Mom will display my certificate proudly on the refrigerator! Until then, it's going in our apartment so everyone can see and congratulate.

The rest of the afternoon wasn't very exciting. We ate dinner at a little Italian place, missed our bus back to Cork but caught another one, sat inside a shopping mall to escape the rain in Cork, viewed the Bells of Shandon, and then internet-ed. We're getting ready to pack up and head to the airport. I'm a little sad to leave Ireland; I'm a smidgen in love with it all. However, I can't wait to come back with Mom, Dad, and Aaron in March for the Bates Family European Vacation! :) Good-bye, Ireland! Hello, London!

...just to stand outside the fire.