Who knew gin is super popular in Ireland? Not me! When I think of Ireland, I certainly think of alcohol, but that of the whiskey, Irish Cream liqueur, and beer variety. Well, gin has become very popular in the last several years and a number of distillers have popped up all over Ireland. In fact, I even tasted a gin flavored ice cream at Murphy’s in Dublin. Yes, gin flavored ice cream – that is how popular gin is in Ireland!

Dingle Gin & Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream at Murphy’s in Dublin!

In any case, when I plan our trips, I always search for fun eating and drinking experiences. Pearse Lyons gin distillery showed up for our Dublin, Ireland trip. Pearse Lyon seemed interesting, and Dan loves gin. I booked the only tour available on our visit – the Gin School! I had no idea what this is when I book, but book I did.  Pearse Lyons sent a confirming emails a few days in advance. We showed up on a Saturday night in the pouring rain, no idea what were for. Interestingly, the distillery, or at least part of it, is in an old church. Our Gin School was in an adjacent modern building, we unfortunately could not visit the distillery during our tour as the distillery was closed.

Pearse Lyon Distillery.  This is the old church!

The staff at Pearse Lyons was expecting us and opened the locked gates to bring us in from the rain. If you didn’t catch on, the Gin School takes place after hours. We waited a few minutes in the lobby and promptly at 6, were lead to the second floor of another building on the property.  We donned Pearse Lyons aprons and were given a freshly made Gin & Tonic before moving into the next room, which is where the Gin magic happens.

Round 1: Gin and Tonic with basil and lemon.

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