Made it home from Ireland!

robbyras

The wife and I just got back from a 13 day trip to Ireland... we spent the first 10 days in County Mayo which is the northern west coast of Ireland (not quite in northern Ireland)... the wife's family has a farm up there and we stayed there most of the time... really rural place... they lease the land out to the neighbors for grazing their sheep and cows... the town they are in (Ballinglen) consists of exactly 4 homes... pretty amazing...

we took a drive down to Dingle (about 7 hours) and spent a day their... really cool town, though pretty touristy... it reminded me a lot of Monterey, CA... then we spent the last few days in Dublin which is a very cool city... kind of like a mix between Paris, San Francisco and London...

while I didn't smoke any ISOM's while i was over there (I found a cool B&M but they were MAAAAD expensive so I passed) but I brought a few with me and snapped a few photos...

Enjoying an MX3 (thanks Niko! it was a pretty awesome smoke!)



Fired up a favorite for my fruitless fishing expedition in the beginning of the River Glen

Anejo with the sheep


I also fired up my first Dirty Rat which i really enjoyed and had a few Diesels... what a great trip!

roland_7707

Sweet post and pics man, I would love to go there.

wwhwang

Glad you got back safely and that you had a good time in Ireland. Please tell me you had a lot of Guinness.

docbp87

Great pics. Looks like a beautiful place! Great cigars too apparently.

Mperconte

Awesome, Welcome back...

Was that my AF Anejo I see ther.

lilwing88

Awesome. Cool pics. Haven't been to Ireland in about six years..... Last time was for a wedding in Co Meath. We also went to Co Kerry and Dublin to visit some friends. Beautiful country, but super expensive.

The first few times I went was when I was in college. Stayed at lots of Hostels. Drank cheap beer and slummed with the Trinity College kids.

Best time I had was when I went for St. Paddy's day in Dublin about ten years ago. What a drunk fest that was.....

fla-gypsy

Welcome back from the Emerald isle

Hays

Great photos bro! Glad you had such a good time. This also confirms my sneaking suspicion that Ireland looks a lot like Marin County

Lasabar

Sweet...

I'd like to go to Ireland... With all my drinking I'd wonder if I'd fit in...

ENFIDL

Looks like an awesome trip brother! Glad to hear you guys had a great time and safe travels!

robbyras

wwhwang:

Please tell me you had a lot of Guinness.

i did indeed... i'd say we drank in about 15 different pubs durning the trip... I became pretty fond of Smithwicks too...

Mperconte:

Was that my AF Anejo I see ther.

yes is was... she was a beauty!

j0z3r

Lasabar:

Sweet...

I'd like to go to Ireland... With all my drinking I'd wonder if I'd fit in...

Do they have Miller Lite there?

Lasabar

j0z3r:

Lasabar:

Sweet...

I'd like to go to Ireland... With all my drinking I'd wonder if I'd fit in...

Do they have Miller Lite there?

Hmmmm... Maybe that's how'd they'd get me... Maybe I better start pounding Guiness until I can't see straight every night....

JCizzle

j0z3r:

Lasabar:

Sweet...

I'd like to go to Ireland... With all my drinking I'd wonder if I'd fit in...

Do they have Miller Lite there?

Believe it or not, they do serve that stuff in Ireland. MGD, Budweiser, etc. Locals drink it, too. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. I'd see pubs advertising it, marked as "Imported," etc...

Krieg

Trip of a lifetime. I have always wanted to visit Ireland and Scotland. Welcome back buddy!

YankeeMan

I played snare drum in a Police Bagpipe band and we went over twice to play in the Dublin St. Paddy's Day parade. We had the time of our lives. Very friendly people, gorgeous country and good drink.

Of course, I had to sign in to detox when I got back...

james40

Welcome back bro. Hope you had a great time.

robbyras

JCizzle:

j0z3r:

Lasabar:

Sweet...

I'd like to go to Ireland... With all my drinking I'd wonder if I'd fit in...

Do they have Miller Lite there?

Believe it or not, they do serve that stuff in Ireland. MGD, Budweiser, etc. Locals drink it, too. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. I'd see pubs advertising it, marked as "Imported," etc...

yep, they had this Budweiser Ice Cold that I had never seen before... I didn't see many other American beers, but Bud was all over the place... I love Guinness so I was at home... but it tasted a little different there... I don't know if it was placebo or what, but it tasted better... and Smithwick's is a darn good beer too...

james40

My neighbor just turned me on to Smithwicks. More of a light beer (in the guinness sense) but tasty and smooth. I can't remember but the bud over there is budvar or something like that? Supposed to be a best seller.

robbyras

james40:

My neighbor just turned me on to Smithwicks. More of a light beer (in the guinness sense) but tasty and smooth. I can't remember but the bud over there is budvar or something like that? Supposed to be a best seller.

All I saw was Budweiser Ice Cold... they have big epic taps over there and the bud one was big and silver... i never saw bud light or anything like that... just Bud Ice Cold... i did not have any... I tried new things when I saw them, but it was mainly Guinness and Smithwick's... I tried Bemish which was a stout like Guinness and Kilkenny which was a creamy red ale... had that dutch beer that starts with a C, it was ok, kind bland... i think that was a bout it... they had a lot of different stuff in bottles but I stuck to what was on tap...
Cider is big over there... my wife had a few but I'm not a fan so I stayed away

I had some nice Whiskey too... Jameson of course... I did the factory tour and picked up a bottle of the 12 year old distillery reserve... i'm sure it's a total ploy, but I liked the idea of having a bottle that you can only get in 2 places in the world... plus I sampled it and it was pretty nice... I also tried some Readbreast, Powers and Castle hill or crest hill, something like that... and I splurged one night and got some Jameson 18 year old... man that stuff was like candy

nikostewart

Glad you had a great time brother!

Hays

robbyras:

I love Guinness so I was at home... but it tasted a little different there... I don't know if it was placebo or what, but it tasted better...

It actually is different. The Guinness that we receive in the States is actually brewed in Canada, and is of a lower alcohol content if I recall correctly.

JCizzle

Hays:

robbyras:

I love Guinness so I was at home... but it tasted a little different there... I don't know if it was placebo or what, but it tasted better...

It actually is different. The Guinness that we receive in the States is actually brewed in Canada, and is of a lower alcohol content if I recall correctly.

Actually that is incorrect. The Guinness (the regular Draught) in the States is the same as the Guinness that is brewed in Ireland. The rest of the world, however, gets their Guinness from an off-site brewery. I asked the personnel this same question when I toured the Storehouse in Dublin, straight from the horse's mouth.

robbyras

JCizzle:

Hays:

robbyras:

I love Guinness so I was at home... but it tasted a little different there... I don't know if it was placebo or what, but it tasted better...

It actually is different. The Guinness that we receive in the States is actually brewed in Canada, and is of a lower alcohol content if I recall correctly.

Actually that is incorrect. The Guinness (the regular Draught) in the States is the same as the Guinness that is brewed in Ireland. The rest of the world, however, gets their Guinness from an off-site brewery. I asked the personnel this same question when I toured the Storehouse in Dublin, straight from the horse's mouth.

true story... i asked the same thing

Krieg

robbyras:

james40:

My neighbor just turned me on to Smithwicks. More of a light beer (in the guinness sense) but tasty and smooth. I can't remember but the bud over there is budvar or something like that? Supposed to be a best seller.

All I saw was Budweiser Ice Cold... they have big epic taps over there and the bud one was big and silver... i never saw bud light or anything like that... just Bud Ice Cold... i did not have any... I tried new things when I saw them, but it was mainly Guinness and Smithwick's... I tried Bemish which was a stout like Guinness and Kilkenny which was a creamy red ale... had that dutch beer that starts with a C, it was ok, kind bland... i think that was a bout it... they had a lot of different stuff in bottles but I stuck to what was on tap...
Cider is big over there... my wife had a few but I'm not a fan so I stayed away

I had some nice Whiskey too... Jameson of course... I did the factory tour and picked up a bottle of the 12 year old distillery reserve... i'm sure it's a total ploy, but I liked the idea of having a bottle that you can only get in 2 places in the world... plus I sampled it and it was pretty nice... I also tried some Readbreast, Powers and Castle hill or crest hill, something like that... and I splurged one night and got some Jameson 18 year old... man that stuff was like candy

that sounds great. I would have loved to toured a whiskey distillery. I've been wanting to make a trip to the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, only couple hours from the house.

Hays

robbyras:

JCizzle:

Hays:

robbyras:

I love Guinness so I was at home... but it tasted a little different there... I don't know if it was placebo or what, but it tasted better...

It actually is different. The Guinness that we receive in the States is actually brewed in Canada, and is of a lower alcohol content if I recall correctly.

Actually that is incorrect. The Guinness (the regular Draught) in the States is the same as the Guinness that is brewed in Ireland. The rest of the world, however, gets their Guinness from an off-site brewery. I asked the personnel this same question when I toured the Storehouse in Dublin, straight from the horse's mouth.

true story... i asked the same thing

My mistake...seems I've been perpetuating misinformation. Can't honestly recall where I'd initially heard that, but I've heard it repeated by so many people over the years I'd just accepted it as truth I guess. All good then!

JCizzle

Only proper way to research the source of alcohol is to do many, many, many tastings. You know, for the sake of science.

gaberox

Is the Guinness in Ireland the extra stout or nitro? Hate the nitro but the other is alright. Do they have any stouts beside the Irish dry stout style? Just curious. How about Irish Imperial oatmeal stout lol.

JCizzle

gaberox:

Is the Guinness in Ireland the extra stout or nitro? Hate the nitro but the other is alright. Do they have any stouts beside the Irish dry stout style? Just curious. How about Irish Imperial oatmeal stout lol.

That sounds delicious, lmao. Have you had Murphy's Irish Stout? A little drier-tasting than Guinness.

JCizzle

robbyras:

james40:

My neighbor just turned me on to Smithwicks. More of a light beer (in the guinness sense) but tasty and smooth. I can't remember but the bud over there is budvar or something like that? Supposed to be a best seller.

All I saw was Budweiser Ice Cold... they have big epic taps over there and the bud one was big and silver... i never saw bud light or anything like that... just Bud Ice Cold... i did not have any... I tried new things when I saw them, but it was mainly Guinness and Smithwick's... I tried Bemish which was a stout like Guinness and Kilkenny which was a creamy red ale... had that dutch beer that starts with a C, it was ok, kind bland... i think that was a bout it... they had a lot of different stuff in bottles but I stuck to what was on tap...
Cider is big over there... my wife had a few but I'm not a fan so I stayed away

I had some nice Whiskey too... Jameson of course... I did the factory tour and picked up a bottle of the 12 year old distillery reserve... i'm sure it's a total ploy, but I liked the idea of having a bottle that you can only get in 2 places in the world... plus I sampled it and it was pretty nice... I also tried some Readbreast, Powers and Castle hill or crest hill, something like that... and I splurged one night and got some Jameson 18 year old... man that stuff was like candy

What did you think of the stuffed cat at the factory tour?

robbyras

JCizzle:

What did you think of the stuffed cat at the factory tour?

HA! I thought the Jameson factory was a bit cheesy...but since they don't actually distill there anymore, they had to come up with something...my wife got picked to do the tasting deal at the end... which basically meant I did the tasting... when he asked everyone what their favorite was, I didn't lie, I said the scotch... I just like scotch better...

Here are a few pics from Jameson and Guinness...