Day 5 - Antrim Coast

Today we left Donegal and for that matter the Republic of Ireland to head up to Northern Ireland. It was raining pretty hard so we did not have the opportunity to stop in Derry (as referred to in Ireland) or Londonderry (as referred to in Northern Ireland). We made it to Bushmills in pretty decent time, checked into the B&B and headed to the Bushmills Whiskey factory for a tour.

Bushmills has been making Irish whiskey since 1608 and is the oldest licensed distillary. Pretty cool. Unfortunatley we were not allowed to take pictures on the tour. We first went to the manufacturing area where the malted grains are mashed into wort then transfered to ferment with yeast. Then we visited the distillation area and learned about the exact science of distilation.

Then it was off to visit where the whiskey is kept to age. We learned about the importance of the barrells and the aging process. Also Bushmills has the only female Master Taster in the whole whiskey industry. She samples whiskey all day and then is driven home.

After the tour was complete, they dumped us into a bar/gift shop. The admission came with a voucher for one free shot or beverage:
Kris chose the variety aged 12 years and only sold in Ireland at the factory:

I chose to sniff:

Then we were off to the Giant's Causeway (http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-giantscauseway). There is a long scientific explanation regarding the formation of the stones that involves limestone, lava, millions of years, OH and a ice age (thinking of you Jody) BUT I much prefer the folk legend of the giant Finn MacCool who built the causeway out of stones so he and his rival, the Scottish giant Benandonner could fight. Here are some pictures from this incredible place:





For a while it was scary windy/rainy and the Atlantic was totally kicking my ass:

Tomorrow we head out for more adventure and to Belfast.