Christmas Suggestions. Gin, Whiskey and Wine

Press releases

Ireland’s First Cask Aged Gin

Blackwater Distillery have launched Ireland’s first aged gin. 

Blackwater Juniper Cask Gin which goes on sale this week has rested in casks made from juniper wood for at least thirty days. The barrels are specially made for the West Waterford distillery and because juniper trees aren’t very big, they can’t be larger than 50 litres. 

The Juniper Cask Gin contains the same 12 botanicals found in the company’s award winning Blackwater No.5, though here they are different proportions. The sweeter roots like liquorice are increased so the gin isn’t overpowered by the astringent juniper wood. The result is a copper coloured gin, complex and aromatic with plenty of character and a wonderful long finish.

ENDS

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peter Mulryan

Blackwater Distillery

Unit 3 Cappoquin Enterprise Park

Cappoquin

Co Waterford, Ireland

T: +353 58 52621

E: peter@blackwaterdistillery.ie

W: www.blackwaterdistillery.ie

F: www.facebook.com/blackwaterdistillery

T: www.twitter.com/blackdistillery

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A Christmas Collection

Whiskey and Wine

Have yourself a very whiskey Christmas!

Have yourself a very whiskey Christmas this festive season with some cracking gifts for the whiskey lover in your life.

From Single Malt to Small Batch to mini gift packs and distillery tours, Teeling Whiskey has a gift to suit all tastes and budgets. All of the below is available to purchase from the Teeling Whiskey Distillery, www.teelingwhiskey.com as well as good independent retailers; The Celtic Whiskey Shop, James Fox’s and Dublin Airport to a name a few.

Whiskey lovers should also check out the Teeling Whiskey Distillery which opened its doors in June. The first working distillery in Dublin in over 125 years, it offers daily tours and has extended its opening hours for the festive season. What better way to round off an afternoon of Christmas shopping?

1.      Teeling Whiskey “Revival”- RRP €100 - €120 – brand new to the range, this Single Malt Irish Whiskey was specifically bottled on a limited edition run to celebrate the launch of the Teeling Whiskey Distillery. This whiskey is a 15 Year Old Single Malt which has been fully matured in ex-rum barrels.

2.      Mini Trinity Pack – RRP €18 –the Trinity pack includes all three of Teeling Whiskey’s non-aged portfolio - ideal for whiskey lovers and those who aren’t sure which is their favourite tipple but would love to sample them all over the festive season. It includes the Teeling Irish Whiskey Single Grain, Teeling Irish Whiskey Small Batch and the Teeling Whiskey Single Malt. There’s a different finish in there for everyone!

3.      Small Batch Gift Pack – RRP €45 - For those who know their whiskey and like to enjoy it in the comfort of their own home, TWC also have a special Small Batch Gift Pack which comes with two  stylish Teeling tumbler glasses.

If you know someone that’s a fan of the whiskey and history, the Teeling Whiskey Distillery offers brilliant tours running daily. The tour itself involves a walk through the exhibition space which brings you through the history of whiskey in Ireland, then venturing to the inner workings of the distillery where visitors can experience the heat and sweet smell from the stills and witness the whiskey making process first hand. Gift vouchers for the distillery are available online from www.teelingwhiskey.com and in the distillery on Newmarket Square.

If you would like to book your Teeling Whiskey Distillery experience now, you can do so by calling +353 (0)1 531 0888 or via email on reservations@teelingwhiskey.com

For more on the Teeling Whiskey Company and its award winning Irish Whiskeys, visitwww.TeelingWhiskey.com

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Try a little Heritage

HÉRITAGE N° 290

To celebrate its 290th anniversary, Barton & Guestier launched Héritage N°290, the Ultimate wine brand and an innovation in the world of wine! For almost 300 years, Barton & Guestier has been excellent at vinifying, ageing, fining and shipping the best wines from France. 290 years ago, these wines were those produced at Margaux, Lafite, Haut Brion... The cellar masters were adding their final touch to the wine and Barton & Guestier's 1st cellar master, Germain Rambaud was shaping the best wines of the 18th century. Barton & Guestier has been sucessful in keeping the tradition and continues to select, make and ship the best wines from France. In 2015, inspired by the spirit of the B&G founders, winemaker Laurent Prada is bringing Héritage by Barton & Guestier, the 1st brand to offer consistency in quality, in price and in availability to winelovers worldwide. Like the great Cognac, the most exclusive Whiskies, the most illustrious Champagne, Héritage is non vintage to offer consistant style and quality. More about the wine: Héritage N°290 offers a rich wine, full of character just like the 2 founders of B&G. Vineyards: Northern of Languedoc, south west side of the Rhône valley, between Nîmes & Alès Winemakers: Partnership between B&G winemakers team, led by Laurent Prada and Philippe Nusswitz, Sommelier-winemaker in the Cévennes area, best sommelier of France in 1986. Philippe worked for B&G in the 90's and he is one of the founder of our famous Wine Connaisseur program created in Château Magnol. Varietals: Blend of Syrah (80%) and Grenache (20%) Vinification: De-stalked grapes - daily pumping over - long maceration in concrete vats (3 weeks) Ageing: French oak barrels for 6 months Classification: AOC Duché d'Uzès.

Tasting notes:

• Dark red colour with violet highlights.
• Rich nose developing intense black fruit aromas (morello cherry) and spices. On the second nose, violet notes appear.
• A wine with a harmonious structure, balance, mixing intense flavours of fruit and toasty and vanilla hints.
• Food & Wine pairing:
• Perfect with lamb, duck, beef, dark chocolate, strong cheeses and spicy dishes - Best at 18-20 °C.
• Good ageing potential for 5 to 10 years.

The packaging Heritage comes in an original bottle, with a capsule supported by a strong B&G branding and a label design based on the personality of its founders featuring their embossed portraits with a pearly white varnish to bring a touch of modernity and the brand name Heritage N°290 in black varnish. Heritage is available in personalized carton outershippers of 6 x 75 cl. B & G are represented in Ireland by Richmond Marketing **************

Serego Alighieri Vaio Armaron from Masi Becomes the First-Ever Venetian Wine to 

Make the Wine Spectator Top 10

Masi’s Amarone Classico, Vaio Armaron Serego Alighieri 2008, is the first wine from the Venetoto be included in Wine Spectator’s “Top 10”, the most eagerly awaited list in the wine world.

The result was unveiled last week by the prestigious wine magazine, which put this emblematic wine from Valpolicella in 8th place with a score of 95/100.

Commenting on the achievement, President of Masi Agricola, Sandro Boscaini, said, “This is the first time that a wine from the Veneto has reached the Olympus of the world’s 10 best wines.

"This is proof of the potential of our territory and of its most historic and representative wine: a unique product sometimes jeopardised by the politics of production – or rather over-production – and low-end market orientation.

"This achievement confirms how our land is naturally suited to high quality production, without any compromises.”

Serego Aligheri Vaio Armaron is an  Amarone Classico that Masi makes in collaboration with the Serego Alighieri family, descendants of the poet Dante. This multi-award-winning wine with a noble history back to 1353, which already received 95/100 points from Wine Spectator last April, now enters the firmament of great icon wines with territorial provenance.

Masi is exclusively distributed in Ireland by

Findlater Wine & Spirit Group // www.findlaterws.ie

Five restaurants, five chefs, one meal, one venue. EAT Waterford

Five restaurants, one meal, one venue.
EAT Waterford 11-13 September

Getting ready: Paul Power, Head Chef, Bellissimo and Emma Lye (11) 

Here’s a heads-up if you like to eat out. Five restaurants, five chefs, one meal, one venue. It’s all happening during the Waterford Harvest Fest the weekend after next, from the 11th to the 13th of September.

That meal will be served five times, once on Friday, three times Saturday and once on Sunday. See all the details here. Venue is a big marquee on the Mall, alongside the Waterford Glass complex. Based largely on local produce, the meal is high quality and very good value.

I had a sneak preview in La Boheme, one of the participating restaurants, during the week and can vouch for the quality. The midday rehearsal proved that when produce of high calibre meets chefs of this skill, all focussed on making this a memorable meal, then you are on a winner.

The chefs (including three from France) got on very well together. The other restaurants involved in the meal are Loko,  Zak’s, Bellissimo and L’Atmosphere.  Get those tickets before they are all gone!

The dress rehearsal began with Grantstown Nursery Local Tomato Gazpacho with Blackwater Gin, delicious when slipped slowly through the provided straw!

On then to the gorgeous starter: Tom Cleary & Ballybeg Greens, Beetroot Salad, Candied pecan, and Knockdrinna Goats Cheese. Colourful and overflowing with flavour. The five in the kitchen obviously knew their stuff!

And the collaboration just got better with the fish dish. Never had hake like this before: Dunmore East Hake “Pastilla”, fennel & leeks, Dillisk and Lemon Butter. An amazing innovative combination of impeccably matched flavours and textures.

I said Check it out, not just check, mate

And then came the meat: Slow Cooked Forequarter of Lamb, raisin, braised white turnip with cumin, potato fondant, natural jus. I often consider the small things on the plate, the turnip in this case. It was perfect and indeed so was the whole dish, the lamb itself a tender delight. If the small things are right, then generally so too are the bigger elements.

And it was the humble granita that caught my attention in the Trio of Desserts: Black Forest Verrine, Meringue Souffle, Muldoon Chiboust & Lime and Basil Granita. That little glass of granita was packed with aroma and flavour, emblematic of the dessert as a whole, a lovely end to a lovely meal. Book those tickets folks!

While this particular Festival event highlights five restaurants, the others (25 or so in all) are helping behind the scenes. Eat Waterford is a collaborative initiative by the restaurateurs of Waterford City, and is aimed at helping food lovers to find the best places to eat in Waterford. The friendly walkable city has a variety of cuisines, from French, Asian, Mediterranean, Irish and beyond. Try something new today, Eat Waterford.

One for all. And all for you!

Press release below:

Waterford served up on a plate at Waterford Harvest Festival

With a tasty, jam – packed programme of events scheduled for Waterford Harvest Festival (September 11th to 13th), an exciting collaboration of Waterford restaurants is flying the flag for local producers.

The premise of this year’s Harvest Festival is Waterford Food Heroes and “EAT Waterford”, a collective of Waterford restaurants and hotels will champion the best of local produce.  Set in the Marquee on the Mall, in the heart of the Viking Triangle, diners will be able to enjoy a five course tasting menu, prepared by the participating restaurants using fresh, seasonal ingredients, sourced from local producers.

Paul Power, Head Chef with Waterford’s Bellissimo Restaurant, a member of EAT Waterford, outlined the group’s food philosophy and how EAT Waterford is committed to shining the spotlight on Waterford as a burgeoning food tourism destination.

“The last ten years have seen an exciting, passionate food movement in Waterford.  There has been the development of a food philosophy that values local and regional produce and from that ensures the best dining experience for customers.”

“Waterford and its surrounds are spoilt with a fantastic array of great growers and producers and, of course, natural resources, so there is no excuse for restaurants to provide sub-standard dining experiences.”

All of the EAT Waterford restaurants are ardent supporters of artisan producers and there is currently an exciting cohort of such producers in Waterford.  The home of the blaa, rashers and even the humble cream cracker has inspired a generation of local producers of great meat, seafood, breads, vegetables, beer and spirits.

“In the last decade, Waterford producers, growers, chefs and restaurants began to sing from the same hymn sheet.  Working in tandem, from grass roots level to the dining table, has resulted in a more enjoyable, positive, memorable experience for diners in Waterford city.”

“EAT Waterford was formed earlier this year to harness local restaurants that adhere to a similar food philosophy and those that recognise the value of working together to raise the profile of our vibrant restaurant scene.”

The EAT Waterford Marquee on the Mall takes place throughout Waterford Harvest Festival with sittings at 7pm on Friday, September 11th, 1pm, 5pm and 8.30pm on Saturday, September 12th and 2pm on Sunday, September 13th.

Participating restaurants include Loko, La Boheme, L’Atmosphere, Bellissimo and Zak’s Restaurant (Athenaeum House Hotel) and tickets can be purchased at www.theatreroyal.ie

Not only will Waterford Harvest Festival be the home of the Marquee on the Mall dining experience, there is an emphasis on all things fun, food and family.  

The wide and eclectic programme of free events for all includes the Festival Market on the Mall, Farm to Fork, The Big Taste, Enterprising Food Market, Trad Craft Corner, Harvest Time in the Garden, The Ballybricken Festival Fair, Harvest Kitchen, Picnic and Play in the Park.

This year’s festival promises a congruence of sights, sounds, tastes and aromas with cookery demonstrations, foodie films, tastings and workshops, all making Waterford City one big street party for Harvest weekend.

All roads lead to Waterford from September 11th to 13th

Re-GIN-eration. Renaissance of the Garden Spirit

Re-GIN-eration

Renaissance of the Garden Spirit

Gin’s popularity is on the increase. And, from being the drink for parents and grandparents, it has found a younger audience.

What are the reasons for the increase in popularity? I asked Michael Creedon of Bradley’s in North Main Street (who have 35 gins in stock and are still expanding the range). His list:

1. Somewhat like the craft beer explosion, when people spend their hard earned money now, they like to get a return in quality, flavour and taste experience – bang for your buck if you will, with quality taking precedence over price/quantity.
2. The emergence of smaller, craft Irish distilleries has increased the overall interest in gin.
3. The great diversity in flavour between gins. If you taste 20 different gins, you will quite literally experience 20 different taste sensations.

It is, of course, a very versatile drink available in a variety of interesting flavours and a

bartender can do a million things with it. Cocktails by the score for example.

Gin is also a spirit that lets small-scale distillers get creative.They have the ability to use different botanicals. All this leads to much greater variation than you'd get with vodka.

No shortage of creativity among the new Irish distillers. Most people will know about the botanicals that go into gin, including the essential juniper. The Saint Patrick’s gin is based on alcohol derived from potatoes while Highbank’s comes from the apples in their organic orchards and they use botanicals from their farm. Blackwater have matured gin in Juniper casks.

There is a massive amount of potential and some really interesting products are now on the market as the rise in the number of new producers in the UK is being replicated here. And not just here and in the UK; Germany, USA and Australia have also reported a big rise over the past two or three years.

Good to see the new Irish producers involved. Michael argues that the new producers “need to stand out from the crowd with smart packaging and innovative use of various botanicals and flavours. For example, St. Patrick's Distillery have an Elderflower Gin in their range.”

What are the Irish gins? Michael: “Apart from CDC from Irish Distillers, the new wave of small, Irish craft gin producers are led by Dingle Distillery, Blackwater Distillery, Highbank Orchard, Shortcross Distillery and Cork's own St. Patrick's Distillery based in Douglas. Bradley's also carry gins from England, Scotland, Spain, Germany and Norway.” Two Trees, from the West Cork Distillery in Skibbereen, is not in Bradley's. Not yet!

But is all the new gin up to standard? Sometimes, in a new distillery there is more interest in the whiskey. But while waiting the required three years and a day for the whiskey to mature, they use gin as a revenue earner. Do you they rush it out or do they give the gin enough attention so that it can be a long term proposition for them?

Michael Creedon thinks the producers take their gin seriously: “While some gin producers also have the ultimate goal of producing whiskey, this does not have an adverse effect on the quality of the gin. On the contrary, to ensure they maintain a good reputation they put everything into the quality of their gin."

Desmond Payne, the Master Gin Distiller at Beefeaters, says gin and tonic is a marriage that works but there are many more ways to mix. “At present, there is a revival in cocktails, some fantastic ones nowadays. Gin is right back in fashion. Some gin bars in Spain have up to 300 brands (and 50 tonics) on offer and new distilleries are popping up everywhere. There are new gins coming out sometimes that try too hard. You can't change everything at once!”

There is a huge variation in the price per bottle. Does that always reflect quality? Michael: “Higher price does not always mean a better gin as limited supply and difficulty of sourcing will also affect price, however every gin will have its own flavour profile, so it's definitely worth experimenting!”

What are the more popular gins in Bradley’s?

Irish - Dingle, Blackwater and St. Patricks.

International Gins under €40 - Plymouth, Beefeater 24, Bombay Sapphire.

International Gins over €40 – Hendricks, The Botanist, Bathtub Gin.

With all the new and old gins on the market, packaging is more important than ever?

Michael: “Gin, in general as a category, comes in particularly smart packaging and this is something very important for new producers to keep in mind. Consumers buy with their eyes firstly but come back for the quality and taste of course!”

As Desmond Payne said at Ballymaloe LitFest, gin and tonic is a marriage made in heaven. But which tonic goes with which gin? What are the most popular tonics sold in Bradley’s?

Michael: “The quality of the tonic you use, it being the most popular mixer for gin, has become very important to consumers. Schweppes is still the traditional tonic used in Ireland but we have an ever increasing demand for tonics such as Fever Tree, 1724 and our most popular variety, Fentiman's.

Fentiman's is most popular, we believe, because it offers 3 varieties in the range – standard, light or herbal tonic water. Experimentation is all part of the fun to see which one you like yourself.

We have also recently added a tonic syrup to our range. The usual mix is one part syrup, 2 parts gin and 3 parts soda/sparkling water. However, these quantities can be played with to get the perfect mix for you! We currently carry Bradley's Tonic Syrup from American but have just recently discovered a tonic syrup produced here in Galway. We are very excited about this and will be adding it to our range very shortly!”

See also

Gin, with Desmond Payne at Ballymaloe LitFest