A right royal booze cruise in the Kingdom

A right royal booze cruise in the Kingdom 

Kerry comes up trumps with beer and whiskey.

Always enjoy a visit to Kerry and last week's visit was no exception, even if the weather played spoilsport. 

If you visit only one off licence in the county, then the Carry Out on the Muckross Road is the one. I've been visiting regularly for the past few years and they never let you down. It is well stocked and local beers are prominently displayed. This time I bought a bunch of cans from the Dingle Brewery (Dick Macks), some Tom Crean and Sullivan's Red Ale. As we drove off, the boot already had the sounds of a wine-buying trip on the Loire or the Rhone or Dordogne.

After a very enjoyable private visit in Killarney, we made our way to the Parknasilla Resort, our home from home for the next three nights. More on the hotel and its many facilities here. The drinks list came in for immediate scrutiny and I was delighted to note that they had no less then four craft beers on tap, a lager and IPA from Tom Creans (over the road), a Pale Ale from Blacks of Kinsale and the Red Ale from Sullivans of Kilkenny. It is the first time I've had that red ale on tap and it was magnificent. Sullivans don't dabble in a multitude of styles but the few they produce are top notch.

From Carry Out, Muckross Road, Killarney

Quite a selection also of Irish whiskey, as you'd expect, including the local favourite, the Dingle Whiskey Single Pot Still, a very enjoyable dram indeed. I was one of the early visitors to Dingle where the witty guide, an ex-guard, relieved me of ten of my euro, a fee I was glad to pay after an engaging visit. Good to see how the distillery has come on over the years. On the other hand, it is sad to see the newer Killarney Distillery in limbo but hopefully that will change some time soon.

Dick Mack's IPA

On the third night of our visit, we had dinner in the second of the Parknasilla restaurants, the Eliza Doolittle, named after a character in the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion.This is a relaxed place,  the social heart of the resort, and also serves excellent food (lunch and dinner). It is also the hotel's bar and the same drinks list is available here. Our sips for the night included a pint of that irresistible Sullivans and a drop of the Method and Madness Single Malt whiskey.

Excellent seasonal cider at Carry Out, Kenmare

There is so much to do here that you really don't have to travel outside the 500 acres osf seashore and woodland of the estate. But I had a hankering to walk to the top of Bray Head on Valentia Island. The pathway up has been much improved since my last visit but the fog was bad this morning and we had to turn back about two thirds of the way up this usually spectacular walk. On the way down, we stopped in the very friendly Skellig Seafront Restaurant for a scone and pastry and a cuppa and I noted they also sell the Waterville brewed McGill beer. Recommended if you find yourself strolling around Portmagee.

Foggy walk

Also recommended is a visit to Portmagee Whiskey with its unusual domed enclosures that include, a big surprise to me,  a traditional Seine Boat, boats that you may see in competitive action, with 12-man crews, at the Portmagee Regatta, the ultimate race of the season for an "uniquely localised sport". A few years back, a Bantry man told me, as we bumped across an angry bay in his rib, how he crewed one (they are distinctive and may also be called a long boat) from the town. Indeed, I have seen a bunch of them in competitive action once, not in Portmagee but at the mouth of the Bidasoa River as it enters the Atlantic Ocean between Hendaye in France and Hondarribbia in Spain.

The domes of Portmagee Whiskey and, below, the impressive Seine Boat that is displayed here.

We didn't of course forget the purpose of the visit and called to the shop onsite where, having sampled a few, I decided on one of the 9-year olds. Looking forward to trying that in due time.

Glass of Rosé in Eliza Doolittle

The booze cruise wasn't quite over yet and the Tom Cream brewery in Kenmare was our next stop. Here, on Saturdays, you may book a guided tour and hear the story of Tom Crean, Ireland's famous Antarctic explorer and of course taste their award-winning beers, including their latest, an non-alcoholic beer, with the apt name of Last Man Standing.

I've known these beers, brewed by Bill and Aileen, fairly well over the years and stocked up again, just to add to the tinkle of glass in the back of the car. Slainte! Or should I say Santé?

Also on this trip

Meals at Parknasilla Resort a highlight of three-day trip to County Kerry

A Welcome Warming Lunch at the Mill Food Truck in Blarney

A Welcome Warming Lunch at 

the Mill Food Truck in Blarney 

Korean Chicken Fries

After an energetic walk around the grounds of Blarney Castle, we were in the need of some warming food. We had intended to eat outdoors (there is another smaller café just inside the entrance) at the Coach House Café alongside the castle but the heavy showers ruled that out.

Here, they serve a variety of hot dishes, including an Irish Stew, soups, scones and sweet treats, some pre-made sandwiches and tea and coffee and they also have seats indoors.

The Coach House in Blarney Castle.

We headed on foot across the road to the Blarney Woollen Mils to check what was on offer there food wise. We knew they serve meals in Christy’s Bar and Grill and in the hotel’s Mill Restaurant, both very busy with busloads of visitors around. 

But it was a surprise to us to see the Mill Food Truck set up in a large fairly well covered outdoor area (see it here) at the front of the restaurant. Not too many there as we arrived but is was almost full when we departed 30 or 40 minutes later.

Pork and Fries

The truck is on duty daily from 12pm until 8.00pm and has quite a choice including Burgers, Fish, Chicken, a variety of fries (including Taco and Curry Cheese versions). And a short Kids Menu. All their beef is Irish.

With a bunch of crows watching hungrily from the side, we tucked into our dishes, each well priced at €9.95. There was a little dog there also, relaxing in a seat as his “master” enjoyed his food.

One of our picks was BBQ pulled pork fries. The pork along with Texas Bourbon BBQ sauce, Ruby Slaw and crispy fried onions was loaded on to a base of chips. The carton was packed to the top and it was a much bigger meal than expected, quite good too.

Our other choice was the Korean Chicken Fries. Buttermilk Fried Chicken Strips in a Spicy Korean Style Sauce, Toasted Peanuts and Cashews, Fresh Coriander, Pickled Red Onions and Sesame seeds were loaded into the carton. Took some eating, much more than the light lunch we had intended to find, but very enjoyable indeed.

Looking forward to meeting this quintet

When you enter, approach the truck, check the menu, make you choices, pay up and take the little “alarm” back to your table and you’ll soon hear it go off. Servers are very friendly and helpful.

A dog and his man!

We then had a quick look at the shop in the Mills itself, at least the part that sells spirits and beers (including the brews by Blarney Brewing). Great to see local producers supported in this way and the same continued in the whiskey section with the likes of Clonakilty, Teeling's, Midleton and West Cork featured. Treated myself to a five-pack of the West Cork Single Malt (50 ml), all different cask finishes.

* Amazing how many opportunities there are these days for “grab and go food”. On the following day in town we were on the lookout for something ready-for-lunch and found it at the Urban Pantry in Tesco Paul Street, a very tasty Lobster Roll by Ballycotton's Trawler Boyz. 

For dessert later on, the pick was the Tres Leches Cake by La Latina (familiar to those of you that frequent Douglas Famers Market). The dessert is just the job if you have a super-sweet tooth! Good to see the products of Timoleague’s Ummera Smoke House here and we bought one of their fabulous Smoked Chickens for the freezer.

Passed Blarney House on our walk. It opens for tours in peak season.