The Whiskey Bulletin. Killowen Pangur Poitín Final. Hip Flask Pressie. Powerscourt's Triple Distilled Celebration.

press releases 

Killowen Pangur Poitín Cocktail Competition Final

Closing off '2022 - The Year of Poitín' - Tomorrow will see the grand final of our Pangur Poitín competition.   The talent within the competition has been phenomenal to this point and our two expert judges Chris Hennessy and Nathan Evans have settled on two finalists

Irish Whiskey Auctions will host the grand final in the beautiful JJ Sheehy’s Bar Dundalk. The show will kick off at 4pm Irish time, where the winner will be crowned, tune in for some entertainment prior to what will be a game changer in the Irish poitín category. The two finalists of course are Ronan Collins, Co Down & Rory McGee, Co Cork.

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Hip Flask Service

WHAT IS THE BRADLEYS HIP FLASK SERVICE?

The Bradleys Hip Flask Service gives you the chance to taste some new, interesting & exceptional whiskeys without having to purchase a full bottle. To avail of the service, simply purchase one of our bespoke Bradleys Hip Flasks (€20). The flask effectively works as your membership card for the service and allows you to return and purchase refills as often as you wish. For this reason we only fill whiskeys into Bradleys Hip Flasks.

Your flask itself is stainless steel and holds 6 ounces, which is just less than 5 standard pub measures. The cover is faux leather and therefore, vegan friendly.

Each month we pick one whiskey of the month. This will either be a whiskey already available on the service at a special price or it will be a limited whiskey not already on the service which is hard to come by.

Fill prices vary depending on the whiskey chosen. The usual price range is between €13-€50, however, sometimes rare or discontinued whiskeys are added which may fall outside this range.

Between each fill, your flask should be rinsed and dried thoroughly. This will preserve the integrity of each individual whiskey. We recommend filling the flask 3/4 full with warm water and washing up liquid, capping it and giving it a good shake. Empty out and rinse with cold water until it runs clear, before finally leaving it to air dry.

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Triple Distilled Celebration for The Powerscourt Distillery At 2022 Icons of Whisky Ireland Awards!

Last Thursday night at the 2022 edition of the Icons of Whisky Ireland Awards, The Powerscourt Distillery team enjoyed a triple celebration by taking home three awards. Paul Corbett was awarded Master Distiller/Master Blender; the Distillery Visitor Centre took home the Visitor Attraction award, while the In-House Food & Beverage Specialist Santina Kennedy was Highly Commended in the Campaign Innovatorcategory. The Awards took place in Dublin’s Iveagh Garden Hotel.

 

This huge personal achievement for Paul Corbett as  Master Distiller/Blender of the Year - Icon of Whisky Ireland means he will now go forward  to London on 30 ^th March,  where he will be included in the ‘World’s Best Icons Competition”.

 

This is the first significant award for the  Visitor Centre – Visitor Attractionand is a key milestone, and down to the wonderful work all of the centre’s team do daily, ensuring visitors get the 5-star treatment at every touchpoint on their visit to Powerscourt Distillery.

 

Finally, Santina Kennedy received a Highly Commended for Campaign Innovator– all down to Santina’s sterling work around the championing and promotion of the Fercullen Whiskey & local Food Pairing concept .

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A Quart of Ale± #133. On the craft journey with Kinnegar, Wide Street, Galway Bay, West Cork, and Bradleys

 A Quart of Ale± #133

On the craft journey with Kinnegar, Wide Street, Galway Bay, West Cork, and Bradleys.

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Kinnegar Rustbucket Rye IPA, 5.1% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys.

This old reliable, the Rustbucket, is well into its second decade now. The brewery tell us “it was inspired by an old friend - a real character and independent spirit, but always a faithful companion. This description also fits our friends at An Grianán Theatre for whom we originally developed this special beer.”

Amber is the colour and it has a big soft head. Malt heads the aromas with rye offering a little spice. And you meet that spice again in the mouth. And it’s all a little bolder, a little spicer, on the pleasing palate. The American hops come on with a citrus contribution. All’s in balance here though. It is an excellent beer. “A fresh and hoppy drink with a complex flavour profile that never disappoints”, they say themselves and I’ve no problem agreeing.

Once our wandering ancestors settled down, they began to grow grain to make bread and beer. Which came first? I’m not going that deep here. But, in any case, the kind of beer made depended on the local grain. Rye, which thrives on poor soil, was the local grain in much of northern Europe, especially in Russia and Scandinavia. Wonder if those early brewers made anything as good as this Rustbucket!

So how do Kinnegar humans (quite an inventive tribe) go from rye to rustbucket? Credit goes to a Donegal madra (his pic is on the can). “This is where the story gets obtuse, winding a thread around a beloved Irish Terrier, Rusty, or as he was affectionately called by many, Rustbucket. Irish Terriers are renowned for their intelligence. Some, like Rusty, are also very well-known for their tenacity and downright stubbornness. He was a great dog, but he sure did require a lot of patience!”

Quite a storied beer then, though many of the yarns might have never been written but for the crew at An Grianán Theatre calling for encore after encore (read can after can) on that Rustbucket opening night so many litres ago.

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Wide Street Spéciale Belgian Pale Ale, 4.7%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Longford brewery Wide Street introduce this Pale Ale: “S P É C I A L E is our nod to the Belgian Pale ales brewed in the Flemish provinces of Antwerp and Brabant. Traditionally amber in colour despite the Pale Ale name this beer is medium bodied and malt forward with medium bitterness. One of Belgium's session beer styles.”

Colour is a coppery/amber with a white pillowy head. It is more murky than hazy. Aromas and flavours are both fruity (apple and pear, even banana and orange). The first hit on the palate is the malt but this easy-drinking beer is certainly well-balanced, medium malty yes and with just enough bitterness to balance. A terrific alternative to IPAs and the brewers indicate it pairs well with poultry, pulled pork, curries or a cheeseboard.

Of course, the Belgians would argue that all their beers are spéciale. The two parts of the country may speak in different languages but that doesn’t prevent them having a common pride in their beers. Despite having a relatively short national history, it has one of the oldest brewing traditions in the world. And one of the characteristics of their beers is the extent to which they get the most from their yeast.

The label mentions fruity esters without elaborating (in fairness, there’s only so much you can print in a can). Esters are a fruity flavour produced primarily through the action of yeasts during fermentation and are influenced by the fermentation process. They are formed in beer by the “esterification” of ethanol which is the primary alcohol in beer.

Another excellent beer from Wide Street who can be found on a very wide street indeed in Ballymahon, County Longford.

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Galway Bay Bay Ale Red Ale, 4.4%, 330 ml can Bradleys

The crew in the brewery are very happy with this long-standing stalwart: Bay Ale is brewed with a complex malt bill and a savvy dose of subtle American hops for a modern spin on this traditional style. This beer has stood the test of time in our range and we are proud to see it still flying the flag for red ales.

Their Galway Bay “Bay Red Ale” has quite a strong red colour and a soft off-white head that slowly waltzes away. Aromas are mild and mostly malty. On the palate, you immediately note a smooth and well-balanced flavour from this well rounded ale. British and Irish malts get a chance to shine here and give this beer a strong backbone but the hops (European and American) get their share of the spotlight and the balance is excellent.

Irish Red ales are noted for their food-friendliness and this is no exception. Try it with salads, roast meats, cold meats, simple cheeses and salmon dishes.

Founded in 2009, Galway Bay is an independently owned and operated brewery based in Galway, on the west coast of Ireland. “From classic styles to big barrel aged beers, we brew the full spectrum of beer with a passion for quality and innovation.”

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West Cork Brewing Cape Haze West Coast IPA, 4.7% ABV, 500ml bottle Ballymaloe Craft Fair

This comes in a gold orange robe, hazy of course, with a fairly big bubbly white head. Hints of orange and resin in the aromas (as you’d expect with the German pair of Mandarina Bavaria and Hercules in the recipe). And the duo of orange and resin also feature in the mouth, accompanied by a dank sensation and some vegetative input that I couldn’t put a finger on. Overall though, it is bright and fruity and quite a decent IPA, especially considering it weights at just 4.7% ABV.

By the way, the third hop is Yellow Sub (which as been described as “Amarillo on steroids”) is also of German origin. The brewery recommends food pairings for this beer as mussels, chicken & caramel cakes. 

Like all of their beers, this is brewed using their own spring water, is bottle conditioned, unfiltered and vegan friendly. Current brewer at West Cork is Terra Brookins. She grew up in San Diego "where you can’t swing a cat without hitting a craft brewery”.

A Quart of Ale± #132. On the craft journey with Blacks, Wicklow Wolf, Boundary, Backyard.

A Quart of Ale± #132

On the craft journey with Blacks, Wicklow Wolf, Boundary, Backyard.

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Blacks Stratasbeer Intergalactic IPA, 5.00% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Kinsale brewery Black’s announcement of this IPA invites you to “Blast through the Stratosphere into a whole new hop Universe..” And says it is “hopped to the high heavens with fresh Galaxy and Strata hops!”

Now let us come to earth and try it out! Colour is a straw/light orange, closer to clear than hazy, and it has a lovely white top. Aromas are not at all over the top. And those hops certainly add a supple backbone to the palate, yet again the flavours, like the aromas, are not over the top either, thankfully as far as I’m concerned. 

Flavours include the expected peach, passion fruit and citrus from the Australian hop Galaxy while the USA’s Strata reinforces that experience while also adding some herbal and even dank notes. Galaxy, often used in hop forward beers, is a key factor in many IPAs.

Very happy with this one, I’m glad to say. But how do you class this particular Kinsale IPA. It is West Coast, East Coast? Or Intergalactic, as they say!

With one hop from the US and the other from down under, it could well be of the Pacific style, that is beers brewed mostly with Australian and New Zealand hops (according to Mark Dredge’s just published book Beer: A Tasting Course). Colour and clarity certainly match the Pacific description and the ABV falls right in the middle of the style’s 3.5%-7%. Close but maybe not close enough.

Anyhow, let us not worry too much about the style. It is a well made and highly refreshing beer with a nicely judged hop kick all the way up to the finish. Blacks are back with a Stratospheric boom!

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Wicklow Wolf Locavore Winter 2022 Dry Irish Stout, 5.6%, 440 ml can Bradleys

“The latest edition in Wicklow Wolf's Locavore series is made from hops hand-picked by the Wicklow Wolf team. As always, this series is a beautiful expression of all Co. Wicklow has to offer. This release is a fresh-hopped dry Irish Stout. Promises to be wonderfully fresh and crisp!”

It is not the best of stouts but damn well close. The soft head has a tan  colour.  The aromatics are moderate but very pleasant indeed with a light toastiness and a slight hoppy bitterness leading the way. The smooth soft palate then reveals big flavours of roasted malt, a bigger presence than the hops, and there’s a streak of acidity in there too that helps keep it all in delicious harmony, smooth dry and clean into the finalé.

They have used the finest Irish ingredients:  Wicklow Harvest Mountain Water, Hops from the 2021 Harvest on their hop farm and hop garden at the brewery and their own malted barley and wheat which was grown in the field behind the brewery.

They say: “Locavore is a beer series that champions local ingredients, terroir and sustainability. Growing our own ingredients here in Wicklow is something that we are extremely proud of and you get to taste the fruits of the Wicklow landscape. You can follow the journey and story of this year’s Locavore Winter Dry Irish Stout by simply scanning the QR Code on the can.”

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Boundary Next Episode Helles Lager, 4.8% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Belfast’s Boundary Brewery are happy with their Helles: “We only started making lagers in the last year or so, but we absolutely love them - this is our first re-release of this German style Helles, NEXT EPISODE - it's clean, smooth, crisp, proper summer beer.” Art work is by John Robinson.

So there you are. Summer. Well I’m late again. But let us have a try - the heating’s on! It is amber coloured with a fairly short-lived white head. Aromas are mild, with malt upfront. And it’s also malty on the palate and clean and crisp as they say.

The German Helles , easily found in Munich, has a crisp finish similar to Pils. Cool and refreshing, this everyday beer goes well with salads, shrimp, or fish, an excellent session beer. That’s what Boundary were aiming for.

How To Pour A German Lager From A Can or Bottle*

1. Tilt the glass or stein at a 45 degree angle.

2. Place the tip of the bottle in the glass, and pour the beer quickly down the side.

3. Start to straighten the glass as the beer reaches the top to create a nice head of foam.

• from kegworks.com 

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Backyard Toasted Oat Export Stout, 7.0% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

This is the second beer from Backyard, their first a normal strength stout. This is, they say,  “A classic export stout with added toasted oats. An extra smooth body with the dark malty flavours that you expect from an export stout.”

Colour is the expected black with a tighter than normal tan head. 

Aromas give the expected toasty malty sensation. And there’s more malty roast on the palate with citrus and floral notes from the Citrus hops, with little hint of the high alcohol. Smooth enough (the oat bonus) though, with a decent finish. 

A Quart of Ale± #131. On the craft journey with Lough Gill, Bradleys, Kinnegar, Whiplash.

A Quart of Ale± #131

Session anyone?

On the craft journey with Lough Gill, Bradleys, Kinnegar, Whiplash.

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Lough Gill If I was in LA Californian IPA, 6.8%, 440 ml can Bradleys

Probably safe to say that hoppy West Coast IPA, with its amazing aromatics, not to mention flavours, is the regions’s flagship beer. But before that, American hops were being rejected by brewers in Europe and the US.

And then, according to National Geographic Atlas of Beer, along came Bert Grant of the Yakima Brewing and Malting Company and he developed the Northwest’s first version of the IPA. Soon that developed into the West Coast IPA that so many love today.

Lough Gill do quite a bit of business in the US and this pale and hazy IPA is not their first with a hoppy nod to the states. You’ve got two US hops deployed here, Citra and Mosaic. And you’re expecting a lot of citrus and tropical. 

What you do get is a more or less perfect balance between bitter and fruit notes. Malted barley with oats and rye are included in the ingredients and brewer Francesco Sottomano has managed to get them all in harmony. Hop forward yes, yet the flavours, attractively rounded, are long lasting and this is one for my shortlist! Hope Lough Gill put it on their core list!

From what I can glean, this IPA is like those of the southern part of the West Coast of the USA, “the San Diego version” according to Jeff Alworth’s Beer Bible, with “stiff hopping”. From a northwest IPA, expect more malt, less bitterness, and more aromatics and fruity hops.

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Kinnegar Leaf Kicker 2022 Marzen, 5.9% ABV, 440 ml can Bradleys

Most of us who have hosted and or attended weddings will no doubt have enjoyed a beer or two. Very few weddings have started a beer trend. But that’s what happened when a royal wedding between Ludwig (the future king) and Therese took place in Bavaria in October 1810. That party was so good and the couple so popular that another party was held the following year and so Octoberfest was established.

By 1819, the festival had become a 2-week event (beer was just one strand), now organised by the city of Munich, and kicked off, as it does now, in mid-September. Marzen was the main style of beer for the festival and its name came from the fact that it was brewed in March to be at its best in Autumn.

Märzen later became - still is - popular in Austria though their version is lighter in colour and maltiness than the Bavarian beer.  In both regions, it was, before refrigeration, brewed in the Spring for consumption in the Autumn and, according to the National Geographic Atlas of Beer in 2017, held 60 to 70 per cent of Austria’s beer market.

And here we have the right royal brewers of Kinnegar with their Märzen which they did bring out in September (its colour close to the leaves of its name). So I’m a little behind, not for the first time, hard to keep up with all the new beers out there.

“…here’s our new autumn special,” they said. ”Each year we’ll make a different classic beer style, beginning in 2022 with this German Märzen. A lager, Märzen, was originally served at Oktoberfest in Munich. Enjoy this 5.9% ABV rendition as life returns to a slightly slower pace for the autumn months.”

This is for sure more the Bavarian style. Its ABV is in the Märzen range of 5-6.5% as against 4.5% to 5.5% for Vienna Lager. Amber is the colour (fountains of bubbles rise up) and it has an almost creamy mouthfeel.  This supple beer leads with its rich malts, along with a sweetish bagel* flavour and a touch of caramel. It finishes clean and a little hoppy.

It is deeply refreshing and also well suited to food including BBQ, pizzas and tacos plus a chicken from the rotisserie. Octoberfest may be finito for 2022 but this Donegal beer can be enjoyed for another month or two. 

* I’m thinking of the bagel I regularly get from Cork’s Bread & Roses..

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Whiplash The Wake Export Stout, 7.0%, Whiplash online

Here's an excellent Export Stout from Whiplash. Black, like newly laid tarmac, with a soft tan head that’s slow enough to shift. Aromas of lightly roasted coffee and chocolate may be mild but they are persistent. And what follows on the impressive palate is not a million miles away, flavours of lightly toasted bread, plus a lick of cherry across those lips, coffee is never that far away as this quite hefty stout waltzes smoothly on its way to a merry, dry and rather marvellous finalé. May I have the next dance also, please!

That’s my immediate reaction to The Wake, (hardly a dancing occasion, getting my metaphors mixed up). The Whiplash crew, rarely slow to offer advice, are a tad shy here: “… while we don’t want to tell you how to drink your beer, we’d highly recommend this one on a cold evening in front of an open fire.” That could be arranged as could a case of this black beauty.

Thanks you Whiplash. Enjoy The Wake and Happy Christmas.

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Whiplash Rollover Session IPA 3.8% ABV, 330 can 

Looking for a decent session beer. No shortage but my go-to is this Whiplash Rollover. Murky orange is the colour - no way you’re going to see through this haze! This was our session beer of 2020 and this most recent tasting confirmed it’s as likeable as ever.

Pale yellow colour with a  short-lived white head over a hazy body. Citrus fronts the aromatics. And the quartet of hops dominate the palate. Amazing that this has so much hops and still weighs in at less than 4.00% ABV. Quite a concentration of hops then, before a lip-smacking finalé.

They say: Same hop rate as our DIPA’s, less than half the alcohol. A very heavily hopped Session IPA: this comes at you with buckets of Simcoe, Ekuanot, Citra and Mosaic hops with a light touch of malts and an easy crushable body. Unfiltered, hazy, hoppy and juicy – Rollover is a New England inspired IPA without the heavy alcohol in tow.

The Irishman The Harvest Single Malt and Single Pot Irish Whiskey. Killowen/Blackwater Poitín Combination. Cork's Cask nets another cocktail award.

There's more than one Irishman! 

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+ below, Killowen/Blackwater Poitín Combination

Cork's Cask nets another national cocktail award.

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The Irishman The Harvest Single Malt and Single Pot Irish Whiskey 40% ABV

Widely available at about €40.00.

Here’s the introduction from producers Walsh Whiskey: The Irishman. Premium Irish Whiskey. Exceptional character. Championing Irish Single Malt. The recreation of age-old recipes to create unrivalled expressions. For a new generation of whiskey enthusiasts.

A Duo Of Excellent Whites From North-West Spain. Monterrei and Rias Baixas

 A Duo Of Excellent Whites From North-West Spain

Via Arxéntea Godello Y Treixadura Monterrei (DO) 2021, 13% ABV, €17.80 MacCurtain Wine Cellar

This is a Spanish white wine with a marked varietal character. Made with Godello and Treixadura, both native Galician varieties, to transmit those aromas and flavours that our land, climate and fruits are capable of producing. 

That’s part of the info on the label of this blend produced by Via Arxéntea in Monterrei in North West Spain.

It has a bright yellow colour and it is certainly aromatic, apple, peach (especially) and mango to the fore; notes of citrus also. The intensity is also evident on the palate where flavours are bold but balanced by an excellent acidity. There is a long and fruity aftertaste, with a faint sweet sensation never too far away. 

Serve at 8-11º degrees and pair with cooked fish, grill, seafood rice, squid a la plancha and vegetable dishes. Very Highly Recommended. 

The DO Monterrei is in the province of Ourense, close to the Portuguese border. Most of its wine is white and most of that is based on Godello (which is also called Verdello); other varieties of white grapes here are the autochthonous Doña Blanca  and Treixadura.

Godello is quite possibly the most scented of the newly fashionable white varieties in Spain’s far north-west, according to Grapes and Wines. “Almost extinct in the 1970s, it is now flourishing in Valdeorras.” Valdeorras is also in Ourense.

Early ripening Treixadura is one of the grapes that blends well with Godello. In Portugal, where it is called Tradajura, it adds crisp, citrus characters to Vinho Verde.

The MacCurtain Wine Cellar, owned by Trudy Ahern and Sean Gargano, is essentially a wine shop where you may select your purchases from a huge wall of wine. Don't worry though, you'll have lots of excellent advice, given with knowledge and a rare enthusiasm, not to mention charm. 

If you wish to drink on the premises, that is no problem in the evenings. And while wine is their priority, they also provide some very tasty small plates and sharing boards as well. Such a poremises is known as a Cave à Manger in France.

There is a the fantastic range, all organic, biodynamic or natural. I picked the Godello and Treixadura blend from Monterrei while Sean suggested the Celler del Roure Cullerot Blanco (toi feature in a later post!). He was very enthusiastic about this winemaker and about the future of wines from the Valencia area.

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Almirante “Vanidade” Albariño Rias Baixas (DO) 2020, 

13% ABV,  €15.95 Bradleys.

Did you know that we Irish are the fourth largest importers of Albariño in the world? It comes from our Celtic cousins in Galicia, in Spain’s Rias Baixas region. It has all happened quickly and relatively recently.  

“It is a young industry,” said Lynne Coyle MW, one of our hosts at a Rias Baixas Tasting in L’Atitude during the summer. “In 1975 there were just 200 hectares of Albariño here, now there are over 4,000, lots of small holdings.

Val de Salnés is the main region. And it is from here and its granite soil that this wine by Vina Almirante comes. That ocean influence is evident in this dry crisp and elegant wine.

The Vanidade has a beautiful and inviting gold colour. Citrus and peach notes in the aromas. Those fruits also feature on the intensely flavoured palate, fresh and zesty, no shortage of acidity,  with a slightly salty tang, plus the starting fruit all the way through to a clean and refreshing finish.  

You don’t get many poor  examples of Albariño but this is outstanding and you are thinking straightaway of matching it with seafood and white fish. See for yourself why Albariño became so popular so quickly. Very Highly Recommended.

Vanidade translates as vanity. I’m very happy with this one and so too are the producers: “Very tasty, very good, wonderful. This is Vanidade, a wine of which we are particularly proud. Both because its organoleptic properties and tasting ratings, and because it’s a champion of cultural change in our time.”

Vain? Proud? Not you? Take a look at the producers site where they have a vanity test ready and waiting. Up for a bit of fun? Click here.”

Importers Findlaters tell us that Vina Almirante is one of the most important wineries in North West Spain. “Its properties are in the borough of Portas in the Caldas de Reis region situated in the northern part of Salnes Valley. These legendary vineyards, which extend over the 35 hectares, are treated with tender loving care and in keeping with state-of-the-art wine growing techniques. The wines.., are distinguished by the faithful reflection of a late autumn harvest, giving rise to a macerated wine endowed with brilliant notes of freshness, elegance and an intense flavour that’s sure to please even the most demanding of palates.”