Showing posts with label Great Irish Beverages. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Irish Beverages. Show all posts

Friday, November 4, 2022

Dash Burger win public vote for Best Irish Food & Drink Pairing

 Dash Burger win public vote for Best Irish Food & Drink Pairing


Great Irish Beverages, a leading promoter and producer of Irish made drinks just completed running its first nationwide festival in 3 years - Irish Food & Drink Month. It was a celebration of pairing Irish foods with Irish drinks for the hospitality sector. Any licensed bar, restaurant or hotel was able to register for free and in order to get involved, they had to create and sell a signature Irish food & drink pairing for the whole month of October. By working alongside a number of different Irish drinks brands across many sectors, they were able to bring on 140 different venues from 16 different counties. Each of which was listed on the Great Irish Beverages website for the public to see and each of whom created a signature Irish food & drink pairing! Among the venues taking part were Michelin star fine dining hot spots, gastro pubs, hotels and local restaurants.

There was a public vote for which of the 140 participating venues had the best pairing. This was done on Instagram using the #EatDrinkIrish hashtag as a means to cast a vote. The winning venue was from Dublin, Dash Burger. They have two outlets, one on Capel Street and another on Kevin Street. Their pairing was a delicious Double Smash Cheeseburger basted with Allta Restaurant's Shiitake Miso Butter matched with O'Hara's IPA.

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The beef for Dash Burger is 100% Irish Beef supplied by Pat McLoughlin of McLoughlins Butchers and is all grass fed. They use an aged beef mix of secret cuts that keep their burgers crispy yet juicy. Coughlans Bakery supply their equally Irish potato buns and their cheese is from Kerrymaid.
O'Hara's Irish Pale Ale is a Contemporary style IPA with an Irish twist. Zesty and refreshingly bitter, the finish is long. With a copper toned body topped with a lightly carbonated head, the dry hopping brings an intense aroma and lasting array of fruit and floral notes - the perfect contrast to bring out the richness from the Double Smash Cheeseburger!

As part of the prize for winning Best Irish Food & Drink Pairing, Barry Wallace of Dash Burger nominated Dublin Simon Community to receive a €1,000 charity donation paid for by Great Irish Beverages.

press release

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Irish Food & Drink Month Launches with 140 Venues Around The Country

 Irish Food & Drink Month Launches

 with 140 Venues Around The Country



Great Irish Beverages is very proud to share details of their first Irish Food & Drink Month festival - a nationwide celebration of pairing Irish foods with Irish drinks running in October.


Pride in Irish food has never been stronger in Ireland’s hospitality sector. All across Ireland, you’ll find Irish produce taking front and centre of most menus. Few would argue that local food tastes best when enjoyed with local drinks and Ireland is no exception. Our native drinks pair wonderfully well with Irish meats, fish, farmed produce and cheeses. We want to see those drinks as well loved as the foods they share the same land with. That’s why we’re rolling out a brand new nationwide festival for all of October 2022 –  Irish Food & Drink Month.


We are working with 18 different Irish drinks brands across many sectors for this project. Throughout September, any licensed bar, restaurant or hotel was able to register for free and in order to get involved, they had to create and sell a signature Irish food & drink pairing for the month of October. They are all now live and can be seen here. Each registered venue is divided by the county and then alphabetically. The public vote for which participating venue has the best Irish food & drink pairing is now live too. People can vote by tagging the venue in a post on Instagram and using the hashtag #EatDrinkIrish. Or they can vote by posting on the Great Irish Beverages Facebook page, tagging the venue and using the #EatDrinkIrish hashtag there. Voting closes on October 31st and it’s one vote per person. The winning venue will be able to nominate a registered charity of their choice and we will give them €1,000.

Apple Tart by Dede

140 venues in 16 different counties are on board. Each venue has their own page on the Great Irish Beverages site where you can see each of their Irish food & drink pairings. They range dramatically both in venue style, choice of food, choice of drink and include:
 - Irish lobster paired with Irish Pilsner from The Seafood Café in Temple Bar to Irish lobster cooked and served with Irish whiskey from King Sitric in Howth.
- Pizzas made with Irish cured meats & cheeses and served with Dublin beers in Rascal's HQ and The Circular in Rialto
- Irish scallops paired with local lager from Mimosa Bar de Tapas in Carlow and Irish scallops paired with an Irish Whiskey Sour cocktail from Sole in Dublin.
- Cork ciders paired with Cork mussels in Casey's of Baltimore.
- Irish Apple Ice Wine served alongside Irish cheese in the 2 Michelin Star Aimsir in Kildare.
- Wild Irish venison paired with Irish Mead from Rare 1784 in Kinsale
- Irish Espresso Martinis paired with desserts from venues such as Camden Bites & Brews
- Burgers and steaks paired with pale ales and porters from Dash Burger and Bull & Castle 


Lots and lots of delicious Irish food & drink combos to be had! So why not treat yourself to something Irish in the month of October. Check out your nearest participating venue and enjoy what's best in Irish cuisine and beverages! By doing so you're bringing some much needed help to Irish businesses and producers.




Sunday, April 24, 2022

WhistlePig Single Cask Rye 11 Year Old “Rutland Barrel”. A Whiskey from Vermont.

Vermont's WhistlePig Single Cask Rye 11 Year Old  “Rutland Barrel”

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WhistlePig Single Cask Rye 11 Year Old  “Rutland Barrel”  56.9%, €490 from the Single Malt Shop.


(Volume 1 in "The Library Series”)



In the first of a collection of five single cask bottlings from the WhistlePig Distillery in Vermont, comes Volume 1 in "The Library Series."  "Produced to celebrate the ultimate in aged Rye whiskey, each annual edition comes in a leather bound Encyclopedia so that with every Volume, the collector will be building their own library." 

Volume 1 was aged for 11 years in virgin American Oak and was named "Rutland Barrel" in honour of a local Vermont township. Every other Volume will also carry that feature.


This 11-year old whiskey comes into your glass with a warm and deep amber hue. On the nose there’s sweetness and distinct mint notes. The palate is complex, built on a sweet caramel foundation; spice too of course as you’d expect from the rye. 


The toffee and spice stay right through the lingering finish, right down to a prickly pear back note. I didn’t notice that on the first swallow but there’s so much going on in this hyper-local whiskey that, like the whiskey itself, the drinker needs more time. A fantastic tribute to the qualities of rye and indeed to the man, the late Dave Pickerell, that brought it all together with his team in Vermont.


A few years ago at the tiny Micil Distillery in Galway, Pádraic Ó Griallais told me the three conditions needed to become a proper drinker: É a ioc, é a ól, é a iompar  (Pay for it; drink it; carry it.) When it comes to the Rutland Barrel, I could well fall at the the first! Still, very glad I got my chance to sample it.


As this has a 56.9% ABV, the advice is to use a drop of water. I’m always amazed at how well, and consistently, that wee drop does its job. Here the water opens it up beautifully, revealing more of its soft mint notes not to mention the toffee apple as layer after layer of tempting flavours and aromas drift in. 



The entire Vermont project was initially commenced under the late Dave Pickerell's stewardship. Known worldwide as the Founding Father of the American Craft Distilling Movement, Dave was master distiller and blender in WhistlePig before he sadly passed away in 2018. Together with his colleague Pete Lynch, who has become his successor, he decided that they needed to set aside some of their precious rye stocks and allow them additional ageing and care. 


But before that, in 2007, a group of people decided to buy a farm in the idyllic surroundings of Shoreham, Vermont. Inspired by the wonderful nature all around them, they started conjuring up plans of making a hyper local Vermont whiskey.


In 2015, it all became a reality when Pickerell ran their first distillation in a copper still he specifically made and customized for them. His WhistlePig mantra was soon born, “Our grain. Our water. Our wood. We call it the Triple Terroir."


After a meticulous cask selection, they settled on virgin American Oak with the sole aim of capturing the very essence of rye whiskey. As one of the final projects for Dave to have worked on, The Library Series stands out as one of the last opportunities to embrace his remarkable legacy. And with the whiskey itself bottled at the cask strength of 56.9% ABV, this is rye that is not just supremely crafted, but captured in its purest form. It is available exclusively from The Single Malt Shop.

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Method and Madness Rye and Malt 46%, 700ml bottle, RRP €95.00



Just thought I‘d try a drop of this local whiskey with the WhistlePig. And the Rye here introduced itself immediately with clove and spice on the nose. The malt led on the toasty palate, a peppery spice also. And spice still there through to the finish, the perfect balance tellingly and delightfully illustrated from start to finalé.


The mini-tasting started with the Rye and Malt but the Midleton bottle wasn’t exactly in the same league when the Vermont came onstage. That probably had something to do with expectations. When the Vermont had sadly departed, the Method and Madness, this time, with a drop or two of the “magic” water, was competitive, maybe not in the same division but perhaps a cup upset could be on the cards from an accomplished underdog.


Bottled at 46% ABV, the limited-edition Method and Madness Rye and Malt Irish Whiskey is available in Ireland, the UK, Dublin Airport and online at the RRP of €95. 

Double distilled in ex Bourbon casks.

Non chilled filtered.


The Method and Madness Tasting Notes: 

Nose: Lemon Balm, Floral Lavender, Clove Spice

Taste: White Pepper, Chilli Flakes, Toasted Wood

Finish: Fading Fruits, Lingering Spice, Cereal Malt & Barley


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