Cheers on Beers, Wine and Spirits. Lots of Tastings Coming Up. And More Packed in this Issue. Mothers Day. Patrick's Day.

 Cheers on Beers, Wine and Spirits. Lots of Tastings Coming Up. And So Much More Packed into this Issue.  #211003

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Clonakilty Distillery Mother's Day Gifts 

Celebrate the special woman in your life this Mother’s Day with gifts of love from Clonakilty Distillery that goes beyond the ordinary.

Whether they're a mum, step mum, mother-in-law or foster mum.

 We’ve got a gift to make every parents day, for every type of family, this 14th March.

Shop now

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Greenes And Wines Direct

'Meet the winemaker' zoom wine tasting We are excited to announce our online event with

@derrickneleman

Valencia in Spain including 2 wines, artisan cheese & charcuterie. The tasting will take place on Friday 19th March @ 8pm.

@WinesDirect

http://greenesrestaurant.com/menus

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Laurent Miquel Tasting Case

O'Briens Wine Host French Tasting Event

Join us for a virtual online wine tasting on Thursday, 8th April 2021 at 7pm

O’Briens Wine Director, Lynne Coyle MW will be joined by Vigneron and Winemaker Laurent Miguel along with his Irish wife Neasa from their beautiful home at Château Les Auzines, Corbières, in the South of France leading you on an expert tasting session you don’t want to miss. We will be tasting an Albariño, Sauvignon Blanc, Rosé and a velvety Languedoc red while Laurent and Neasa chat about their wines, vineyard stories and give us a taste of their South of France lifestyle.

Save your spot by buying your Laurent Miquel Online Tasting Case, limited spots available – don’t miss out!

What you’ll get:
1x Laurent Miquel La Gaupine Sauvignon Blanc usual RRP €14.95
1x Les Auzines Alaina Rosé usual RRP €16.95
1x Les Auzines Alaina Albariño usual RRP €16.95
1x Les Auzines Hautes Terres Rouges usual RRP €14.95
1x Tasting Sheet
1x Exclusive access to the Wine Tasting via Zoom
Offer Price including delivery €60

Order before Friday 19th March to ensure delivery of your wines! Your tasting pack will be dispatched from the 24th March onwards (please allow between 3-5 days for delivery).

On Monday 5th April your link to the Zoom tasting will be sent to the email address you provide when placing your order. Please note this pack is not available for sale in our stores.

If you have any questions please contact online@obrienswine.ie

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NEW BEER ALERT!!

From Galway Hooker

15 Year Anniversary Double IPA   This Double IPA will be hitting shelves in Mid March to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. We're really excited for this release! ShopShop   ********* Lough Gill Brewery presents... ☘️☘️☘️ KELSEY GRAMMER ☘️☘️☘️ Faith American Brewing Co. With no pubs or parades this St Patrick's Day, what better way to celebrate the day than by brewing a very special collab beer with New York's Faith American Brewing Company. The brewing collaboration will be carried out virtually on March 17th with brewery founder and famous Hollywood actor, Kelsey Grammer. Tune in to our instagram on the St Patrick's Day where we will be going live with Kelsey on the day to announce details of the collaboration. Don't miss it!  VISIT OUR INSTAGRAM

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LIVE Virtual Tasting Friday March 26^th 7pm

Wines Of The World

We are really looking forward to our Virtual Tasting via ZOOM with Casa Silva.

This will be a live interactive virtual tasting with our wine expert Kate Barry and Stephen Ludlam from Casa Silva.

Casa Silva is Chiles most awarded winery of the 21th Century – outstanding wines of great quality and fantastic value.

Viña Casa Silva has the oldest wine cellar in the Colchagua Valley. Beneath its traditional and historic facade, however, is one of Chile’s most modern wine facilities.

More here.

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St Patrick's Hamper of all Hampers from Blacks.

This St Patricks day looks like another party at home situation so why not mix it up a bit and finally get the cocktail bar you have always wanted. This mega pack includes everything you need to make over 100 cocktails at home (except the ice). For a bargain price of only €600.00 That`s 60 cents a drink Tom? "sure is, Show Me The Money".

Don`t be a basket case this year at Paddies, get the hamper of all hampers and Boss the day. Be the cocktail supremo, be the Tom Cruise off the gaff. Wow the crowds ( or just the wife and kids) with your bottle twizzzling skills as you bang out a whiskey sour, a dirty colado and a good Ol` fashioned. Only a limited number of hamper of all hampers are available. Hit the button below to transform your Paddies at home.

Click below for all the details, including discount! Send me the Hamper of all Hampers ********* Sheridans and eight degrees CHEESE & CRAFT BEER TASTING MARCH 19TH €60.00 A VIRTUAL CHEESE & CRAFT BEER EVENING MARCH 19TH 2021 Kevin Sheridan & Caroline Hennessy of Eight Degrees Brewery will host a beer & cheese evening on Friday March 19th 8pm to 9.30pm A selection of Irish Farmhouse cheeses and crackers along with three specially selected beers will be sent to the participants before the event. Participants can then log on to the event where Kevin & Caroline will chat through the beers and cheeses as well as answering all your questions on the fascinating worlds of Irish Artisan Cheeses and Craft Beers. The atmosphere will be fun and educational. A single ticket is suitable for one or two people in the same household. Details here. ********* St Mel's Brewery Introduce Monthly Subscription Boxes  We know so many of you love having our brilliant beers delivered to your door on a monthly basis, after all, who wants to run out of beer?!  So we've created something we think you're all going to love.....introducing our monthly subscription boxes. All you have to do is pick your beer option once and every month you'll have your choice of brilliant beer delivered from our doors to yours!  Start shopping anseo.

A Right Royal Bottle of Teroldego. Tasting the Dolomites with L’Atitude 51

A Right Royal Bottle of Teroldego. 

Tasting the Dolomites with L’Atitude 51.

“It has beautiful colour and rich fruit, but sometimes the tannins can be a little drying. You need to hold on to it for a while or pair it with gamey foods, but the flavour is unique. And you won’t find it anywhere else in the world.” That was Elisabetta Foradori speaking to Vino Italio back in 2002 when she was already  “considered as the leading producer of Teroldego”.

And it was Foradori’s Teroldego that was the centrepiece of last weekend’s Latitude Click & Collect offering. Latitude owner Beverley expands:  “As L’Atitude is all about exploring wine and trying something new, our take-out boxes have wine at its centre, designed to bring you on a journey and discover something different. And we match tastes to the wine based on our travels and experience of food and wine pairing.” 

Monte Cristallo in the Dolomites, about 3 hours from Foradori.
 Wouldn't mind repeating that 2004 trip!

“This week we take you to Trentino/Alto Adige in the Dolomites to sample Foradori Teroldego a delicious red wine made from a local grape variety by the "Queen of Teroldego’, biodynamic winemaker Elisabetta Foradori. Based at altitude in Mezzolombardo in the shadow of the towering Dolomite mountains, Elisabetta has been leading the way in biodynamic winemaking in Trentino for years with her visionary approach, making wines that are respectful of the soil and the local grapes she wants to honour, and using the techniques that are less invasive, and more holistic. We love everything about her wines and this Teroldego is the winery’s flagship wine. It’s fresh and pure with vivid raspberry and cherry and a supple, fresh crunchiness on the finish. Delicious! “ And so it was. 

Quite a bit has changed since 2002. Foradori has embraced Guyot instead of pergolas, her "diligent use” of small oak barrels (according to the History of Modern Italian Wine), her adoption of amphoras and her embracing of biodynamic cultivation have all improved her wines. The tannins in her Teroldego are not so drying now and the finish is longer than way back then. 

A superb wine choice by L’Attitude. And the food wasn’t bad either! Beverley: “As usual we pair tastes from the region that will bring out the flavours in the wine. So this week’s tastes will take a little of the best that Trentino and South Tyrol has to offer and will include a polenta and sausage based dish known as Smacafam, Canederli (a type of dumpling), local breads, cheese and charcuterie, as well as something sweet. The tastes are designed as an aperitif or sharing platter for people to experience different flavours with each sip of wine. There will be an element of finishing at home, to make the experience more enjoyable and bring your kitchen alive with the smells of the mountains.”

     

This dark ruby aromatic wine is indeed a gem, light in alcohol but full of flavour, a distinguished part of the Trentino gastronomy, as so well illustrated by the Latitude 51 kitchen, the current Takeout series a part of their defiant response to setbacks over the past two years (including Covid 19 restrictions). The wine itself is pure, precise and elegant and the weekly experience is Very Highly Recommended.

 

While the wine is the star, the food element is also top notch and you won’t go hungry! We nibbled on Speck (smoked cured ham) and Taleggio cheese for a start. Then moved on to the hearty Zuppa all’Orzo (pearl barley soup), eating and drinking in that bowl. I had been a little wary of the dumplings having been very disappointed with a series of Northern European dumplings a few years back. But these, packed with herbs and Speck, were in a different class altogether. Then on to another highlight, the Smacafam, a sausage and polenta pie, a hearty rustic type of pizza, full of flavour and topped with delicious cheese and that meaty sausage was just superb.

Smacafam - a deliciously filling part of the meal

Then time for the finalé, after a decent pause! Apples are abundant in Trentino and L’Atitude included their take on an Apple Strudel, a superb take indeed, enhanced with a dab or two of crème fraîche. They even included a digestif, some prunes soaked (deluged!) in Grappa to bring the curtain down on an excellent insight into the area.

Been up there once myself, on a day trip from Austria, and remember having the best ever Spaghetti Carbonara in a high altitude restaurant in or near the vast Naturpark Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks Park) in the Dolomites and then enjoying a stroll around a nearby lake under some awesome peaks.

This is the poster for L'Atitude's offer for the coming weekend, another very tempting one!

A Quart of Ale± #39. Moving on over to craft with a session of IPA.

A Quart of Ale± #39

Moving on over to craft with a session of IPA.

Western Herd “Magic Road” IPA, 5.8%, 440ml can via Bradleys

Clare’s Western Herd bill this as a New England style IPA “brewed using experimental hops from the Charles Faram development program, so new to Irish brewing, they don’t even have names yet”.  They are acknowledged though via numbers on the can label.

Colour is a hazy lemon. Quite a bit of citrus (lemon) in the aromas along with a touch of pine. And you again meet the citrus and pine on the palate, nicely balanced here all the way through to the satisfactory finalé of this quite distinctive IPA with its dry and satisfying bite.

The instigators and leads of the Western Herd are the brother and sister team of Michael Eustace and Maeve Sheridan. “Our great, great, great, great, great, grandfather farmed the land where our brewery now stands.  Every time we would visit the farm growing up we would think ‘if only we could bottle this’!!!  We aspire to brew beers that embody the charm and character of this idyllic hilltop farm on the west coast of Ireland.” Bridger Kelleher is the brewer. He’s from Montana where they know their beer.

Label tale: Those privy to the holiday episode of Father Ted will have heard about the “Magic Road” - a place on the mainland where the laws of gravity have no meaning. A physics-defying wonder where cars roll up it. So, it’s a sort of a “mad road’, according to Dougal.

Notes for the Geek:

Style
New England IPA

Hops
CF160 (Mystic), CF184, CF185

Malts
Pale, Malted Oats, Flaked Oats, White Wheat, CaraPils

Rascals Yankee White IPA, 5.0%, 330 can via Bradleys

Rascals introduce this “hybrid” as: American IPA meets Belgian Witbier. Yankee is a hybrid of the two styles, hopped like an American IPA with the malt bill of a wheat beer and fermented with Belgian Wit yeast. 

Mid-amber, slightly hazy, is the colour; bubbles galore and it comes with a big fluffy head that is inclined to hang about. Aromas, as you might expect from the hops used and the addition of orange peel, are heavily in the citrus spectrum, some pine and herb also in the complex mix. And you get much the same on the palate as the soft hop-loaded beer moves gently across. Soft and light but with a refreshing and crisp finish. While the touted contribution of spice from the Belgian yeast is barely noticeable, Witbier does have some presence here; however, the complex hop flavour is centre-stage and I’m happy enough to place this under an IPA heading.

FOR THE BEER GEEKS!

Style: White IPA
Malts: Lager, Wheat, Oats, Acid
Hops: Magnum, Mandarina Bavaria, Mosaic, Citra, Amarillo 

Other: Orange Peel

Bitterness: Medium

Label: IPA meets Belgian Witbier and orange peel. Unfiltered. Unpasteurised. 

Porterhouse “Yippy” IPA 5.0%, 500ml bottle via Bradleys

Mid-amber is the colour of this heavy-on-the-hops American style IPA from Dublin’s Porterhouse. Aromas are fresh, pine and citrus. And the hop bill too plays a prominent role in the mouth with citrus and pine to the fore. Quite an impressive presence actually and the nicely judged bitterness is another plus from this refreshing drink.

Hops are Cascade, Amarillo, Mosaic and Citra plus Nugget and centennial.  Malts are Ale Malt, Wheat Malt, Dextrin Malt, Oat Malt, Vienna Malt and the brewery’s suggested pairings are the old reliables Burgers and Chicken Wings

Quite a few of the newer craft breweries are keen to tout their environmental credentials and Porterhouse have quite a list to their credit.

• Our spent hops are collected by mulch (http://mulch.ie) and are used for composting.
• Our effluent treatment system ensures waste water is safe to release to the water supply. Regular testing both by the brewery and Dublin water ensures this.
• Our modern brewing equipment is designed with energy efficiency in mind, heat exchangers reclaim energy in the form of heat and an extensive insulation system ensures the efficient use of our refrigeration system.
• The Brewery is a verified member of Origin Green (https://www.origingreen.ie/), a Bord Bia initiative enabling Ireland’s food/Drink industry to set and achieve sustainable food/Drink production.
• Our spent grain is collected by a farmer south of Dublin and used as cattle feed.

Third Barrel “Break from the Haze” West Coast IPA 8.5%, 440 Bradley’s

Don’t always get along with high ABV beers but Break from the Haze is highly compatible. It is, though, quite hazy in the glass, colour is close to orange and there’s a slight head that hangs around (though briefly). Aromas are fruity (of the exotic kind), along with citrus and gooseberry.

The “stupidly big dose” of New Zealand Bruce (for the dry hop) makes an immediate impact on the palate but the tropical fruit stands out too. Dense, like most high ABV beers, but the balance works well here as heft and harmony combine to the satisfying finale. One to sip and savour as you try and work out the design on the can. Looks a bit like the fingerprint I use to sign in to the Apple!

They say: This big ass double West Coast IPA is brewed with Loral and Idaho 7 hops in the whirlpool and a stupidly big dose of New Zealand Bruce for the dry hop.

So who are They? Third Barrel is a unique concept, a collaboration brewery between Stone Barrel Brewing and Third Circle Brewing who have combined their experience, resources, love for brewing and absolute passion for beer to create one of Ireland’s most cutting edge breweries. They can be found in Bluebell (D12).

Dining NOW Guide. Final Update! This Week's Choices In Cork. Includes Mother's Day Offers.

Dining NOW Guide. This Week's Choices In Cork

(Contact me before 1.00pm Wed with a sentence or two, a pic and a link to menu, plan to update regularly)

Click and Collect. At Home. Takeout. Takeaway. 

Greenes Have Mother's Day and Patrick's Day Sorted

Pic v Pixabay

Mothers Day - 14th March:

The perfect Mothers Day gift available to order now! Our Mothers Day weekend menus are now available to view and order for collection & delivery. Beautifully selected menus, produced from the finest local ingredients. Burger boxes also available, perfect for the kids! Choose your menu, desserts, wines, cocktails and make it perfect for Mothers Day! Order soon to avoid disappointment! Vouchers are also available to purchase through our website to treat her in Greenes once we reopen.

Place Your Order

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Mother's Day at Da Mirco

This weekend we are taking a break from travelling to a new destination in Italy and we will be running a special menu for Mothers day.

Three courses for two people for 50€ (add organic Giol Prosecco 20€)

Menu Includes the following:

ANTIPASTO - SELECTION OF CANÁPES

• Involtini di Salmone con zucchine, limone e aneto (O'connell's Smoked Salmon Rolls with grilled courgette, lemon zest and dill)
• Cannollo di bresaola e ricotta e mandorle (Cured beef bresaola IGP stuffed with ricotta and crushed almonds)
• Crostini di olive taggiasche (crostini with Olives Taggiasche DOP tapenade)
• Insalata caprese invernale (sun-dried tomatoes, capers and buffalo cherry mozzarella caprese salad)
• Frittata ai funghi e tartufo ( frittata with truffle and porcini mushrooms)

PRIMO PIATTO - LASAGNETTE DI MARE Handmade Lasagna filled with fresh seafood (mussels, prawns, crabmeat and cod), and a light béchamel

DOLCE - CREMA MASCARPONE E LIMONCELLO Limoncello and mascarpone cream with sponge cake.

This menu is limited, so preorder fast at this link Da Mirco Click & Collect

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Celtic Ross have lots of Mother's Day Options.  

Gift Vouchers here. Foodie Treats here

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L'Atitude Heads to Alsace

We have chosen Pinot Blanc by Domaine Achillée as the star of this week's box. An incredible white wine made by one of the wineries where the younger generation is causing a stir. Jean and Pierre Dietrich took over the winery from their father Yves in 2016, and have been working biodynamically since. They make exceptional wines that are true to their terroir and this Pinot Blanc has been causing quite a stir since we introduced it in the shop. This week's tastes will include some of our Alsatian favourites. Email info@latitude51.ie by midday Thursday if you'd like to join our adventure. €50 box for 2 people. Collection Friday 12 Mar from 5 -6.30pm.

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The White Rabbit

Something different this weekend

Mother's Day Special Slow-smoked Lamb, Kansas City style Wings and Pork Belly Cubes served with spicy Carolina green beans, potato salad, corn on the cob and red slaw. Inc Key Lime Pie for 2 and a bottle of wine. Strictly limited. Pre-order now.

@whiterabbitcork

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Mother's Day Menu from the fabulous Farmgate Café

Click here for details 

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New at The Met

Dinner is served...

Enjoy a dining experience at home with our new call & collect menus! Available to order from 5pm-9pm daily, featuring some of our menu favourites Call & Collect: 021 464 3700 #corkcity #corkrestaurant See menus online: https://themetropolehotel.ie/dining/menus/

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The Glass Curtain

We will be running a special menu for Mothers day over Friday, Saturday & Sunday night. There will be a choice of mains, along with starter, dessert and petit fours. As always, we urge you to set your alarms for 12pm on Monday to avoid disappointment when ordering. Check out the tempting menus here

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Just off the Marina roundabout, Sonny's sells coffee, salt beef reuben, salads & sweet things. Tuesday - Friday 10:00 -2:30. Order by 3pm for next day collection.

Check the menus here

This is a trial run!! (For future inclusions, please contact me before with a sentence or two, a pic and a link to menu)

World Champion Beers From Rising Sons In Cork's Coal Quay*

A Quart of Ale± #42

On the craft journey.

World Champion Beers

From Rising Sons In Cork's Coal Quay*

Take 1: So there I was walking down Cork’s Parnell Place, after a quick bowl of soup in the corner shop. There was a guard walking 20 or 30 yards in front of me. Two fellows were approaching him, staggering. They got quite close to him. Too close. He caught each by the hair and banged their two heads together. One staggered to the left and managed to lean, half-sitting, on a window sill, the other to the right where he flopped to sit on the kerb.

Take 2: Just walking down Parnell Place having collected a Take Out (a very good one) from L’Atitude 51. I spotted three young men by a hatch at the Poor Relation. They were ordering food and drink to take away. Then I spied a few cans of beer on the counter so I joined the queue and got myself some Changeling and Dreamcatcher - I had been on the lookout for those ales.

Take 1 was at about 2.00 in the morning, more than fifty years ago. Was that late-opening corner shop called Keane’s? Take 2 was at about 6.00pm last Friday evening . The Poor Relation is owned by Cork Heritage Pubs who also have the Rising Sons Brewery under their considerable wing.

There, you may get delicious sandwiches made to order, coffee & cakes and more (including cans and growlers of their own Rising Sons beer) from 7.30am – 7.00pm Tuesday – Saturday & 12noon – 7.00pm on Sunday at the Poor Relation, pre-order here.

The brewery, in the Coal Quay, the heart of Cork City, has been mentioned in Lonely Planet: “This huge, warehouse-like, red-brick building houses an award-winning microbrewery. The industrial decor of exposed brick, riveted iron and gleaming copper brewing vessels recalls American West Coast brewpubs. It turns out 50 kegs a week, some of them full of its lip-smacking trademark stout, Mi Daza, and has a food menu that ranges from pizza to weekend brunch.”

At the Rising Sons counter a few years back

The building once housed the famous Guy and Company printers, who at one time printed all the cheque books in Ireland. “We shall soon be brewing a pils in memory of those who worked on this site; without any sense of irony it shall be called Bouncing Czech.” Haven’t seen that beer around though! They’ve some good names, a few with local connections such as Mi Daza and Sunbeam.

They say: All our beers are brewed in-house and are chemical and additive free. We brew small batches with the best of locally sourced ingredients (where available). And because they are brewed on-site, ( less than 10 feet away) and mostly consumed, within a square mile of the brewery, we can guarantee quality, consistency and only the freshest of beer. We bring creativity, passion and a dash of rock n roll, leading to extraordinary flavours in our sessionable beers.

The Changeling was voted best pale ale in the world up to 5% at the International beer challenge in 2018. The seasonal special Dreamcatcher won a world’s best at the World Beer Awards in 2019. Quite a vote of confidence for the crew in Rising Sons.

Poor Relation photo

Rising Sons Changeling 5K Pale Ale Special Edition 4.3%, 440ml can Poor Relation Cork

This American style pale ale has a gold/amber colour, lots of bubbles. White head fades quickly enough, no harm done though. Citrusy aromas and citrus too on the moderately hoppy plate, herbal notes too. Good balance. Nice bit of flavour and good dry finish. Very pleasant, very drinkable indeed and certainly sessionable.

They say: Voted best ale in the world up to 5% in 2018 at The International Beer Challenge. Hopped with Cascade and Mandarina Bavaria. Notes of orange, grapefruit and honey.

Rising Sons Dreamcatcher IPA 5.0%, 440ml can The Hatch at The Poor Relation

This Dreamcatcher IPA was voted World’s Best Golden Ale at The World Beer Awards in August 2019.

Colour is a deep golden amber. Fruity on the nose, apricot with some sweetness there too. Lovely harmony on the palate, hoppy enough but nothing extreme, could well be a gateway beer for those moving from mainstream as well as a satisfying drop for the more craft experienced. The latter will also be happy with the finish. 

Both Changeling and the Dreamcatcher IPA are the first of their beers to be canned and that has happened within the last few months. Oddly enough, there are no details of the excellent Dreamcatcher on their website.

* Pronounced kay (as in okay boy!).