22.01.2022 #walkies
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| Harty's Quay |
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| Heron, near Harty's Quay |
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| @cuppajoescork about halfway between castle and bridge |
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| Little Island industries, taken from the Passage side. |
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| All calm at the start, near Blackrock Castle carparks. Large carpark also near Rochestown (across from Cinnamon Cottage) |
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| Harty's Quay at Rochestown side. |
Tramore Valley Park
20/01/2022 #walkies. Opening times included.
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| Vernon Mount ruins |
Well worth checking out this red and white double from O’Briens Wine
Emiliana Coyam Valle de Colchagua Chile 2019, 14%, €25.95
When I was around ten years of age, there was a series of summers when a week or more was spent picking blackcurrants on a farm that was quite close. That came back to me when I smelt the cork of this Coyam from Chile and that mix of berry and leaf wafted into my nostrils. A summer’s day on Dring’s farm and half the neighbours picking currants.
A long long way from the Los Robles Estate in Chile’s Colchagua Valley where this wine, a blend of Syrah (37%), Carmenere (33), Cabernet Sauvignon (8), Carignan (5), Malbec (4), Garnacha (4), Tempranillo (3), Mourvèdre (3) and Petit Verdot (3), is produced organically in a Mediterranean climate.
Coyam (the word means oak forest, there was one here) is a rather famous wine, made under the care of Alvaro Espinoza, a leading exponent of organic and biodynamic practices, a signature wine of Emiliana, one of the most accoladed wines in Chile and awarded no less than 94 points by JamesSuckling.com .
Colour is a dark cherry with a lighter tinge around the rim. The full aromas are, as you’d expect, more than just the blackcurrant now, other dark berries there too along with floral notes (including violet) in a complex mix. The depth of fruit shines on the palate where the intro is rich and power-packed. Still, for all that, it is juicy and soft with a touch of sweet spice, the friendly finish long ,with just a little tannin grip. Very Highly Recommended. Might take a bottle with me next time I get a call to go picking blackcurrants
You may well note vanilla during your tasting and here’s why. Ageing is 18 months, 75% in 225 L French oak barrels (mix of new barrels, second- and third- use), 15% in 2,000- and 5,000-litre foudres, and 10% in concrete eggs.
I was advised to decant an hour or so before drinking. This very versatile wine can be enjoyed with both sophisticated and simple dishes. Ideal to pair with red or white meat with either a black pepper, Roquefort, or garlic butter sauce. There’s also space for spicy foods like Indian or Mexican, or vegetarian dishes with mushrooms, bell peppers, potatoes, aubergine, or peas.
Kuentz-Bas Le 4eme Tour Pinot Blanc Alsace (AC) 2017, 13.5%, O'Briens Wine
This organic Pinot Blanc has a clear light straw colour. Beautiful citrusy aromas and pear with some floral notes (one is reminded to some degree of the Riesling that is also grown in the Alsace). Elegant and refreshing with a lengthy finish. A dry refreshing white and it is a little gem. Highly Recommended.
Kuentz-Bas was founded in the Alsatian town of Husseren-les-Châteaux in 1795. In 2004 the 10ha estate was bought by Jean-Baptiste Adam, the fourteenth generation of his family involved in winemaking.
'Useful rather than exciting' is a fair description of this versatile grape variety, according to Jancis Robinson. “Austria is perhaps the country which values Weissburgunder the highest … But it is probably in Italy that, as Pinot Bianco, this vine is most widely grown, and produces the greatest diversity of styles.
This bottle illustrates that they grow it well also in Alsace, well enough to get me excited!
* O'Briens, by the way, have a "Winter Warming Reds" offer at present. Check it out here. The selection includes the Bodegas Tandem Ars in Vitro, a favourite of mine.
CORK HOTEL RECOGNISED WITH SUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Jeremy Murray, Cork Convention Bureau,
with Carmel Lonergan, General Manager of the Cork International Hotel.
The Cork International Hotel has been chosen as the winner of the Visit Cork Green Award for 2021. The four-star hotel received the award from the Cork Convention Bureau (CCB) for its overall sustainability performance.
The hotel set ambitious goals to lower its carbon footprint, reduce energy consumption and waste. It also created a ‘Greening Team’ and a ‘Greening Manifesto’ to encourage a more environmentally aware culture within the hotel. The Green team members completed a 6 month training programme with “50 Shades Greener”. A new rooftop garden was constructed and is providing fresh herbs and vegetables for use in the restaurant and bar. A rainwater harvesting system provides water for the garden.
The Cork Convention Bureau praised the Cork International Hotel and Trigon Hotels for its ongoing projects with Cope Foundation and Ability@Work to promote diversity and inclusion in the workforce. Teams from the hotel are helping to develop a Sensory Garden at Cope Foundation’s headquarters in Montenotte as part of the partnership with the Cork disabilities organisation. The judges also commended the Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Awards.
General Manager of the Cork International Hotel, Carmel Lonergan said: “We are thrilled to receive the Visit Cork Green Award for 2021 from the Cork Convention Bureau. We are committed to ensuring that our activities have the least possible detrimental effect on the environment. We’re already seeing the results and it is thanks to the hard work of the entire team. It is also really important for us to have a positive impact on our local community. The Cork International Hotel Community Spirit Award was set up in 2021 to honour the unsung heroes in Cork and it was so inspiring to see the calibre of entries and winners throughout the year. We look forward to continuing our sustainability journey into 2022.”
Other successful initiatives include building a Bee Hotel and signing up to the Irish Pollinator Plan.
This is the second year of the Visit Cork Green Award, it was set up to encourage and reward Cork Convention Bureau members who make a commitment to operating sustainably.
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| The winner! |
Mary Crilly, resident on North Mall,
Peter Lyall, master brewer in the Franciscan Well
and, right, Kate Clancy, marketing manager in the Franciscan Well Bar
The home of craft beer in Cork city since 1998, the Franciscan Well bar has launched their 2022 plans and the community is nestled right at the heart of it.
‘ It’s been a long road for everyone over the last couple of years. Our focus has been on surviving but now we want to bring memorable moments and experiences back to the centre of what we do, ’ says Kate Clancy, marketing manager of the Franciscan Well bar.
One regular and resident of North Mall, Shane McCarthy commented ‘ I love the Fran Well, tasty beer, fantastic pizza and the buzz of chat and fun is such a welcome relief after the isolation blues of 2021. Full of people from many countries and different backgrounds yet it's a warm cosy local and our favourite spot by far.’
The bar has played host to some of Ireland's longest running beer festivals. The year 2022 will see a return in one popular festival, with some slight changes to comply with regulations.
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| Kate. Bouncing back on the North Mall |
‘ The core of what we do lies in our beer festivals, not only for bringing other Irish craft breweries together but to bring the beer community in Cork together, ’ continues Kate.
Other events in the lineup include; community book swaps, singles night, weekly trad sessions, open mic nights for local artists, and tasting sessions from local distillers.
The Franciscan Well’s, MONK, cocktail bar will also be getting in on the theme with a new menu that will be promoting ‘ Retro Serves’ with a twist.
‘ We want a nostalgic appeal in our new menu. It will contain all the classics such as cosmopolitans and martinis but with a twist of only using local spirits that can provide a story to the cocktails giving them a sense of place’ says Kate.
The Well will also be kicking off their tourism season in February, focusing on brewery driven travel with Brewery tours and beer tastings running daily at 5pm.
Open 7 days a week, the bar serves up an array of local craft beers, spirits and cocktails. Food is provided by Pompeii Pizza who serve a unique thin based pizza using the finest Italian type-00 flour in the dough while also milling their own flour on site.
Beers and pizzas are available for local and national delivery via www.franwellbar.ie
For more information or to book a table, email franciscanwellbrewery@
media release
A Quart of Ale± #87
On the craft journey with Whiplash, Journeyman, O Brother, Trouble Brewing
Whiplash Immolator Triple Decoction Smoked Dopplebock 8.6%, 440ml can Whiplash Online
This lager, for that’s what it is, has a red colour, thanks in part to the treble decoction. Treble what? Look decoction up here. And this dopplebock is also smoked! And that means you get quite a bit of bacon in the flavours! According to the ever enthusiastic, ever inventive crew at Whiplash this is the lager you need but don’t deserve this winter! Not your common garden lager. One to enjoy though.
That smokiness is down to the Beech Smoked Malt, straight from the German town and beer pilgrimage site of Bamberg.
I’ll let the Whiplash gang tell you the story: A simple base of Light Munich and Beech Smoked Malt straight from Bamberg, this one is a homage to a Bamberg classic. We’ve brought our own flair to the party by lashing this one into our dedicated decoction vessel not once, not twice, but thrice. The benefit of which has added colour and caramel malt richness to this one without incorporating any cloying sweetness. A touch of Magnum in the boil, a ferment on our house lager yeast WLP833, and a very long cold maturation has delivered something that’s both huge and strangely nuanced and all the while is like living in smokehouse, supping big German lagers in the middle of a bacon fight.
Geek Bits
Malts: Smoked Malt, Munich Malt.
Hops: Magnum
Yeast: WLP833 (house lager yeast)
Artwork: @izzyrosegrange
After opening on the red colour, you may well sniff out a little bacon in the modest aromas. Modest then goes out the window on the intense palate. Intense but not at all overly so. That caramel malt richness is certainly there. And the bacon is there but not a dominating factor. Overall, there’s a good balance, a Marzan style richness, between the main actors, the malt and smoke, right through to the finish. Be sure and try one for this is a beer to shift you from the routine.
Better again, try this along with Kinnegar’s Rauchbier, Galway Bay’s Marzen to the Fire Smoked Marzen and Wicklow Wolf’s Ranchero. Could be quite a session especially if you add the Bamberg classic Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen (fairly widely available in Ireland).
Wikipedia describes an immolator as “One of a sect of Russian fanatics who practised self-mutilation and sacrifice”. Would the lash of a whip have anything to do with that self-mutilation? Don’t see anything on the can’s small print emoticon!!! In any event, I’m up for a can of this Whiplash anyway!
Journeyman Session IPA 4.5%, 500ml bottle, X-Mas present
Pale orange colour, a hazy one, but lots of bubbles visible. Nice soft head is not for hanging around. Aromas are fresh and tangy, citrus led, hints of pine. Fruity enough on the palate and here too the malt shows up well and then a bitter-sweet finish. Refreshing with good balance, easy-drinking and well fitted out for that session.
Based at the Station Works in Dundalk, the Pearse Lyons Brewery is known for The Foxes Rock range of Irish Craft Beers. Foxes Rock is produced alongside well known Irish brands such as our Journeyman and Brown Bear. Lots of brew specials hit the bars and shops throughout the year. Station Works and the Pearse Lyons Distillery (near St Jame’s) are part of the family owned Alltech Beverage company that is also brewing and distilling in the USA.
O Brother The Chancer APA 5.4%, 440ml can O’Briens Wine
“The Chancer is our American-style pale ale, a bold and fresh one.”
It has a straw/orange colour, a soft white head with little staying power. More pleasant than bold in the aromas with citrus leading the way, pine notes in there too, the hops having their say. And the grapefruit flavours, now with more exotic companions, are found on the palate but quite a bit of balance there too thanks to the light malt base of Irish Pale and Cara Malt. All in all quite a refreshing thirst quencher, with a clean crisp finish. Go on and take a chance!
The hops are Galaxy and Cascade. The American Cascade gets much of the credit for the Grapefruit and floral notes while the Cascade (from Oz) shows its paces with Passionfruit and Peach and also some citrus.
Trouble Brewing Park Life, Helles Lager 4.9%, 440ml can O’Briens Wine
Light amber is the colour of this Helles Lager from Kildare’s Trouble Brewing; the white fluffy head is quick to vanish. Aromas are light, just a touch of citrus. It is though full-bodied on the palate with malty biscuity-flavours, very refreshing. Pretty true to type and one of their core beers.
Helles is a type of lager, traditionally produced around Munich in Germany. The Trouble version was originally brewed in collaboration with The Taphouse in Ranelagh
Ingredients – Water, malted barley, hops & yeast
A little bit on Trouble, in their own words: When we started making beer ten years ago, there were less than ten craft breweries in Ireland. From the get-go we set ourselves apart by brewing styles that no one else was producing. Take our now legendary Pumpkin Ale, a first for Ireland and brewed with pumpkins grown by our founder Paul’s mom Deirdre. We were also at the forefront of bringing the east coast pale ale style to these shores and we continue to push the boundaries with new styles. We mainly brew hop forward, session beers to be enjoyed by all, but we’re always happy to experiment — only a few ideas are too dumb.
Níl aon Mirco mar ár Mirco féin!
While Omicron is still rampant, some of our restaurants are again taking the Takeaway or At Home route. Da Mirco in Bridge Street is one and one that you neglect at your peril as the North Italian Corkman's osteria is one of the best around.
By the way, I see that Omicron is the 15th letter of the ancient Greek alphabet. The good news that it is one of the shorter alphabets with its final letter, omega (a kind of “o fada), the 24th. So just 9 more variants to go?
Back to the food. He has quite a menu up for January, starters, mains and desserts, not to mention Italian wines and other treats. Our picks were Tagliere da Mirco (Da Mirco's Board with Italian Cured meats and his homemade favourites: focaccia bread, pickled vegetables and tomato jam) and a mains of Homemade Cannelloni with a filling of Braised Irish Venison Ragu. The board (€16.00) was for sharing and we ordered two lots of the Cannelloni (10.00).
That board was terrific, beautiful meats, a selection of cheeses and a whole load of accompaniments (including his own focaccia) to enhance the experience. It scored high on quality, a great mix of flavours and textures, and also on quantity as we had some cheese left that was nibbled away the following day.
I admit to being a lover of Cannelloni, the large pasta tubes served with a filling and covered by a sauce in Italian kitchens. But it is mostly those that come stuffed with spinach and ricotta that I’m familiar with. Not too sure that I ever had one in winter previously. Mirco’s generous serving came packed with minced Irish venison and was exquisite. As with all Cannelloni, they look innocent enough but they are very filling indeed!
We had an Italian red wine handy at home with suggested food pairings of cured meat, cheeses, red meat. Vincenzo’s Rosso (18.45 or so at Bradley’s of Cork, Greenman and 64 Wine both Dublin) was just the job.
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| The wine. Vincenzo makes a red and a white! |
Imported by Le Caveau in Kilkenny, it is a dark ruby in the glass, a lighter red at the rim. This is quite aromatic: plum, blackberries, and black currant with a rustic background. Quite a depth of flavour and no shortage of spice either on the palate, lively and fresh, with ripe tannins towards the finish. The grapes used in the blend (from the northern part of the southern half of Italy) are Montepulciano (50%), Merlot (25%) & Cabernet Sauvignon (25%).
Be sure and check out Mirco’s January Takeaway Menu here. Don’t forget to click on the @home tab as the restaurant menu is on the same page.
* Note for Mirco on the post heading; it means There’s no Mirco like our own Mirco.
An East Cork One-Two. Hard to Beat
This Walk and Eat!
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| Lime & Chilli Chicken Salad |
Beaches and lunch at Castlemartyr Carewswood Café
Some great sunny days last week and on one of them we headed east to Ballinwilling beach, between Garryvoe and Redbarn. Plan was to have a long walk and then call for lunch to the Carewswood Garden Centre between Ladysbridge and Castlemartyr.
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| Ballinwilling. Redbarn is around the corner. |
It didn’t quite to go plan but did work out very well. The tide was well in at Ballinwilling, leaving very little room for walkers unless you came equipped with wellies. We did a bit but soon retreated and drove the few minutes to Garryvoe.
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| Garryvoe |
Of course the tide was well in there too but we walked on the beachside path and after that, to the west, there was a long stretch of sand up and beyond the entrance to the next beach (Ardnahinch). The last of the cloud has vanished as well and we and the four-legged friend enjoyed the hour or so, taking in the fresh air, the views (out to the Ballycotton Lighthouse on its island) and the sounds of the birds and the sea.
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| Island in the sun. |
The appetite was well warmed up by the time we got back to the car. A few minutes later we were in Ladysbridge and soon turning right to Carewswood which is just off the R632. Got a bit of a shock to see the large car park more than half full at 12.05pm or thereabouts. “I should have had booked,” I said. But no worries. They had plenty of space in the two room cafe, no problem with social distancing and they took the details.
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| Getting a deserved drink from his new water dispenser. |
They were just changing over from the breakfast to the lunch menu and we opted for the latter and a table in the sunny outer room. Lots of openings to the fresh air here, including a couple of sets of doors. It was warm enough to dispense with the coats as we studied the menu, quite an extensive one as it turned out, featuring soups, salads, sandwiches and hot dishes plus a short wine list.
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| Chipotle Chicken Burger |
I picked Chef Pawel’s daily special: Chipotle Chicken Bap, with smashed avocado and mixed leaves, served with rustic fries (€14.95). CL, also on a spicy kick, went for one of the salads: Lime and Chilli warm chicken salad, fire roasted peppers, smashed ago, vine tomato and jalapeño salsa, Blanco Nino tortilla, lettuce and yogurt (13.95).
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| The airy outer dining room |
Both dishes were excellent and in each case, the main element, the chicken was of a really high standard and delicious. CL’s bowl looked huge but, aside from the fairly hard crisps, made short work of it. I also had quite a feed both in term of quality and quantity but the walks on the beaches had certainly tuned up the appetites and it was two well satisfied customers that walked out into the sunny afternoon.
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| Ready for the coming season |
Not too many customers around the garden centre itself at the moment but the staff are busily engaged in preparing for the season ahead. They have quite a reputation here and indeed that very evening I was chatting to a gardening enthusiast from Dublin who said: “Glad to hear Carewswood is doing so well, I really like it. Aside from the food, their plants are better than anyone else’s and the prices are reasonable.” So there you are, another reason to visit lovely East Cork!
* They pride themselves on ‘honest food with no artificial colourings or preservatives and serve a range of delicious freshly baked goods and local artisan and organic foods’. Good to see local producers supported. The salmon is from Ballycotton while Gubbeen, Blanco Niño, and bakers Pana are among the producers mentioned.
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| Looking well, as always. The Garryvoe Hotel. |
The Cork International Hotel has launched a special Galentine’s Afternoon Tea for the month of February.
General Manager at the Cork International Hotel, Carmel Lonergan said: “Galentine’s is a celebration of female friendship which typically takes place on February 13th. However, we’ve decided to embrace the theme for the entire month. It is a lovely, fun celebration and is the perfect opportunity for small groups of friends and family to enjoy an afternoon together.”
On the menu is:
Middle: Freshly cooked mini–Fruit Scones with Butter, Cream & Strawberry Jam, Homemade chocolate and Raspberry brownie, Macaroons, Strawberry shortcake biscuits
Treat: White chocolate and raspberry puff, Red velvet cake cup cake, Strawberry cloud slice, Raspberry and lime posset,
The Galentine’s Afternoon Tea is €25 per adult. Pre-booking is essential for both dine-in and takeaway options. People can book by calling 021 4549800
press release
Taste of the Week.
Wayward Spirits Hot Toddy.
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| The cinnamon stick came from Mr Bells, who have an amazing range! |
In 1840, the London Times accused Daniel O'Connell of enticing Englishmen into his den and drowning them in Whiskey Toddy. Today, our purpose is to warm up a cold January day with our Liberator Hot Toddy.
