Taste of the Week. Bertha Summer Cup

Taste of the Week

Bertha Summer Cup

Last one in my basket!

The Bertha here is, of course, the famous Bertha of Bertha's Revenge Gin produced in Castlelyons, Co. Cork. And with her brand new can, she's in her element, out in the countryside (or a suburban garden) with a host of summer "friends".

The famous gin is in the mix, along with carbonated water, natural flavourings and apple concentrate. A really refreshing drink with unmistakable notes of fresh mint and cool cucumber. Enjoy our current Taste of the Week al fresco with friends, four-legged or otherwise, and laughter.

Best enjoyed chilled and over ice if you have it but that may not be readily available if you're walking around the countryside with your new friend in a 250 ml ready-to-drink can. After all, they do encourage you to enjoy it "on the hoof". 

This summer cup, along with its companion can Bertha & Tonic, is produced in a tiny distillery by Ballyvolane Spirits

Bertha Summer Cup 5.2%, 250ml can

Cheers . Beer, Wine, Spirits with Bertha's Revenge, Supervalu, Chateau Feely, Wines of the World, Lough Gill, Rascals

Cheers 210502

Beer, Wine, Spirits with Bertha's Revenge, Supervalu, Chateau Feely, Wines of the World, Lough Gill, Rascals

Bertha’s Revenge Navy Strength Gin

Ballyvolane House Spirits Company are delighted to introduce you to a new nautical member of our little herd Bertha’s Revenge Navy Strength Gin.  We have raised the ABV to a lip-pursing 57.1%, and have shuffled the botanical blend slightly to accentuate one or two of the more pronounced flavour notes.  The extra strength gives our merry crew of spices a megaphone through which to convey their message, which is as smooth and as well-balanced as you would expect from a cow riding at anchor.

Bertha’s Navy Strength gin tastes divine when sipped over ice.  She is also an excellent base to gin-forward cocktails, especially a Gimlet.

What is Navy Strength?  Britain historically boasted the largest and most powerful navy in the world and during the Napoleonic wars, more than a quarter of the Royal Navy’s 17,000 men were Irish including including one of Justin’s ancestors, Vice-Admiral Sylverius Moriarty who was born in 1735 at Ballyferriter on the Dingle Peninsula in Co. Kerry.  He was also one of the only Irish-speaking Vice-Admirals in the Royal Navy. More here.

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Meet the Special Guests at Supervalu's Spanish Wine Sale that begins 11th February.

Just a small selection of the many Spanish wines on offer.

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NATURAL APHRODISIACS: LOVE BOXES & VIRTUAL VALENTINE FUN

Natural aphrodisiacs are great for passion and for health. In this article you’ll discover some of these wonders, Chateau Feely’s Aphrodisiac Love Box, a love potion secret from Cleopatra, treats and wines to pair with them AND the Virtual Valentine Party to kick off your Valentine weekend with sizzle and laughter. Check out the Love Box here!

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Monthly Wine Subscription

Wines Of The World

 

You are one of the first in Ireland to know…

 

Our Monthly Wine Subscription now live on our website......Click here for more.

 

We are delighted to introduce our new Monthly Wine Subscription. The perfect subscription for you - The Wine Lover!

Our wine experts carefully select 6 delicious wines and send them to you each month.

These will include:

•            6 Wines (Mix of Red, White & Rosé)

•            Free Delivery Nationwide

•            Tasting Notes for each wine

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Lough Gill Have A Discount For You!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN 2020

10% DISCOUNT CODE: GOODBYEDRYJAN

As an independent, family-run craft brewery, your support is what keeps us alive and allows us to do what we love and we are very grateful. Thanks to you, we were able to continue creating exciting new beers in 2020. Use the above discount code at the checkout to receive 10% off your next order. This code is valid for until 14th February 2021.

Order here

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Rascals Got A Whole Lot Of Love. In A Box

If you’re looking for a St. Valentine’s Day gift that says ‘Hey, I decided to express my love for you through the medium of beers and chocolates’, well you’re not going to believe this, but we can sort you out! The Love Box is a collection of eight beautiful Rascals beers, sixteen beautiful chocolates, one sizzling hot love songs playlist and a beer-chocolate pairing guide. It’s yours for just €29.95 and we deliver nationwide. It’s the perfect gift for when you want to do that thing where you buy someone a gift but really you’re buying it for yourself too. Don’t pretend you’ve never done that! Buy The Love Box

€1 from every webshop order this month will be donated to our local National Council for The Blind shop. You can read more about the initiative here.

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O’Mahony's Winning Formula. Local and Seasonal. Small Plates. Big Flavours.

O’Mahony's Winning Formula. 

Local and Seasonal. Small Plates. Big Flavours

O’Mahony’s is making waves in Watergrasshill, even though it is in its early years of it reincarnation. The food offering started a couple of years back as local and seasonal, on small plates mostly, and that is still the formula, backed up by a very helpful, very well informed front of house, lots of chats, loads of smiles, a welcome on the mat and all the way through.

And there is also a huge welcome for local producers and suppliers. Their produce is carefully handled here, expertly cooked and delivered on those (not so) small plates!  It is the same with drinks. The craft beer selection includes Franciscan Well and 8 Degrees on draught, Blacks’ ales in bottle, also the Saor GF from 9 White Deer, and ciders by Stonewell and Longueville House. And don’t worry, mainstream beers are also available.

Stonewell zero

Back to the menu though. You may nibble away on marinated olives for a start. If you prefer something a bit bigger why not consider their boards: Antipasto, Cheese, or Charcuterie. We decided to share the Antipasto, a selection of dips (hummus, tapenade, goats cheese, etc, olives) with bread.

We had the car, so what would we drink? A quick answer was provided in the shape of their non-alcoholic board. It included a red wine, a white wine, even a sparkling one. The Seed-lip gin was available as were the apple based drinks (very nice too) from the local Future Orchards. Also some beers: Baltika, Heineken zero and Erdinger and a zero cider by Stonewell. The latter was my pick - it was my first time trying it. Stonewell always hit a high standard and this did the job very well indeed. CL meanwhile choose the Erdinger, probably the best of the three beers on offer. 

The increasing number of local and seasonal supporters will be delighted to see the small plates list - these are basically your main courses without all the sometimes superfluous extras. You’ll note names like Jack McCarthy, Kilbrack Farm, Gubbeen, Ballyhoura Mushrooms, Carrigcleena Duck, Leamlara Honey, Hegarty’s Cheese and Fitzgerald Butchers. By the way, O’Mahony’s is also the area base for NeighbourFood through which you may also get your hands on some of these lovely products.

Smoked lamb

The menu changes regularly. There were seven choices for us and it took us a while to make up our minds. I think we could have employed the Grand National formula: close the eyes and stick a pin in the list. But we did pick a couple and shared. That is one thing about these “small plates”; they are ideal for groups who order a bunch of them and then share.

I was tempted by the Rockpool: Kilbrack blue potato, gnocchi, foraged sea herbs and poached white soul, and that seemed to be a favourite of Victor (who owns and runs the pub along with Máire). In the end though, I went for the Carrigcleena duck pastilles, Leamlara Honeycomb, coriander yogurt. The duck came in three parcels, packed with flavoursome meat and that was enhanced by the yoghurt and a small square of the honeycomb.

CL also hit the jackpot with the Hot Smoked Fitzgerald’s lamb, braised red cabbage parsnip purée and game chips. The tender meat is served pink and is the main player in a hearty ensemble, every item in the mix playing a part. And we both thoroughly enjoyed the side of excellent hand-cut chips with a punchy pepper sauce.

Now we were looking at the short list of desserts. I was seriously considering the Treacle Tart with Yum Gelato vanilla before taking Victor’s tip - he freely admits to being biased! - which was the Cardamon, Lemon Curd Pannacotta, ginger Manuka honey, jelly and tuile.  Went down every well indeed.

Dessert

By the way, as I didn’t mention it earlier, they have a House drinks list here, all from neighbours. House Gin is Bertha’s Revenge (from Castlelyons) with Poachers Tonic and orange. The local juice, from Glanmire, is supplied by Future Orchards while the local cider comes from Mallow’s Longueville House. And 8 Degrees, up the road in Mitchelstown, are the producers of the House beer.

All the regular wines are available by the glass and you also have a rosé and Prosecco. On the night, the list was supplemented by a specials board that had no less than seven new wines which will soon have a place on the list. So, no shortage. And no shortage either of spirits where again, particularly in gins and whiskeys, they are strong on supporting Irish.

O'Mahony's of Watergrasshill is a family-run country pub and food venue just off the Cork-Dublin motorway (M8);  is only 10 minutes from the Dunkettle Interchange, near Cork City. The pub has been Máire's family for 200 years. Experienced Chef Jim Coleman recently joined the team.

House drinks, from a previous visit. Bertha's Revenge and Eight Degrees

O’Mahony’s 

Main Street

Watergrasshill

Co. Cork

OPENING HOURS

Café bar
11am – 5pm, Wed, Thur & Fri
1pm – 5pm, Sat

Bar kitchen
6pm – 9pm, Fri & Sat
12pm – 4pm-ish &  6pm–8pm, Sun

Bar

6pm – close, Fri – Sun

ENQUIRIES

+353 (0)86 831 6879 omahonysofwgh@gmail.com

Cahernane House. Comfort and Class. Superb Food and Service.

Cahernane House. Comfort and Class.

Superb Food and Service.

Morning view from the window of the Albericci Room

Breakfast pancakes

Many Killarney hotels have the advantage of mountains, lakes, herds of deer, more or less in the front garden and the renovated and very comfortable Cahernane Hotel on the Muckross is one of them. The lakes and mountains are constant but you may need to be on the alert around dawn or dusk to see the deer who come right up to the lawn boundary.

We were there in October and enjoyed a fantastic meal (details here) with restaurant manager Aileen and duty manager Youri looking after us. Have to say all the staff are brilliant here, always good for a chat and a laugh. 

Aileen is from the Philippines and has been in her current role since 2013. She oversees all aspects of the beautiful high-ceilinged Herbert Room restaurant and even demoed her singing talents with a rendition of Happy Birthday for a surprised guest on the night.

Not too sure if Youri can sing but I wouldn't be surprised. He is from Holland but in some ways is now as Irish as any of us. The minute you talk to him, you'll see he has a tremendous love and knowledge of all things food and drink. 

Deer at dusk

He told me they had had an extremely successful summer. "Tourists kept coming, more and more of them. And the season is extended even further this year." Indeed, the hotel was fully booked even for the opening two weeks of October.

Dinner is excellent here and you will also enjoy your breakfast in the Herbert Room. You may of course help yourself at the cold buffet as well as ordering from the Hot menu. The buffet includes juices, an excellent selection of fruits, seeds and nuts too, charcuterie, yogurts, cheese, cereals, breads and pastries.

You may start your Hot breakfast with Porridge (with some lovely additions including honey), Bruléed Pink Grapefruit, the Traditional Full Irish (of course), Manor House Omelette, Salmon and Egg Bagel, Buttermilk Pancakes, Smoked Kippers and a few other specials.

They also serve food (an all day menu) in the Cellar Bar and, later, you may enjoy a drink here. Quite a few cocktails available including their signature, 'The Herbert’, a smooth combination of gin, spiced rum, elderflower and fresh lime juice! 

Pint at ease in the Cellar Bar

They also offer gin (including my favourites Blackwater and Bertha’s Revenge) and whiskey flights. They support local too and stock beers (on draught) from the Killarney Brewing Company.  All these beers are named after local myths and legends, evoking emotions of all things Killarney. And all are pretty good, including the Casey Brothers stout!

Of course, the bedroom is a key part of any hotel and those in the Cahernane are excellent. We have previously stayed in the Garden Wing but this time we had a splendid room in the Manor itself, the heart of the old building. 

Welcome to Cahernane!

Like all the rooms here our Albericci Room has been recently renovated. It is spacious, comfortable, beautifully decorated, with great views, well-heated too, especially the bathroom (hard to beat hot tiles and hot towels in the morning!). And of course it has WiFi and TV as well.

A pleasant entrance drive to Cahernane

Just got in this press release on behalf of the Cahernane:

Christmas and New Year

Enjoy a festive break like no other this Christmas in the wonderful surrounds of the luxurious Cahernane House Hotel overlooking Killarney National Park.

The beautiful recently renovated manor house in Cahernane will be turning into a Christmas wonderland for the most wonderful time of the year, and guests will be able to finish 2018 in some style in the twinkling Kerry destination.

This Christmas, guests will be treated to an exquisite culinary experience at the renowned Herbert Restaurant which was recently awarded 2 AA rosettes for its excellence. The one-night Christmas package for two (€145 pps) includes a delightful five-course dining experience with the wine of your choice in the Herbert Restaurant, while a two-night package with dinner on one evening is just €220 pps. Booking dates are available from December 27-30^th.

Guests who book via the Cahernane House Hotel website will also receive a complimentary glass of prosecco on arrival to ensure that their stay gets off to a welcoming start.

There is also no better place to ring in the new year than the toasty confines of Cahernane, who are running a brilliant New Year Celebration package that on December 31^st. Guests will enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail reception before tucking in to a delicious 7-course tasting menu in the Herbert Restaurant.

An exclusive Christmas Party Package for groups of 10 or more is also available from November 1^st- December 15^th, with a luxury overnight stay kicked off by mulled wine on arrival, before guests enjoy a private Christmas Party in the Herbert Restaurant featuring a six-course menu and a complimentary class of champagne. A full Irish breakfast is also provided the following morning, all for just €140 pps.

There will also be live music in the drawing room on New Year’s Eve, where complimentary champagne will be served to ring in 2019 in style.

The New Year Celebration package is available for €175 pps.

Two Hundred Year Old Pub Gets New Lease of Life Thanks to Máire and Victor. Emphasis very much on Local Food and Drink at O’Mahony’s Watergrasshill.

Two Hundred Year Old Pub Gets New Lease of Life Thanks to Máire and Victor.

Emphasis very much on Local Food and Drink at O’Mahony’s Watergrasshill.

O’Mahony’s Pub in Watergrasshill packs a lot into its weekend life. Start with the food: delicious sharing boards and small plates are based on the best of local and seasonal produce and don't cost the earth. While you will get your mainstream pints, you may also enjoy a good craft beer or two and their current House Drink is Bertha’s Revenge Gin made by their neighbours over in Castlelyons.

And that’s only the start of it. Take a look outside and you’ll see an area “as big as a field”. More like a big garden, with a stage platform and there’s lots of cover here making it an ideal spot for a celebration of any kind (they’ve already had a wedding here) and great too for BBQ with its own bar.

Antipasto

And it’s also here that you’ll find the Long Room, the music venue. And if you feel like dancing, go right ahead. Take the floor, a real dance-floor, maybe a chunk of a ballroom of romance recycled.

And all that music and dancing takes place in a recycled cow shed. The village used to be a staging post for cattle on their way to the city and indeed, there was a slaughter house at the back (a glasshouse will be going up there soon). The meat hooks hanging in the bar will remind you of those times.

Artists at work

And that’s not all you’ll see hanging here. Máire is an artist and her works are proudly on display. And that  leads me to the kids. Yours are more than welcome. Their own menu is up on the big blackboard. And there’s another blackboard, a whole wall of them, outside in a smaller sheltered area. Here the children can draw to their heart's content and every now and then there is a competition.

Just so much going on here. The Bushby strawberries, those beautiful fruits from West Cork had run out, just a few left. No problem. Blackberries are growing well “out the back” - lots of herbs there too and there will be more. So those blackberries are on the menu in an instant! Beat that for fresh and local.

Kofta

So what did we have al fresco on a sunny Friday evening? Started with Antipasto (10.50), one of three sharing boards. It consisted of Pana Sourdough, Mozzarella from Macroom, artichoke hearts and more, with little bowls of hummus and pesto. Enjoyed that, me sipping from a cooling flavourful pint of Eight Degrees Howling Gale Ale (5.00) while CL was enjoying some of Bertha’s Revenge Gin with Fever-tree Tonic (9.50).

Victor is well known for his part in the House Cafe in the Opera House and there are similarities with the food in that successful venture. For instance, suppliers such as Ballyhoura and Kilbrack Farm also feature in Watergrasshill.

Bavette

As does butcher Eoin O’Mahony (no relation). The O’Mahony’s Bavette steak salad, a beautiful Asian marinade worked a treat on the meat which is scattered with sesame seeds and served with vermicelli noodles (9.50), is a beauty. 

The Lamb Kofta is another highlight, also €9.50. This comes with Cork made Syrian flatbread, hummus, tzatziki, sumac pickled onions and leaves.

Dessert, with ultra local blackberries! The timber serving boards are made in nearby Carrignavar.

Time now for dessert. With the strawberries running out, Victor suggested the Treats Board (8.50). And we shared the delights of the mix of a Shortbread treat with fruit (those blackberries from Watergrasshill, not Guatemala), a chocolate brownie, a lemon curd slice, and more.

Local drinks: Bertha's Revenge and Eight Degrees

Too full to dance after that! Only joking. The food here is excellent, well sourced and you won’t be stuffed with chips, mash, baked potatoes and so on. But do watch out for their side of Patatas Bravas, just one of many good things in this warm welcoming venue. Try it out soon, just ten minutes from the tunnel!

Tradition and sustainability

O'Mahony's

Main St, Watergrasshill, Co. Cork

Food
6pm – 9pm, Fri – Sun

ENQUIRIES

+353 (0)86 831 6879

omahonysofwgh@gmail.com

Cronin Sisters Walk The Walk as Old Blarney Butter Roads Festival Steps Up A Gear

Cronin Sisters Walk The Walk

 As Old Butter Roads Festival Steps Up A Gear

Quite a few tributes were paid to the women behind the Old Butter Roads Summer Féile at the 2018 launch in Blarney on Saturday. Two of those women are the Cronin sisters who spoke honestly and eloquently about the importance of local produce. 

Having talked the talk, the sisters, Tricia and chef Martina, showed they could walk the walk at a multi-course meal in their Square Table restaurant on Sunday night. Local produce was right, left and centre as the courses came to the table. 

The festival lasts all through May. The spotlight was on Blarney last weekend but will shift to Macroom, Kanturk and Mallow, Mitchelstown and Fermoy, to villages Aubane, Watergrasshill, and Whitechurch and to other parts of the general North Cork area. Check the website link below and also their Facebook page.

Toonsbridge Mozzarella with Follain red pepper chutney;
Bluebell Falls goats cheese and beetroot crumble;
Michael Twomey's crispy black pudding with red cabbage chutney;
McCarthy's black pudding wrapped with puff pastry, piccalilli and apple purée.
Annabella Farm micro-herbs.

Ballinwillin Farm wild boar and mushroom tortellini, onion purée

K. O'Connell's pan-fried hake, Bertha's Revenge Gin,
Jerusalem artichoke and mussel

Michael Twomey Butcher Angus aged rib eye, Tom O'Brien's free range egg
béarnaise (not shown but exquisite!), McCarthy's beef dripping chips,
and onion confit.

Longueville House apple brandy chocolate mousse,
buttermilk foam, expresso ice cream

Hegarty's cheddar and new Templegall (comté) cheese and Toonsbridge
scamorza , served with Follain relish and Longueville house apple brandy
and fig chutney and house crackers.

Old Butter Roads Launch 2018

The Old Butter Roads Féile 2018 Website

Dining and Staying in Killarney’s Brehon Hotel

Jack McCarthy's Blackpudding Bon Bons

Dine and Stay in Killarney’s Brehon Hotel

Spiced salmon

The Brehon Hotel on the Muckross Road was our base for a recent two night stay in Killarney. Dinner at Danú, the hotel’s restaurant, was included and it was a good one. It was a set menu, part of the package, so not A La Carte. Still, we had three or four choices in each section.

A familiar name, ex Taoiseach Bertie Aherne, was at an nearby table and another familiar name, Jack McCarthy, popped up in the starters. His Black Pudding Bon Bons came with a mango sauce, nasturtium salad and red onion. CL enjoyed that well cooked, well presented dish. I got off to a flier too with my Spiced Salmon, Yuzu yogurt, pear, lime and cucumber.

Hake

It is a very comfortable split-level room, divided in various sections, and service was pretty good all through. No delay at all and soon we were on to the mains. My pick was the Mushroom Ravioli with a wild mushroom sauce. Not bad at all and we both enjoyed a nice side of vegetables. CL probably had the better of the mains with her Pan-fried Hake with pickled carrot, sage and lemon crumble.

Mushroom Ravioli

Desserts were part of the deal and we enjoyed their Cranberry Crème Brulée (with vanilla ice-cream and biscotti) and Roasted plum (with vanilla ice-cream, pepper and almond salsa).

Dropped into the bar, more a food than a drink venue, after that and saw for ourselves the very limited choice (Guinness associated) of beers on draught. Still, the Killarney blonde proved good company. On the second evening, I spotted an old friend, Bertha’s Revenge gin, and passed a late hour sipping that delicious drop (€17.20 for 2 gins and one TH tonic).

Crème Brulée 

While the hotel looked a bit gothic on the outside in the dull wet weather, like us all it will brighten up as the Spring comes in bringing green life to the creepers that will partially cover the exterior. The interior, with its soaring foyer, is eye-catching. Rooms are comfortable and have all the facilities you’ll need. Service is excellent and you’ll get lots of smiles and hellos in the corridors and public spaces as you come and go.

Plum

They also serve their breakfast in the Danú. The buffet is the main feature with hot and cold sections and plenty of choice. One thing about the buffet is that you can pick and choose and limit the size of your Full Irish! Extend it too of course if you are so inclined at that hour of the morning! 

We picked from the buffet (as most people seem to do) on the first morning and chose from the Kitchen List on the second. The list includes familiar breakfast items such as porridge and Eggs Benedict, less familiar like minute steak, but my choice was the plaice, the very tasty fish of the day, and I was off to a good start!

See also
Quinlan's Seafood Bar Killarney
Celtic Whiskey Bar and Larder
Visiting Killarney's Big Houses
The Yew Tree at The Muckross Park Hotel
36 Hours in Killarney, inc Killarney Brewing