Cask Launch for Monkey 47 Sloe Gin. A Quartet of Delicious Drinks from Cocktails HQ

Cask Cork Launch for Monkey 47 Sloe Gin

 A Quartet of Delicious Drinks from Cocktail HQ

Monkey 47 is a German gin from the Black Forest and the 47 bit gets in because they use an amazing 47 hand-picked herbal ingredients to make it. The Sloe gin was launched at Cask last Monday and, yes, the sloes came from the famous forest as did the spruce tips which are added later and there were a few on display in McCurtain Street. 

Andrew Dickey, Brand Specialist at Irish Distillers, welcomed us and introduced us to the Monkey 47 story and the Sloe gin, the star of the evening. Cask's Andy Ferreira was given the task of constructing the menu and, as ever, he did it very well with a suite of four cocktails. He also had a simple gin and tonic in a solid Monkey mug and warned us to try that too before leaving.

Andy praised the sloe gin as being "very adaptable" as he introduced the first drink, King Louie's Punch (Monkey 47 Sloe, Italicus, Myrtle leaf sherbet, Jasmine, and Prosecco. Thought I was getting something to warm me up (it had very cold outside) but this was a cold drink, a big piece of ice in the middle of the bowl. Cold and dry but very nice indeed, served in a china cup.

Cask

The generous folks at Cask were now dishing out nibbles and small (some not so small) bites and we were enthusiastically tucking in, while not forgetting to try those cocktails. Our second one was a tall glass of Pear of Cheetahs (Monkey 47 Sloe gin, Monkey 47, Verjus, Spruce and Pears Soda). The gentle introduction continued here, easy sipping.

The next one was more arresting though. Coffee Mr. Nilsson? consisted of Monkey 47 Sloe, Green coffee, and Lustau Vermouth and had a kick from the coffee, also a bit peppery. One to note.

My favourite soon followed. It was titled Final Call Miss Baker! (Monkey 47 Sloe, White Port, Ancho Reyes, Sweet Cicely Tincture). I had been looking forward to that and it didn't disappoint at all, very enjoyable indeed. And, of course, we finished with that gin and tonic in that big mug! There are some suggestions for more cocktails in the press release below. Cheers!

IMMERSE YOURSELF IN MONKEY MADNESS WITH MONKEY 47 SLOE GIN

From the makers of the botanically-curious Monkey 47 gin, comes a new instalment, Monkey 47 Sloe Gin. Monkey 47’s practically obsessive quest for quality meets myth and legend in Monkey 47 Sloe Gin, which is as versatile as it is quaffable.

 

Final Call Miss Baker!

Aromatic and complex, with huge fruit and juniper notes, Monkey 47 Sloe Gin uses blackthorns or sloe berries, which are harvested after the first frost and macerated for four weeks to let the sediment settle to the bottom. The hydropress process, which protects the berries, then takes place, with the results filtered several times before being put back into the original macerate. Water is added and then in just six weeks, Monkey 47 Sloe Gin is ready to be enjoyed in whatever tipple you fancy, either hot or cold.

The liquid’s mix of earthy, tangy juniper, with rich sweet red berries, and hints of almond delivers Monkey 47’s penchant for exceptional taste, especially when presented in the signature serve; in a hi-ball glass filled with ice, topped with bitter lemon or Sicilian lemonade and garnished with a lemon wheel.

 

G&T in a mug!

Be transported to the Black Forest in winter with Monkey 47 Sloe Gin hot serve, which fuses this nutty and tart gin with Crème de Cassis, cranberry juice, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup and hot water, bringing exceptional pleasure to the palate. Or relish Monkey 47 Sloe Gin in Sloe and Sherry Win the Race cocktail, complete with Fino sherry, Cherry Heering, lemon juice and sugar topped with bitter lemon or Sicilian lemonade, served over ice in a highball glass.

Monkey 47 Sloe Gin is versatile, masterfully handcrafted and distilled in small batches. This liquid is the result of the alchemistic art of distillation that Monkey 47 is renowned for, and is available from leading bars and off licences nationwide, RRP €55. Share your experience on Facebook, follow the black monkey on Instagram or express your joy in 140 characters or less on Twitter.

You Can't Hurry Sloe Gin. St Patrick’s Distillery

You Can't Hurry Sloe Gin

St Patrick’s Distillery

You can’t hurry Sloe Gin. That’s what Cyril Walsh and Barry Fitzgerald of Cork's St Patrick’s Distillery told me last week.  The sloes and the gin do their thing together for about three months. No sugar is added. They like to retain the natural tartness of the sloes, though they temper it with “just a drop of honey”.

Another infusion is their Elderflower Gin, the process here taking about a month. Both infusions are post distillation and are done with the gin at 96.4% to make “the extraction more complete” and it is “cut” after that.

The Sloe and Honey is Cyril’s favourite and he loves it with ginger ale. Barry goes for the Classic and takes it as a G & T. The other gin - they make four - is the Extra Dry. All, by the way, are the full 40% abv.

And when Barry, or his colleagues, makes that G & T, the tonic will be the German made 28 Drinks. It is a low sugar mixer, comes in a can and comes highly recommended by the Douglas Distillery team.

Cyril (left) and Barry

The gins and their St Patrick's Vodka are made with potato alcohol, are charcoal filtered and hand bottled. The alcohol is “a full strength spirit, straight and crystal clear, with an aroma and taste profile that is unique”. By the way, each bottle of vodka takes about 250 potatoes!

The whiskey is bought in at present but that will change over the next few years. The bought in whiskey, already quite a good product having been matured for more than three years in first fill bourbon barrels, is blended with a 21 year old malt whiskey. Cyril says the blend of the young and the very old (very expensive too!), plus the fact that it has been raised in US oak, produces the perfect balance, and make it extra special.

Indeed, the whiskey has been the stand-out success so far. “We are up against the big boys, up against Jameson, so we can’t go to the market with the same type of whiskey. We can't be the same and we don't want to be the same. People have been very willing to try the whiskey and are impressed by its smoothness and that longer finish”. Barry has been impressed with the way the Sloe and Honey Gin has been received, "Maybe because of the long tradition in Ireland of making Sloe gin at home”.

St Patrick's may be new but not all their kit is!
This old Vitamin Stamper, from the 1950s, was
 spotted in the UK and adapted by Cyril to
cork their bottles of spirits.

The team travels to exhibitions all over the country. Check out their products and be sure to sample their cocktails. Indeed, you’ll find some cocktail recipes, including the Crafty Cobbler, on their site here.

If you can't hurry Sloe Gin, you can't hurry a distillery either. Tom Keightley (Managing Director) and Cyril (General Manager) are the pioneers of St Patrick’s and Barry has joined them as Brand Manager. They are just about six months in operation. The Potato alcohol is being bought in at present but they have their own stills now and expect them to be operational in the near future.

They do their own bottling here in Douglas, by hand. Soon, they be contracting out that part of the operation, mainly because of increasing volumes of sales. Aside from the general market, the products are selling well in Dublin and Cork Airports.

St Patrick’s won't be stopping at the airports. They have confirmed their first export order and that goes off to Germany next October and, as a follow-up, the team will attend the ProWein, the International Trade Fair for Wine and Spirits next March. Could well be a Happy St Patrick’s Day for the Cork company.

St Patrick’s Distillery

Unit 105

St Patrick’s Woolen Mills,

Couglas

Cork.

Tel: 021 4918791

Facebook: St Patrick’s Distillery https://www.facebook.com/stpatricksdistillery.ie?fref=ts

Twitter: @StDistillery

You might have spotted this at St Patrick's tastings, the
most recent at the weekend in the RDS. A piece of a
whiskey barrel is heated, the glass is filled with smoke,
and you add in your whiskey for a drink with a difference!