CorkBilly’s Drinks Digest. Wines, Spirits and Beers Events

CorkBilly’s Drinks Digest

Wines, Spirits and Beers Events

Silver Spear Gin Tasting at The Woodford. Date has been changed and is not on this Friday.

West Kerry Take Over Bierhaus Taps

It’s time to get shouting about @CorkAleTrail 1st monthly event next Saturday16/02  7.30pm  @BierhausCork with @westkerrybeer #taptakeover #meetthebtewer 5 Beers pouring! @GrandCruBeers @Cadastrophe @bradleys_offlic @HouseAbbot @FranWellBrewPub @the_friary_bar #CAT

Meet the Alternatives - Wine Tasting

by Woodberrys 3 Middle Street Mews

Middle Street

Galway

Thu, 21 February 2019

17:00 – 19:00 GMT

We have selected 12 wines we think every adventurous wine lover must try! These are wines that you will love but may have overlooked when buying a bottle of your favourite Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio or Malbec! Call in a try these wines your guaranteed to find one you like.

THIS IS A FREE INFORMAL TASTING.
PARTICIPANTS MUST BE OVER 18. ID MAYBE REQUIRED

Book here

New consumer website for Australian wine. Packed with info.

The new consumer website will engage consumers with rich content that is educational and user-friendly. It highlights Australia’s 65 premium wine regions with winemaker profiles, stories, regional events and insights into some of Australia’s most popular wine varieties.

Content will be updated regularly and a simplified Chinese version will be published shortly.

Visit www.australianwine.com to explore this new resource for global consumers.

Wine Academy Weekend at Sheen Falls

Ireland's first Natural wine bar!

Gallery Westport A Special Event!

The Cork Wine School Spring Dates

Valentine’s Night at The Rising Sons

Our beer & food pairings have always been popular with you rising sons and daughters and for this reason we're showing some love this Valentine's Day. Introducing our Beer and Dessert pairing - a guided tasting of our award-winning beer and a selection of sweet delights made in-house, paired perfectly for your Valentine night. All for the sweet price of €10.

Thursday, February 14, 2019 at 7 PM – 10 PM

More here https://www.facebook.com/events/2067221360041510/

Spanish Wine Week 

ICEX Spain Exports and Investments and the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of Spain in Dublin organize the IV edition of the SPANISH WINE WEEK (SWW), the biggest Spanish wine promotion event that takes place in Ireland between the 8th and the 14th of April. The main objective of the actions organized in the framework of that week and simultaneously in various cities in Ireland, is to give the greatest possible visibility to Spanish wines and their different regions, in addition to showing their diversity and high quality.

The different activities organized include tastings, dinner paired, discounts on the purchase of wine and promotions in stores and media, as well as raffles in the press and social networks. This aims to give the public the opportunity to taste a wide variety of wines through different experiences, while encouraging the consumption and purchase of Spanish wine throughout the week, precisely because of the offers and discounts offered by the stores , bars and restaurants.

The Cork Beer Mile with CAT

https://www.facebook.com/events/2177699485814114/ 

Thursday, February 21, 2019 at 6:30 PM – 11:30 PM

Get your walking shoes on and join us on a walk around Cork's must prestigious craft beer bars! 

This time we're in cahoots with two outstanding Irish breweries DOT Brew & Larkin's Brewing Company! More details to be announced soon! Who are the lads? 

​Dot :

Dot Brew is a gypsy micro brewery brand with roots strongly cultivated in Dublin 8. Specialising in uniquely designed barrel aged and blended beers for an evolving Irish and International palette. Dot adopts maturation and blending techniques from the Whiskey and Wine industries and applying them to break the boundaries of beer production. Dot has been rated one of the top 10 Irish brewers by Untappd users for 2018. (Placed 6th) 

Larkins :

Launched in 2018 after dipping their toes into the brewing market at the RDS Irish Craft Beer Festival the previous year, Larkins has already been rated one of the top 5 Irish brewers by Untappd users for 2018. (Placed 3rd) An independently family owned  brewery based in County Wicklow, Larkins set their focus on making lager style beers as good as they can be along with working on other styles of beers from IPA’s , Saisons to Pale Ales. 

Gin Tasting!!

Friday, March 1, 2019 at 7 PM – 9:15 PM

Sol y Sombra Tapas Bar & RestaurantOld Church of Ireland, Lower Bridge Street, Killorglin 6

see pic downloads..

On the night, we will present a selection of 6 superior gins, a selection of premium tonics and explore the different herbs and botanical's used in the distilling process of creating craft gins.  Info here https://www.facebook.com/events/236122720613873/ 

A welcome G&T will be served at 7.15 pm to allow the group to mingle before the tasting, the tastings itself will begin at 7:30 pm (sharp) in the upstairs Mezzanine.

You also have the option to have a meal if you so wish before or after the tastings.

We will be sampling lovely gins, its will be a unique night you won't want to miss

Tickets are €25 plus booking fees they are available through www.ticketstop.ie

There are only 24 spaces available so book early to avoid disappointment!

  

Michelin's Best Pubs to eat in. And a few of my own!

Seafood platter at the Seaview Tavern in Malin.

The Michelin ‘eating out in pubs’ guide

Thirty-four Irish pubs spread across fifteen counties have secured listings in the 2014 Michelin ‘Eating Out In Pubs’ Guide just published. 

Is that too many? Too few? What do you think? Perhaps we have too many listings of the best this and the best that! Still, that won’t stop me from adding a few of my own, in red at the bottom! I ate in all of my recommendations this year.

By the way, I’m not saying that any of those listed shouldn’t be there. Don’t know them all obviously but I have enjoyed the high standards in places such as the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna and Cronin’s in Crosshaven.

Hake & Scallops lunch in Murph's

Of the twenty-seven pubs in the Republic of Ireland, five are new listings – Byrne and Woods (Roundwood), Tavern (Murrisk), Fallon’s (Kilcullen), Linnane’s Lobster Bar (New Quay) and Morrissey’s (Doonbeg). Three received Inspector’s Favourite listings – Wild Honey Inn (Lisdoonvarna), Deasy’s (Clonakilty) and Toddy’s at The Bulman (Kinsale).

Produced by leading tyre manufacturer Michelin, this year’s Guide recommends some 577 pubs spread across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland of which 70 are new entries and all of which are selected, first and foremost, for the quality of their food.

Noting that no one has to put up with bad food in a pub anymore, editor Rebecca Burr said that all pubs listed in the Guide have been “rigorously inspected” by a team of full-time inspectors – the same team who produce the famed Michelin Great Britain & Ireland restaurant guide.

The Michelin ‘Eating Out In Pubs’ Guide 2014 is now available in bookshops and online priced at EUR14.99.

The full list of 2014 Michelin ‘Eating Out In Pubs’ Guide listings for Ireland is:
 
DOWN (7)
Pheasant (Annahilt), Coyle’s (Bangor), Lisbarnett House (Comber), Grace Neill’s and Pier 36 (both in Donaghadee) and The Parson’s Nose and The Plough Inn (both in Hillsborough)

CORK (6)
Mary Ann’s (Castletownshend), Poacher’s Inn (Bandon), An Súgan and Deasy’s (Clonakilty), Cronin’s (Crosshaven) and Toddies at The Bulman (Kinsale).

CLARE (4)
Morrissey’s (Doonbeg), Vaughan’s Anchor Inn (Liscannor), Wild Honey Inn (Lisdoonvarna) and Linnane’s Lobster Bar (New Quay)

MAYO (3)
Crockets on the Quay (Ballina), The Tavern (Murrisk) and Sheebeen (Westport)

GALWAY (2)
Moran’s Oyster Cottage (Kilcolgan) and O’Dowd’s (Roundstone)

KERRY (2)
O’Neill’s Seafood Bar and QC’s (both in Caherciveen)

KILDARE (2)
Ballymore Inn (Ballymore Eustace) and Fallon’s (Kilcullen)

DUBLIN (1)
Chop House (Ballsbridge)

LEITRIM (1)
Oarsman (Carrick-on-Shannon)

LOUTH (1)
Fitzpatrick’s (Jenkinstown)

SLIGO (1)
Hargadons (O’Connell Street, Sligo)

TIPPERARY (1)
Larkin’s (Garrykennedy)

WESTMEATH (1)
Fatted Calf (Glasson)

WEXFORD (1)
Lobster Pot (Carne)

WICKLOW (1)
Byrne & Woods (Roundwood)

My Tuppence Worth

Donegal

SeaviewTavern  in Malin Head Village.

Olde Glen Bar in Carrickart.

Mayo

The Market Kitchen at Murphy Brothers Bar (Ballina)

Kerry

An Canteen (Dingle)

Cork

Blair’s Inn (Cloghroe)

The Rising Tide (Glounthaune)

Murph’s (East Ferry)

Charlie Mac’s (Fermoy)

Annie’s (Sunday’s Well)

Woodford (Paul Street, Cork)

The Woodford. Excellent Lunch.

The Woodford

Perhaps it is not overly surprising that we have many good black (and white) pudding makers in the region. The surprise is more in the robust resurgence of this old food of the poor and its emergence on the tables of the local restaurants, including the Woodford Pub  in Paul Street where I enjoyed a recent lunch.

Clonakilty black pudding salad - €11
Caramelised apples crispy potato skins, bacon, honey & mustard dressing

Clonakilty Black Pudding was the first to make a widespread breakthrough and I got a pleasing reminder of why in this salad. Here it combined very well with the segments of sweet apple atop each mini cylinder of the rich black pudding with a loose and crumbly texture, its full flavour tinged with salt.

The flavour of the bacon cubes was a lingering sweet ambush, so pleasantly potent on the palate and certainly a worthy addition to the salad. Not so long ago, patrons would have passed on this. Now, the pudding is back in foodie fashion.

Bluebell Falls goats cheese crostini -   €10
With beetroot relish, walnuts, tomato chilli jam & honey dressing 

The warmed Bluebell Falls Goat Cheese was served on crostini. Beetroot has become a standard companion of the chèvre and, shredded here, one could easily taste why. Tomatoes and sweet crunchy caramelised walnuts also played their part in making it a very satisfactory salad indeed.

These two salads were well put together, not just casual collections on the plates.

We were initially somewhat disappointed to see the Specials Boards make an appearance about six or seven minutes after we had ordered (and some 35 minutes after lunch serving time had commenced). But that was wiped out by the two splendid salads that we enjoyed before finishing off with some decent Illy coffee. The friendly staff were on the ball here and the service was excellent.

STAR OF THE SPRING IN PAUL STREET

THE WOODFORD 

Popped into the revamped Woodford (in Paul Street) the other evening. It was early in the week, dark and wet and not too many in the bar.

Impressed by their great selection of beer along with friendly and helpful service.  Arranged a little tasting for myself: Becks versus Staropramen.

Had the Becks on draught before but this was a first for my Czech favourite. The Staro is even more a favourite of mine now as it beat the socks off the Becks.

Don’t think there is anywhere else in town selling Staropramen on draught so it looks like I’ll be going back to the Woodford for the star of the Spring. Maybe a bite to eat as well. No hardship there.