December 2014, Mulligan’s Grocer, Dublin.

I ventured out again into the wild world (after my Temple Bar tasting session) and thought it time for some food, that’s another story, the one that lead me to Mulligan’s Grocer – next story on my travels.

My meeting had been arranged with owner Michael some time back, time to pay him a visit. So once there, and a cup of tea in my mits, we chatted away. I had sent a whiskey tour group here earlier in the year with my mate/driver, Mark fae Belfast (he does all our driving on the island of Ireland), to sample the grocer delights. By the way, they later told me it was their tour highlight! Mark told the same story, so I needed to see myself what the fuss was aboot. It was a pre – Christmas day the bar was no too busy, grand, just what I had wanted. Apart from the drink, Mulligan’s is also famous for it’s food selection, specially the Scotch Eggs!!! With a grand array of whisky from everywhere, beers and wines spirits etc as usual it has a grand atmosphere and great staff – are you warming to it already? I did as soon as I set toes in the place. A big fella asks can he help, tis Michael I’m lookin fer says myself, there he is hiding behind the wee partition. We sat down and had a cup of tea! Which I was thankful for havin had many drams before I came in. We talked about whiskey, food, tour groups, special tastings and whisky dinners. Get your taste buds around this idea;

Single Pot Still Dinner and Barrel Charring.

Canapes paired with Redbreast 12 with Goats Cheese, Almond Financier, Honey Carrageen, Fino Spritz. Smoked Bacon & Star Anise Devils on Horseback

Starter paired with Green Spot.  Wild Trout Tartare, Whipped Toonsbridge Ricotta, Ginger Crisp, Brown Butter

Main paired with Powers John’s Lane.  Venison Haunch, Roasted Rainbow Beetroot, Hay Smoked Parsnips, Black Pudding & Golden Raisin Bon Bon, Lovely Gravy

Dessert paired with Barry Crockett Legacy.  Honeycomb Shortcake, Roasted White Chocolate Semifreddo, Sea Salt Toffee Apple, Almond Brittle

I wish I had stayed for this heaven on a plate! But, as we chatted on the history side of things (I do like my history). Historically in Ireland the local pub also served as the off-license, grocery, tea blender and even undertaker. Every Friday and Saturday they travel back to grocer roots, stocking the best of locally sourced products– ranging from craft beer in refillable growler flasks,  retro sweets, Arun Bakery sourdough, Irish farmhouse cheeses, Wall & Keogh teas, Gubbeen meats, coffee beans (they will even grind them for you), Dublin Kombucha, Ballyhoura Mushroom Powders, Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oils, Jams, Sauces and jars of tasty bacon jam.  So – to sample an old Irish grocery shop, make a date on a Friday/Saturday, expect to stay most of the day!

Another sample menu, och I don’t want to leave… Whiskey Dinner Menu hosted by the Teeling Master Blender Alex Chasko. Only 55 Euro to include all food and drams.

Welcome Drink; Teeling Small Batch.

Amuse Bouche, Teeling Poitin, Tomato Juice, Cayenne Emulsion, Preserved Lemon, Smoked Sea Salt Carlingford Oyster

Starter Teeling Grain Irish Whiskey. Sir Jack McCarthy’s Black Pudding, Golden Raisins, Champ Boxty, Sticky Apple Balsamic

Main  Teeling 21 Year Old Silver Reserve. Rosehip and Plum Water. Lamb Leg Steak, New Season Baby Golden Beets, Mouselline Potato, Honey & Lavender Jus, Gorse Flowers

Dessert Teeling Small Batch. Cheese; Coolea Gouda, Poach Apple, Ginger Crackerbread

So next time in Dublin and thinking about a visit to the Jameson Distillery museum, Mulligans is only a short walk away, If I can do it, you can. Don’t expect a brand new pub, full of flashing lights, pugy machines and jukies, this is a traditional hang out where you only go for the drink/food/craik. In excess of 150 whiskeys from Ireland and Scotland as well as a small range of Japanese, Welsh, Swedish and Belgian Single Malts  have been personally selected by owner Michael Foggarty. Mulligan’s also stocks each and every craft beer brewed in Ireland it’s one of the only bars in Dublin that doesn’t serve the ‘black stuff’. See you again soon Michael.

Paul McLean, owner MCLEANSCOTLAND.com and ANGELSWHISKYCLUB.com  was undertaking research & development on your behalf.

Paul McLean, of ANGELSWHISKYCLUB.com and MCLEANSCOTLAND.com was in Dublin for Christmas week, he did indulge in some research & development on your behalf…

The history of the Irish Coffee 

Powers is the traditional whiskey used in an Irish Coffee. It was created at Foynes airbase in Co. Limerick … Foynes was an airbase near Limerick, in fact it was the main airport for Flying Boats between America and Europe. By 1940, the airport was handling many passengers, including many American VIP’s from the world of politics and Hollywood. Weather conditions along the West coast of Ireland can be notoriously bad, and often what was supposed to be just a stopover for refuelling turned into an overnight stay. In 1942 a new restaurant opened, which had the task of catering for the many important passengers passing through Foynes and present a very positive image of Ireland and its people to the world.

The story goes that Powers Irish Coffee was invented to appease a group of tired and upset American tourists who had set off to make a 19 hour trip to New York – they set off 10 hours before!

After 5 hours out the plane turned back due to a storm.

The head chef at Foynes, a Joe Sheridan, decided to warm them up, rather than the tradition of adding whiskey to tea, he added it to coffee.

He concocted a Powers with sugar and coffee and fresh whipped cream.  As they sipped their drinks, one passenger said “hey buddy, is this Brazillian coffee?” Sheridan replied “it is Irish Coffee”

To make a Powers Irish Coffee:

1.Pour a measure of Powers and two teaspoons of brown sugar into a pre-warmed Powers Irish Coffee Glass.

2.Place a metal spoon in the glass.

3.Fill the glass with hot black coffee, allowing space at the top for cream before stirring well.

4.Gently pour lightly whipped cream over the back of a spoon so that the cream floats on the coffee.

A quick reminder that the 45th Auction ends Sunday January 4th, 2015

the 45th auction. We hope you enjoy it.

JANUARY

New List Open Tasting, 19 Greville St, London – Sat 10 Jan

Steak & Whisky Tasting, 19 Greville St, London – Mon 12 Jan

The Ultimate 2014 Highlights Tasting, 28 Queen St, Edinburgh – Tue 13 Jan

Rabbie Burns Tasting and Dinner, 28 Queen St, Edinburgh – Thu 22 Jan

Keswick Members Tasting, Middle Ruddings Country Inn, Keswick – Sat 24 Jan

Burns Night at The Vaults, The Vaults, Leith – Sat 24 Jan

Robbie Burns Tasting, 19 Greville St, London – Sat 24 Jan

​​Browse All Tastings >

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Whisky Ramblings Via Video #100

Mark Dermul, Belgian Whiskyblogger, tries Connemara Turf Mor! Since Cooley was taken over by Beam, which in turn was taken over by Suntory, not much has been heard of the peated Irish whiskey Connemara. And that is a pity. In 2010 Cooley launched a small batch of their Connemara Turf Mor, a heavily peated version. Only 20.000 bottles were released. Mark finds it to be that good, that he simply could not resist making a video about it.

http://youtu.be/I21REZPk-ic

In Their Own Words – James Buntin, brand ambassador, Balvenie

James Buntin is the new brand ambassador for Speyside single malt Balvenie

After 14 years in Australia, new Balvenie brand ambassador James Buntin is back in the UK, on a mission to spread the word about this highly regarded distillery and its whiskies. We met up with this impressively hirsute Scot to share a dram and a story or two – and he didn’t disappoint.

‘I’m 46, and I’ve been drinking whisky for 46 years – my mum used to take a drop of whisky and rub it on my gums’

‘There’s nothing better than a nip and a half [a dram and half a pint of beer]’

‘I walk into a bar and see all the bottles on the backbar; when I look at all the different labels, I don’t see them as brands, but as stories’

‘I’ve worked for a lot of brands in my life, but working for Balvenie is the highlight. Everything is hand-crafted’

‘They’re really into whisky in Australia. The big difference between there and here is that even in basic bars in Oz, their whisky ranges start with a 10 year old, a 12 year old. And they have 20 different whisky shows a year’

‘You’ve got to live with a bottle of whisky. You’ve got to live with it when you’re happy or sad, in love, or mad’

‘I do love a big, smoky whisky. I’ve worked with Speyside distilleries for a long time, but I do like some of the younger Islays, like Ardbeg 10 and Laphroaig PX cask’

‘American oak is like white sugar; European oak is like brown sugar’

‘Can you imagine looking after an orchard and only going in there after 50 years? You wouldn’t pick all the apples at once – you’d go in for the first time and pick the ones you know, then you’d go back in later. Whisky barrels are like an apple tree; you go in and visit them now and again and pick what you need’

‘In the next few years, you’re going to see a whole new generation of whisky distilleries opening up’

‘Whisky has the biggest loyalty; people will defend it to the end of their days. Johnnie Walker drinkers won’t drink Chivas, and vice versa; it’s like supporting rival football teams’

Scotch Tasting

Sunday, January 4 @ 4 pm

$50 per person

This will be a great tasting, Pat is very excited because he is pulling out all the new stuff we’ve gotten in the last few weeks and he wants your input on the next 6 months of tastings! He wants to make you happy so please come to this tasting and let him know what you want in the next few months!! I saw the list and it looks pretty good! (Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso, Glenfarclas 10 yr., Glenmorangie Taghta, Laphroaig Select, Arran’s “The Devil’s Punch Bowl”, Yamazaki 18, Hibiki 17, Hakushu 17 and Cutty Sark Prohibition). Happy Holidays and hope to see you soon!

Dundee Dell | 5007 Underwood Ave | Omaha | NE | 68132

Low Gap 4 Year Old K&L Exclusive Single Stitzel-Weller Barrel Wheat Whiskey $69.99 – Four years ago, when barrels of 18 year old Stitzel Weller Bourbon could be purchased on a whim, we began piling up more casks than we knew what to do with. When you buy a barrel of whiskey from a producer they usually send you the empty vessel with it. At that time we were working closely with Germain Robin on a number of new projects and when they mentioned they were experimenting with wheat whiskey, running it through their antique column still, I offered some of our ex-Bourbon casks for maturation. “Fill this old wheated Bourbon barrel with wheat whiskey,” I said, “and maybe we can buy it back from you in a few years.” Then I completely forgot about it. But a few weeks ago we got the call from the distillery; it had been four years. Did we want to see where the whiskey was at? You bet we did, and after tasting the sample we had Germain Robin bottle the whiskey immediately. It’s in an absolutely perfect spot. The nose is a mixture of fresh cut grain and oak spices. The first sip is like a handful of Wheat Thins that turns into a rich, stone crackery explosion on the finish. There is no doubt as to which grain this whiskey was distilled from. It’s just wheat all the way through. The SW barrel is really just a coincidence; a matter of what we had on hand at the time. Gimmicks aside, this is one fun new bottle I will be drinking lots of and a new step forward for California’s whiskey movement.

–David Driscoll

ABOUT OUR SINGLE MALT SCOTCH CLUBS

Members of our buyers’ club share an enthusiasm for the malt elixir in the most practical way, by saving time and money. No initiation or fees of any sort are charged. We simply ask that you undertake to remain in the club for the period of one year. As a club member you will receive a carefully selected, often unique bottling, complete with background information, shipped directly to your home or office every other month. The Single Malt Aficionados’ Club is dedicated to seeking out and enjoying the rarest and most classic of truly aged malts, has a limit of $119.99, per shipment on the cost for the bottle itself. (Does not include tax and or shipping) That’s it. No strings just pure enjoyment.

In October 2014 our members received: 

Kilchoman Sherry Cask 5 Year Old Cask Strength

Most of these letters to you, our club members,start with the story of a distillery that was founded in the dusty and distant part of the early 1800s,and almost to a one, the characters that started them. For this bottling and the last club shipment,we have been exploring the new distilleries at the vanguard of Scotch Whisky; those that against wise and prudent advice have decided that they were going to go against the commoditization and consolidation of the whisky industry and make simply unique and delicious whisky.

 So with that introduction, we bring you a young but lovely Kilchoman Sherry Cask Five Year.Those of you that follow the American Whiskey market have probably heard the phrase“Grain to Glass” being used to describe how the new wave of American distillers choose to make their spirits. The New Scots have a similar take on starting with the raw ingredients and working through to a finished product.

“From Barley to bottling,” was the slogan that the Kilchoman Distillery chose to represent their way of doing business. This way of thinking includes being at the farm that grows the grain that makes the whisky. Kilchoman was established on Rockside Farm in 2005 by Anthony Wills, taking a decided gamble to launch the first new distillery on Islay in 97 years. Anthony began in the whisky industry running his own independent bottling company for eight years, and having seen the resurgence of Single Malts in the market place, he and his family decided to bring whisky back to its roots with farm distilling.

In this, the family endeavor was helped by Anthony’s wife being descended from a family that has owned land on Islay for over 60 years. With the combination of place, access to great barley, water from Machir Bay, peat, and four sons to do the grunt work; Anthony knew he could make a great whisky. Kilkoman remains a small operation and currently runs two stills, which produce 90,000 liters per year. This new make spirit rests first in ex-Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels, and then some is moved into Oloroso Sherry casks. No filtration is done and no caramel coloring is added. When we tasted this bottling back in March we were given pause by the youth of the spirit, but after the whisky convincing us that age is nothing but a number, we decided to present this young and precocious Islay to you all.The color of this young whisky is darker than its ex-Bourbon comrades with more of a copper hue. The nose has a good depth of aromas with smoke, leather and some nutty notes.The palate is richer and more rounded with crushed nuts, citrus fruit rinds, and a quite nice ripe fruit note. The finish is long with the nutty tone from the Sherry Cask predominating.

Signup for this Club

Happy New Year From Kensington Wine Market Calgary

www.kensingtonwinemarket.com