Spirit Of Sharing Review
When I was asked to go to the Irish Embassy for the Spirit of Sharing event, I jumped at the chance. I absolutely loved my time in Ireland in 2016 (has it really been two years???) and was keen to experience more of what this beautiful country has to offer.
The Spirit of Sharing event is hosted by Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, in partnership with Origin Green, Ireland’s national food and drink sustainability program. Spirit of Sharing showcases some of Ireland’s leading drinks producers including whisky, white spirits, craft beers and more. They are championing the natural diversity and abundance of the Irish landscape while showcasing innovation and quality.
Irish whisky is the fastest growing spirit category in the world, and there has also been a surge in gin production. Many of companies on display are only just entering the international market or are trying to increase awareness of their brand.
Now let’s turn to the gin first. Mor Irish gin is a handcrafted Irish gin from Arderin Distillery. They use natural and fresh ingredients to create a balance of flavours. Their pineapple edition was divine, but maybe I am biased as I love pineapple and gin, so why wouldn’t I like them paired? It was recommended to pair with ginger beer and lemongrass.
Blacks Irish gin from Blacks of Kinsale is distinct flavoursome gin. It features thirteen botanicals to create a big, bold, smoky gin. I had this in a creative cocktail made from the bar staff and I absolutely loved it. Dublin City Gin is a London Dry style gin crafted from carefully selected botanicals including Dublin grown rhubarb. The result is a smooth and lovely gin. My friend had recently gone to Ireland and raved about Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish gin which comes in a blue bottle, so I was eager to sample some. This London Dry Style gin has been voted Ireland’s best gin and it’s easy to see why. The botanicals are slow-distilled in a medieval copper pot gin still. It’s uniqueness comes from the inclusion of Gunpowder tea, a green tea that is bold, bright and spicy. It also comes from the first distillery in the West part of Ireland in 100 years
Dingle gin From the Dingle Whisky Distillery is made in copper pots from nine traditional and locally harvested botanicals. Flavours of juniper, orange and coriander were clear. Our favourite gin and tonic of the night was created with Old Mill Carrick gin. Juniper, pear and cucumber flavours help to create a sweet, summery feel perfect for day-drinking in summer. We especially loved the bottle, which features a map with a few hidden messages.
For the wine drinkers, there was Moiner Fine Irish Fruit Wine from Wicklow Way Wines. Their strawberry wine is aimed at white wine drinkers while the blackberry is more for the red wine drinkers. The flavours and aromas helped to create a feel of spring and I imagine this would be lovely to sip on lazy afternoon at the park.
Lo:ki and Co is a new low calorie alcoholic drink from Irish start up RTM beverages. Each 275ml bottle obtains only 85 calories, 4% alcohol and is low in sugar and carbs. Made with mineral water and natural fruit flavours, it is naturally gluten free. We tried the apple and elderflower as well as the orange and mango and enjoyed both. Again, I could easily see myself drinking this on a summer day or when I want a lighter drinking night.
Onto the whisky. The Dubliner is an Irish whisky liqueur that is so easy to drink due to its spicy, pepper like yet honeycomb taste. The distillery in (you guessed it) Dublin opens to the public in September 2018. Tullamore Dew is the world’s second largest whisky brand and is known for its smooth flavours, and today they were showcasing a light and citrusy one, a single malt and their limited edition Phoenix.
The Kinsale Mead company makes their mead with rawhoney. Their Atlantic dry mead made from Spanish orange blossom honey has lovely citrusy aromas with a lingering taste of honey. We both preferred their wild red mead. This has a bold, spicy flavour from the black current/cherry fruit flavours and the Spanish honey. At this time, we also sampled black pudding and the two together enhanced the spicy flavours of each.
There were many other brands that unfortunately we just did not have time to sample by who we would have liked to.
The menu also features produce from Ireland. There were Guineas and Irish pork sausages, Irish beef burgers, beetroot and Irish goat cheese tarts, and a selection of cheeses. Each of the products were from companies who are members of Origin Green and demonstrates the commitment of the Irish food industry to sustainability. Overall it was a great evening showcasing all the best Ireland as to offer… it’s making us want to book a trip to the Emerald Isle ASAP!
Written by Caitlin Neal
Search #spiritofsharing and @bordbia
