Beár Bia Podcast

• Hawk's Rock Distillery & White Hag Brewery

  For the latest episode of the Beár Bia podcast, we hit the road for Sligo City to spend some quality time in the company of a master whiskey blender, a legendary brewer, a local oyster producer and a publican par excellence! It all took place in the cosy surroundings of Hargadon's, a traditional gastropub and bottle shop. Co-owner Morgan Kerins was there to greet us and talked us through its great history as well as all the many elements that make this pub one of the finest in the country. They include how they source so much of their award-winning food from their own locality and how they grow their own microgreens in a nearby polytunnel. We then set about enjoying some Sligo Oyster Experience oysters that had just been picked by co-owner Aisling Kelly's team. Served as is (but with an optional splash of Scarlet for Yer Ma, the Dublin hot sauce!), they were imbued with a soft sweetness and a slight hint of minerality that Aisling tells us comes from the Garavogue river that washes out onto the seabed. Quite fitting that the oysters would then be paired with the inaugural Garavogue 20-Year-Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey. This is the first release from Sazerac's newly rebranded distillery on the shores of Lough Gill. It was crafted by Ireland's first female master blender, Helen Mulholland, who was very kindly there to tell us all about its intricacies. It's a double-distilled beauty aged in a complex mix of casks – including French Muscat, French Sauternes, Spanish Pedro Ximénez Sherry and Barbadian Rum. Every sip brought on another rich, intense flavour, brightly displaying Helen's decades of experience. To be able to enjoy this supremely well-made whiskey with oysters picked within the same locality of the distillery was a remarkable experience. And one that can be very easily replicated by simply swinging by Hargadon's in Sligo on any given day... Not that it was our intention, but this episode could easily have been themed around "Surf & Turf" as we went from shellfish to beef carpaccio for our second pairing of the day. Thinly sliced Sligo beef fillet, sourced just around the corner from Clarke's Butchers, was dressed with Hargadon's own microgreens as well as Parmesan cheese shavings and truffle oil. The 28 days of ageing gave the beef the softest texture along with a warm umami pungency. For its accompaniment,  Bob Coggins from The White Hag Brewery was on hand with some of his Red IPA. Established in 2013 by Bob and his partners, The White Hag team not only have a world-class range of internationally distributed beers, but their taproom and annual "Hagstravganza" summer festival are both huge attractions. There was a sour sweetness to the beer that provided the perfect counterbalance to the beef; the sharp umami of the meat lingered in the background while the malt and hops of the beer worked their magic.Tune into what is a fantastic (slightly long!) episode that relishes the bounty Sligo has to offer. The Beár Bia podcast is available across all platforms, including here on Spotify. 

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• LIVE at The Shed Distillery, Drumshanbo

  On Thursday, October 16th, the Beár Bia podcast hosted its first live and ticketed recording event. It took place at The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo, down in County Leitrim. It was a celebration of the modern, iconic Irish brand, Gunpowder Gin, with its wonderfully complex range of international and local botanicals. The gin's inspired mix of spice and citrus notes lends itself remarkably well to food pairings, and both the food and Gunpowder gin cocktails on the night were all delicious. With a nod to some of the Chinese tea and Asian fruits that Gunpowder gin is named after, Oisin Davis, the Beár Bia co-host, mixed up a big bowl of punch to welcome everyone. It featured the Gunpowder gin, lychee, Jasmine tea, extra dry Martini, and lime. Founder of The Shed Distillery and Gunpowder gin Pat Rigney then took all the guests on a very special backstage tour of the production and distilling space, allowing everyone to get a deeper understanding of how his team craft their spirits. After everyone was seated, two small plates and their cocktail pairings were shared. The first was a Ward’s Donegal crab dish that came with a celeriac remoulade, crushed avocado, and herb mayo. All of it was made by the distillery’s head chef, Dave Fitzgibbon, who also told us about the father and son team from Ward's who hand fish the crab we enjoyed. Cian Wrynne, Gunpowder's on premise manager then served up a cocktail made to pair with the crab - an Atlantic Citrus Gimlet. He mixed it with Gunpowder Irish Gin, Gunpowder Sardinian Citrus Gin, seaweed, lime cordial and fresh fennel and dill oil. It was an exceptional combo and as Dee Laffan, co-host of Beár Bia, remarked, "The freshness of the crab, avocado and dill is fantastic with this gimlet cocktail. The lime, fennel and dill in the cocktail all complement the food so well. This pairing is such a delight to eat and drink. So fresh."The multiple award-winning Thornhill duck leg bonbon was the second dish of the night and was served alongside pureed fig and parsnip. This was a real delight - crispy, unctuous and enriched with Autumnal flavours. Cian's Orchard Highball cocktail that he made to pair with it, was the perfect accompaniment.  It was mixed with Gunpowder Fig & Laurel, Killahora Apple Ice Wine, fig syrup and Poacher’s Ginger Ale. Oisin Davis had lots to say about this pairing, "This was my first time sampling the fig & laurel Gunpowder gin and it really has such an earthy tone to it. Brilliant to see it mixed with seasonal orchard flavours and even better when paired with the duck, which Dave cooked perfectly confit style."With a Gunpowder gin chocolate truffle to finish off the event, this was a lovely sweet ending. Huge thanks to all the guests who came along and to Dave and Cian from the distillery who proved that Irish gin and Irish food pairings are an absolute joy irregardless of the food comes from the sea or the land. thesheddistillery.com

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• Dingle Distillery

  BEÁR BIA HITS KERRY WITH THE DINGLE DISTILLERY AND SOME LOCAL PRODUCERS There are very few towns on the island of Ireland with such a high concentration of premium food producers and world renowned pubs, as Dingle in county Kerry. Coupled with its multitude of festivals, there is never a bad time to visit. At the heart of it all, is the Dingle Distillery. Established in 2012, it has now become not just a huge attraction to itself but they also happen to make some rather amazing spirits!Last year we got to spend some time with their team and enjoy some of their gin cocktails in the lead up to their stand at the Big Grill festival. For our second season of Beár Bia, we felt it only right to make the pilgrimage to the Dingle Distillery last week to savur their two latest whiskeys that were paired with two amazing neighbouring food brands.Our first whiskey pairing of the day featured the Dingle Distillery 10 Year Old Pot Stillwhich is made with local malted and unmalted barley and aged in a beautiful combination of bourbon barrels, PX and Oloroso sherry butts and red wine casks. It's a glorious whiskey enriched with spice and a nutty finish which contrasts so harmoniously with the remarkable Murphy's brown bread ice cream we served it with. Crafted just down the road from the distillery, the ice cream is made with McCambridge's brown bread that is slowly roasted with sugar to get a crunchy caramelized texture. With Murphy's Ice Cream so easily available through their own shops and nationwide distribution, this is a sublime all Irish dessert that anyone could enjoy. Sean Murphy from Murphy's Ice Cream was there to tell us all about his brand and how he and Dingle Distillery's production and maturation manager Paddy Foley have often collaborated with each other.Our second whiskey was Dingle Distillery's 10 Year Old Single Malt. It's triple distilled with local malt and aged in a combination of ex bourbon, port and PX sherry casks. There is a remarkable berry and dried fruit nose and taste to this whiskey that is intensified by such a long time spent in barrels. We were joined on this pairing by Kallam Moriarty of another nearby food business, Éalú chocolates. He brought with him some of his exceptional ganache filled chocolates that were made with hibiscus, clove and also some of the Dingle Distillery Single Pot Still Whiskey. The fruity depth of the whiskey really brought out the cranberry like flavour of the hibiscus in the chocolate - after that subsides an explosion of cream and spice hits the palate. Luxury Irish chocolates and ten year old premium Irish whiskey, both from the same Kerry town - Dingle punches well above its culinary weight.As a special treat and to remind us all of the incredible spirit of camaraderie and collaboration between the Dingle Distillery and their local friends, Justin Burgess from Bean in Dingle coffee shop and roastery popped in to tell us about a special project they've recently got stuck into - Dingle Whiskey Barrel Aged Coffee! A bold Brazilian single estate bean, aged in Dingle Distillery whiskey rum casks for a minimum of 3 weeks. The result is a delicious coffee with caramel and milk chocolate notes, citric acidity, a creamy body and that distinctive Dingle whiskey finish. Available in whole bean and medium ground. Available to purchase now exclusively at the distillery. What an episode?! Get stuck in and let us know your thoughts. Thanks to Dingle Distillery for this episode & Bord Bia for always supporting us. Sláinte! Oisin & Dee

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• Hospitality Heroes: McNally Family Farm

  There are many individuals across the island of Ireland who are game changers in how they passionately engage within the restaurant and bar industry. On the Beár Bia podcast, we like to call them "Hospitality Heroes" and whenever we can, we like to showcase them and the great work they do. And that's exactly what we've done with our latest episode as we took a trip to the McNally Family Farm in the Ring Commons North County Dublin to spend some time with Jenny and her daughter Niamh McNally and learn more about their fantastic business. In 1997, farmers Patrick and Jenny McNally took the decision to go all organic and sell their produce directly, bypassing the standard practises of distribution. Thanks to the remarkable assistance of all five of their children who work there, they have gone on to become one of the most sought out and cherished producers to top Irish chefs. Everything they sell is grown on their 99 acres of land and along the way they have added a farm shop, café and most recently a tour to their list of offerings. Our setting for the recording and indeed the weather - couldn't have been any better! Sat right outside a polytunnel jam-packed with baby tomatoes that were days away from ripening, we enjoyed two pairings where each of the dishes mostly featured items from the farm. The first was a sourdough focaccia sandwich made with bread baked at their café, filled with their farm grown roasted padrón peppers, heritage tomatoes, basil mayo and green leaves. This was a symphony of the freshest flavours and to enjoy a beverage alongside it, Oisin volunteered to mix up a cocktail that also had farm ingredients in it. Aptly named the "McNally Martini" it had Glendalough Gin, Richmount Elderflower Liqueur, Fino Sherry, fresh lemon, a healthy spoonful of McNally Family Farm gooseberry preserve, fresh lemon and a splash of Nátúrtha Pet-Nat sparkling wine from Waterford to give it some fizz. The dry sweetness from  the cocktail counterbalanced the smoky bitterness of peppers and tomatoes and it was a real pleasure to enjoy the bounty of the farm in such a rounded way, both from the plate and the glass. Our second pairing was a Roman style pizza slice that was also baked on site using their sourdough bread and topped with Carbery cheddar, farm grown baby courgettes, basil pesto and feta cheese. Seeing as the bottle was already open and that it's such a delicious wine, we paired the rich (and super crunchy!) pizza slice with some more of the Nátúrtha Pet-Nat sparkling wine from Waterford. Its nutty, earthy notes really brought out the soft sweetness of the courgettes. Beár Bia is available on all podcast platforms and follow us @bearbiapodcast on Instgram. 

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• Stonewell Irish Cider

  It took them long enough, but Dee Laffan and Oisin Davis of the Beár Bia travelling podcast finally made it to Cork! And not only did they get to hang out with one of their favourite drinks producers - the wonderful Daniel Emerson of Stonewell Cider, but they also got to do it in the legendary pub, Cronin's of Crosshaven on a sun-filled day, so they got to soak up the beautiful surrounds while they were there. They were there to meet Daniel Emerson of Stonewell Irish Cider and his latest team member, Diarmuid Madden. It was an afternoon spent doing a very deep dive, not just into the amazing journey that Stonewell Cider has been on, but also into a brilliant and brand new product they've been working on, Orr Irish Apple Brandy. Of course, there was also some rather lovely food too - courtesy of the great team at Cronin's. Before we got stuck into our first pairing of the day, we got a chance to meet the manager at Cronin's, Fionnuala Ryan. She filled us in on the great history behind what is such an iconic, third-generation, family-run pub. We also got to know their head chef, Thomas Rushton, a Canadian who has fallen hook, line and sinker for Irish produce. His first dish was some locally sourced Roaring Water Bay mussels, which he steamed in Stonewell Dry Cider and onions, before finishing them with cream.This was a revelation especially when we popped open the dry cider to enjoy with it - the acidity in the cider infuses so well into the mussels and really brings out their sweetness. Along the way, Daniel went into great detail into the highs and lows of being a modern day craft Irish cider producer where there are constant challenges but the end results are so profoundly delicious. Afterwards, we were introduced to Diarmuid Madden, a recent recruit to the Stonewell team whose experience and passion for the spirits industry meant that he could bring great weight to their Orr Apple Brandy project. Diarmuid went through every single facet of its production, from harvest to bottling - he covered every element. This only made us appreciate the liquid even more and what a remarkable spirit it is! What makes it even more special is that it is now one of four different Irish apple brandy brands that are now working together to help rejuvenate what is actually a very old drinks category. Additional layers of complexity in the brandy were revealed when we got to pair it with some stellar Irish cheeses that chef Thomas Rushton selected for us. They included Gort na Móna, Gubbeen Smoked, Wicklow Blue and Coolea. Beár Bia is available on all podcast platforms. Listen in from Spotify here.

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