Love on the Rocks

On the eve of St. Patrick's Day, we found ourselves in Killarney and after a day of sightseeing, we decided to spend the night enjoying some Irish whiskey. Just minutes from our hotel was a bar that offered an "Irish Whiskey Experience". They offered a few different classes to choose from, but our reservation was made at the last minute so we got the Distiller's Apprentice class, an introduction to Irish whiskey.

Being from Windsor, Ontario, we are no strangers to whisky (see how Canadians drop the e in whisky?) Canadian Club and Crown Royal are produced here. The difference is we tend to mix our whisky. As I mentioned in a previous post, my drink of choice is a "riot" (rye whisky + diet Pepsi). When we told our guide Allan about this, he cringed and told us we were doing it wrong.

With his vast knowledge, Allan explained that Irish whiskey was to be savoured on its own- with no mix- not even ice. After starting with a sensory perception quiz where we sniffed different ingredients that go into whiskey, we watched a film on Irish whiskey and how it's made.






Then came the sampling. We compared 4 classic styles and under the guidance of Allan, we learned how to appreciate the whiskey. Being ideal apprentices, we were able to identify the citrus, spice and oak flavour in each glass. My favourite was Redbreast, a single pot still whiskey, dubbed the "Irish Nectar".






The class lasted an hour and after sampling the 4 whiskeys, we were feeling comfortably numb. After chatting with a lovely couple from Put-in-Bay, Ohio, we made our way to a local pub for some fish and chips.

As much as I enjoyed the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, this experience was equally worthwhile. There was a plethora of whiskey available, the staff was both friendly and knowledgeable and the atmosphere couldn't be beat.

~MT

Sheepdogs

No, this post is not about Canada's rock band, Sheepdogs. Instead, I'm referring to Jack, the border collie who stole my heart on a sheep farm in Sligo, Ireland.  We visited the Atlantic Sheepdog, home to shepherd Martin Feeney, his 300 sheep and 9 working dogs, including Jack. Martin was a grand host, describing the history, land and work that goes into running his farm.




Even on little sleep, Martin was entertaining, showing us his different sheep and introducing us to these adorable lambs that were born about 8 hours before we arrived. I was so excited to hold this little gem.









Martin was full of information. He explained how the expression black sheep came to be. We often use the expression when referring to an odd member of our family but did you ever wonder why? Martin explained that in sheep, it's a genetic effect where a recessive gene manifests itself. He showed us the difference between white and black wool, and explained the black wool is inferior and lesser value because it can't be dyed. I've used the expression before and had no idea of its origin!


As informative as Martin was, it was Jack that stole the show. As soon as Martin released him, he was ready to work. Take a look at his skill and determination. There's a reason he's one of the top 3 sheepdogs in all of Ireland.

Jack never took his eyes off the sheep

The most noteworthy feature of the sheep would have to be the spray paint on them. These markings are for the farmer to identify which sheep belong to him. They are also used during the lambing season and to identify any problem the sheep may have. With 300 sheep roaming around, it helped Martin to have an 'F' on them to distinguish between his sheep and his neighbours. As my cousin Kristopher said, that's a whole lot of F-ewe's in the field!

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the sheep farm. It was certainly one of the highlights of my trip. Stay tuned for my whisky experience...




**If you get a chance, give the Canadian band Sheepdogs a listen. Their song, "I Don't Know" is pretty good.

~MT