Weekend break: Co Antrim
With all the fervent activity in the spirits market in Ireland with new gins and whiskies being launched every week, it is easy to forget about the older players.
So I jumped at the chance to spend a couple of days on the North Antrim coast visiting Bushmills, Ireland’s oldest distillery.
The fact that Bushmills is located in one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland was hardly a discouragement.
Bushmills Distillery imprints the date 1608 on many of its bottles which is actually the date when a licence to distil was granted to the Governor of County Antrim.
While distilling was happening in the area since at least the 13th century the Old Bushmills distillery itself was registered in 1784.
Bushmills has always been one of the world’s great whiskey brands but in recent years it has perhaps not been as prominent.
Thankfully the new owners José Cuervo (since 2014) have big plans for expansion and upgrading of the distillery and the old lady seems to be in great hands. I am expecting good things in the coming years.
Bushmills differs to other distillers here somewhat as every part of the process is managed on site. It is exhilarating to walk the process of distillation and literally stick your head into the mash tuns and get up close to the fermentation vessels.
Bushmills also employs two full-time coopers on site (a father and son team) as it is in the sherry, port and bourbon barrels that the magic happens.
Walking through the cathedral like room where the whiskey ages is a akin to a religious experience.
Tasting the range you are struck by the smoothness of the house style.
These are triple-distilled un-peated whiskies but made from only from malted barley (unlike in Midleton and elsewhere in Ireland where green un-malted barley is often part of the mix).
Later that evening in the nearby (four star) Bushmills Inn we tasted the range once more with matching food in the company of whiskey writer and chef Seaneen Sullivan and Bushmills Master Distiller Colum Egan.
Black Bush matched surprisingly well with a coconut and chocolate marshmallow, while buttery banana and lemon curd pastry worked well with the 10 Year old Single Malt.
Perhaps the best match of all was a ham and cheese toastie - a good tip for the next time you order a toasted special in your local.
The Bushmills Inn itself feels like it has been around as long as the distillery.
There was always an inn here they say and although the current building was fully restored and rebuilt in the 1980s it does feel like it dates at least in part from the 1680s with warm turf fires, thick walls and bare beams in the relatively spacious bedrooms.
For dinner that evening at the Inn I ate good local fillet beef served with smoked bone-marrow mash and duck liver parfait but could also have chosen Greencastle Trout or local Venison.
I washed my Cranachan dessert down with some of the 16 year old Bushmills which is finished in Port cask and is probably my favourite in the range.
Food in Northern Ireland has come a long way in the past decade but for breakfast the next morning I had to try the traditional Ulster Fry (over the likes of smoked salmon or Eggs Benedict).
I was glad I did thanks to some tasty soda farls and well-sourced sausages and black pudding.
The peace process has brought about a new-found confidence at all levels of Northern Ireland life and this has also helped transform the food culture.
There are now raw milk cheeses (Young Buck), amazing meats (from Kettyle and Hannon Meats) and Michelin starred restaurants in Belfast (Ox and Eipic), but throughout the province you will find standards have jumped.
In North Antrim of course there is Harrys Shack in Portstewart which you have probably heard about, but even the modest menu at the Ramore Wine Bar in Portrush proved a delight with excellent Salt-Chilli-Prawns and perfectly executed beer batter fish and double-fried chips.
Other spots to watch for include Warkes Deli on the harbour in Portstewart as well as the Lacada Brewery (community owned) plus Tartine in Bushmills village, while Ursa Minor Bakery and café in Ballycastle makes outstanding sour-dough bread.
Also in Ballycastle you should visit Mortons for spanking fresh fish and chips (they have their own fishing boat) and Ballycastle also has the Glens of Antrim Brewery – their Rathlin Island red ale is particularly good.
Desserts in this largely Protestant part of Ulster inevitably will often take inspiration from the local Tray Bake tradition.
This means Millionaire Shortbread, Caramel Slices and don’t forget Fifteens, a mélange of digestive biscuits, marshmallows, glacé cherries and coconut all held together with golden syrup.
I can vouch that a slab of Fifteen and a cup of strong coffee at around midday will finally rid your system of the previous evening’s whiskey.
I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I’m in my 40s and until this trip I had yet to visit the Giant’s Causeway (admission £9).
It really is a magical place, not just for the unusual geological formations but for the views of the coastline and over to Scotland which is clearly visible, even on a misty day.
Our guide gave us a very entertaining talk filled with the tallest of tall tales about the giant Finn McCool and I will be going back.
Game of Thrones shooting locations was the other attraction in the area for me and I did manage to squeeze in a couple of sites such as the Dark Hedges road and the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, which was first erected by fishermen in 1755 to provide access from the mainland to a tiny island off the coast.
A walk across is a must but not for the faint hearted, although you are not likely to fall off unless you are a member of the Greyjoy family and heir to the Iron Islands (cf. Game of Thrones series six, episode two)
Other spots I didn’t get to visit include Dunluce Castle which hangs from a cliff (or what is left of it does) and nor did I do any of the spectacular cliff walks.
At least I have my bottle of 16 Year Old Single Malt to keep me going.
www.bushmills.com
www.bushmillsinn.com
www.giantscausewayofficialguide.com
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/carrick-a-rede
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