Page 29 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - Ireland

The Flavours of Ireland 27

Above Market in Moore Street, Dublin Above centre A perfect pint of Guinness Above right Platter of oysters Above far right Irish stew, the national dish
Irish Cheeses is brewed in Dublin, because the The Irish Pub
Cheese-making is a centuries-old art taste and texture of this dark, heavy
in Ireland, dating back to the time of beer, also known as “stout” is affected The archetypal Irish pub is noted
the monasteries. Today, several by how it is stored. A perfect pint is for its friendly locals, genial staff
dozen farmhouse-made cheeses are poured slowly and topped with a and the craic (pronounced “crack”,
produced as local specialities, and thick, creamy head. Other good Irish an Irish term for good times). Irish
are well worth sampling. There are stouts are Beamish and the slightly pubs date back to medieval
just two blue cheeses produced in milder Murphy’s. Ales, made with taverns, coaching inns and the
Ireland. Cashel Blue is a semi-soft, malted barley, are also very popular. shebeens, illegal drinking dens, that
medium-strength unpasteurized The best-selling brand is Smithwick’s, flourished under colo nial rule.
cow’s milk cheese with a creamy produced at Ireland’s oldest brewery, In the Victorian era, brewing and
texture. Its sister cheese is Crozier in Kilkenny. In pubs, be sure to try the distilling were major industries.
Blue, made from pasteurized sheep’s excellent “real ales” that are produced The sumptuous interiors of some
city pubs are testament to these
milk, as delicious young and crumbly by local micro-breweries. times, furnished with mahogany
as it is when mature and creamy. and marble bar counters. Snugs,
Both are from Tipperary. Durrus is a Irish Whiskey or partitioned-off booths, are
round, semi-soft raw milk cheese Whiskey has been made in Ireland another typical feature of Irish
with a coral-coloured washed rind, since at least the 12th century. The pubs. Some rural pubs double
produced on the Sheep’s Head first commercial distillery, Kilbeggan, as the village grocer’s shop.
Peninsula. Milleens is a similar style of was founded in 1757, and there are The best pubs are not evenly
cheese from the Beara Peninsula, as currently around fifteen other distributed throughout Ireland.
is Gubbeen, from Schull on Mizen distilleries in operation, the most In the southeast, Kilkenny is
Head. Another washed-rind cheese, well known being Bushmills and awash with great pubs, while
with a rich, earthy flavour, Ardrahan Cooley. Several working and former Cork and Kerry possess some of
comes from inland County Cork. distilleries offer tours that explain the the most picturesque. The Lower
Corleggy is a hard goat’s milk cheese Irish triple-distillation process. Irish Shannon region is noted for its
made in County Cavan. The same whiskey is matured in wooden casks boisterous pubs, especially in
producers make Quivvy, a soft goat’s for at least seven years, giving it a County Clare where spontaneous
milk cheese preserved in olive oil. distinctive flavour. music sessions are common. The
West has an abundance of typical
Stouts and Ales Below far left Traditional Irish bar Below pubs, and the many tourists and
Guinness is Ireland’s most famous left Temple Bar, Dublin Below centre Dublin students guarantee a profusion
drink, and many believe that it tastes coddle Below right Irish coffee pudding of good ones in Galway.
best on home soil, close to where it Below far right High-quality Galway salmon

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