For those of you who weren’t fortunate enough to make it to the second reprisal of the Dublin Cocktail Festival this past week, here is a run down. Running from October 12-17th, it included 36 bars from around the city, each with their own signature cocktail to be voted on, providing the winning bar with enough bragging rights for the rest of the year. Visiting multiple bars in a single night, and continuing on the next night, proved a bigger challenge than I had anticipated, but acting as a connoisseur of cocktails for a week is not an opportunity to pass by.
When attempting to take on the cocktail festival it is imperative to your success to both bring along a friend for moral support (and monetary, when willing) and to set about preparing an official route. The festival provides each participating bar with a leaflet explaining the drink that they are promoting, and a map of the other bars colour-coded by neighbourhood. I found it best at the start of the night to plan out the two or three bars I was intending to attend based on proximity, price, and average age group. Proximity to each other is key when trying to go to several bars in one night as the closer they are together the easier the walk (or stumble) to the next is. The average price for the cocktail festival is around eight euro, including thirty percent discount from the five euro festival wristband, which is crucial if you’re planning to go out for multiple nights. If forced to go in smaller groups, it’s easiest to assimilate into a space where the majority of the patrons are of similar age.
With a week of barhopping now under my belt—and the hangovers to prove it—I feel confident in saying my favorite drink was the Diablo Blanca Burracha (The Drunken White Devil) from 777, made with Bán Poitín, Kamm & Sons and several homemade ingredients such as their ginger beer, daily fresh squeezed lime juice and garnished with a ginger crisp. The initial taste is tart from the lime juice followed by a tingling sensation from the ginger beer made with freshly peeled ginger, jalapeños and sugar. The ginger crisp is extremely spicy but if you can take the heat it is not to be missed. While easily the most interesting drink I tasted during the week, the staff at 777 were unfriendly, instantly making me feel unwelcome in the space and the bartender, though helpful, gave us the wrong bill which added to an uncomfortable experience.
Due to the narrowed parameters of this year’s festival to Irish-only spirits there was an abundance of whiskey sours, many of which took a similar “spin” on the original drink such as the signature cocktail from Söder + Ko, the Sona Punsch, and the cocktail from The Exchequer, Agent Chocolate Orange. Both were fruit-flavored whiskey sours with thick creamy textures and a frothy head. While both were well balanced and tasty, more diversity amongst the drinks and more bartenders thinking outside the box would have provided a more unique and enjoyable experience.
The festival also featured multiple masterclasses throughout the week with a focus on specific Irish spirits and the best ways to pair them with other ingredients. The Whiskey Infusion class explored different means of flavoring your own spirits with fruit, spices, herbs, and even sweets. The organizer of the event, Oisin Davis, emphasized the importance of infusion as a means of speeding up service times while maintaining the complexity of cocktails. Take The Vintage Cocktail Club’s signature cocktail, Don’t Beat Around the Bush: a Bushmills whiskey infused with beetroot that was simply poured over a piece of ice. Though an infusion takes time to create, if done well, it’s a delicious cocktail in itself. While most bars have professional equipment used for infusions such as a sous vide, a bottle of Jameson filled with fruit, wrapped in cellophane and popped in the dishwasher for forty-five minutes can also get the job done. Let the mixture cool and enjoy homemade infused spirits, just be sure to ask your mum first before throwing bottles of whiskey in the dishwasher.
Congratulations to Peruke and Periwig on winning this year’s festival with their signature drink In The Navy, a syrupy concoction made from Glendalough Double Barrel, amaretto, caramel syrup and grapefruit and lime juices. Over the course of the week, the most successful drinks were those that had accomplished a balance of flavors, which can be particularly difficult when using acidic fruit juices, especially grapefruit. Peruke’s expert blending of the grapefruit’s tartness with the sweet sugariness of the caramel syrup, similar to those used for flavoring coffee, allowed for a diverse range of flavors without anyone becoming too overpowering.
Overall, the participating bars skillfully showcased Irish spirits which are often overlooked when thinking about traditional cocktails. Oisin Davis, the festival coordinator, expressed the importance of Irish bartenders who are well versed in their native alcohols and who can continually reinvent the classic Irish drink. Even though the festival has ended the map of participating bars can still be found online and it is definitely worth investing your time in holding your own exploration of Irish spirits.
Check out more cocktail snaps @tn2magazine on instagram.
