Wine World

Drinks World Cool cocktails with great gin

Mairead Robinson suggests some delicious tipples to enjoy in 2023

I have written about the growth of the Irish gin industry several times over the last few years. And it certainly shows no sign of stopping, or indeed of slowing down. There are now sixty-eight distilleries currently in operation in Ireland.

Some of them are of exceptionally high quality, using locally sourced botanicals and distilled in traditional copper pots. One of those is the lovely Silks dry gin which was conceived just last year by Sally-Anne and Marie Cooney from the family-owned Boann distillery in Meath after they captured thousands of bees on a neighbour’s farm-gate. The mum-anddaughter beekeepers have the swarm to thank for producing honey and pollinating the family’s apple trees – two of the key ingredients used in the gin. The fourteen distinct botanicals used in their gin are steeped for a day before distillation in their copper pot still resulting in a fresh, bright and balanced gin.

Silks Irish Dry Gin is available to purchase online from Boann Distillery website, www.boanndistillery.ie and is available for domestic and international delivery. It retails for €39.95 for 700ml. Silks won best gin at this year’s Irish Whiskey Awards, quite an achievement for such a new gin. It is a floral contemporary spirit distilled by hand in small batches. Definitely one of the best new gins available on the market, and great for cocktails. See recipes below.

Now if you ever fancied actually making your own gin, how about attending a gin school where you can learn and experiment and have a lot of fun at the same time? This is something definitely on my bucket list! Listoke distillery in Co. Louth, as well as making some fantastic gins, also run a gin school. Listoke 1777 Irish gin has been on the market since early 2017 and has won many awards, including Best European Gin, during that time. They also distil a pink gin - one of my favourites – with Cacao and Raspberry, and they even make a Chilli and Chocolate gin! They run a subscription club every two months where you receive a completely new gin along with the pour and an Irish gift. Their Wise Owl Irish whiskey has already won two gold and one silver award since its launch late 2021. So back to the gin school – although primarily a gin distillery, Listoke were also the first to open a gin school in Ireland. It sounds to me like a great experience where you go to the distillery and have gin and tonics as well as locally produced salami and cheeses and during the three hour event you get to make a bespoke bottle of gin to bring home with you. Some people bring specific botanicals that they want to use as well as the 40+ botanicals that Listoke have available. You can learn more about this and about the gin itself on line at www.listokedistillery.ie Listoke gin is available in Supervalu, Dunnes and some independents.

A few years ago I got a Christmas present of a bottle of Method and Madness Gin from someone who knew that gin was my favourite spirit. It soon became my go-to gin when I was making martinis. It is distilled in a micro distillery in Midleton Co. Cork –home of the celebrated Jameson – and while most distilleries move from gin to whiskey, Method and Madness gin had a different journey. After much exploration and small batch distillations in the micro distillery, 16 botanicals including black lemon and

Irish gorse flower resulted in a gin filled with character and flavour. Lemon balm, ginger and finally roasted spice – make it a great martini choice, just added a splash of dry vermouth, and a Greek olive or slice of lemon. Serve shaken or stirred!

Listoke 1777 should be enjoyed with a piece of orange and a premium tonic. Listoke Cacao & Raspberry gin is best enjoyed with a cube of ice, premium tonic, a slice of lime and some fresh raspberries.

Historically gin was a juniper forward spirit, however according to Bronagh Conlon, Managing Director of Listoke “with the current ‘gin craze’ New World gins are more spicy, floral or citrus than previously. Our Dalkey gin has Dillisk and sea salt added to bring in notes of the sea, whereas our chilli chocolate gin has an amazing taste of bitterness of the cacao with a lovely heated warmth from the chilli. The excitement of the gin school brings these new world gins to a new high with spices and herbs taking front stage. There are many Irish gins available now, and each one has its unique flavours, to try them all is the challenge!”

I couldn’t agree more! Check out these great cocktail ideas from Silks:

Silks apple bee

2 parts Silks Irish Dry Gin 1 part lemon 1 part apple juice

1 part honey

Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice and garnish with an ice apple slice and a sage leaf. 1 part lemon juice Prosecco to top up Lemon peel to garnish. Shake first three ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour into champagne flutes and top up with chilled Prosecco.

Finally a good gin and tonic

1 part Irish Dry Gin 3 parts Elderflower tonic Ice cubes Your favourite garnish – apple, cucumber, lime, juniper berries etc.

And of course, a cocktail should always include good company to enjoy.

Cheers!

Silks elderflower gin fizz 2 parts Silks Irish Dry Gin 1 part elderflower liqueur

Claire Roche Singer/Harpist

Claire would like to invite you and your friends to a private concert in her home in Blackrock, Co.Dublin.

Afternoon tea concerts or evening concerts with wine and finger foods available too .

You can also stay for B & B . Please tell your friends about her next performance in Dublin which was postponed last year due to Covid :

The John Field Room, National Concert Hall, Dublin.

Friday April 28th at 1.05 pm.

For a short video of Claire’s house see:aboutwoodford.com Claire will sing, accompanied by her harps, well loved Irish songs including The Spinning Wheel and Danny Boy etc.

Alternatively Claire can travel countrywide to perform in your home or public space.

You can hear and see Claire perform on clairerochemusic.com. Included in her programme will be her settings of W.B Yeats set to music with harp accompaniment, and Claire’s original songs inspired by her childhood home which was once a miniature farm .

Children in Ukraine bear the heaviest burden as winter falls

Destroyed infrastructure and freezing weather has left Ukraine’s children facing an uncertain future.

War is inflicting staggering harm on Ukraine’s children and their families. Many survivors of the violence are enduring unthinkable injuries and psychological trauma. Some have lost their sight, their hearing, or limbs.

But even for girls and boys who have escaped the physical harm of shelling, the losses are deep and lasting: Loss of education. Of critical care. Of a place to grow up safe, happy and healthy.

Now, as the biting winds and sub-zero temperatures of winter have taken hold, Ukraine’s children confront new threats to their well-being. They are in desperate need of protection and shelter.

In the northern city of Chernihiv in the months before winter set in, Olena (pictured here) wonders how she and her son Misha, aged 9, will cope as temperatures plunge.

“I’m so upset because my house and school are destroyed,” Misha, says. Many of the buildings in their neighbourhood have been reduced to rubble.

Olena has been clearing away the debris of her damaged home, attempting to make it habitable.

“We’re trying to fix it as much as possible, but winter is coming,” she says. “Gas is expensive, and we need the heating.”

Olena uses pieces of plastic over the gaping holes left by bombardments. Her fears of gas shortages and power outages are shared by countless Ukrainian families. Across Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have lost power as explosive weapons have taken a devastating toll on the country’s infrastructure. Many homes lack water and electricity, and are dangerously damp and cold.

Now in the midst of winter, millions of Ukrainians remain displaced from their homes. Children have been forced to leave loved ones and treasured belongings. They face an unthinkable future.

Every day, this war compounds the devastating impact on children – in Ukraine, and across the world.

In the months running up to Christmas, attacks on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine had left almost every child in Ukraine – nearly seven million children – without sustained access to electricity, heating and water, putting them at increased risks as temperatures continued to drop and winter deepened.

Without electricity, children not only face extreme cold – winter temperatures can drop below -20°C in Ukraine – but they are also unable to continue the online learning opportunities which is often their only access to education with so many schools damaged or destroyed. Additionally, health facilities are often unable to provide critical services, and malfunctioning water systems raise the already extremely high risks of pneumonia, seasonal influenza, waterborne diseases and COVID-19.

The harsh winter, combined with a loss of income and the energy and socioeconomic crisis triggered by the war are devastating to the well-being of children and families. Families’ incomes, and access to services have been decimated by the destruction of infrastructure in the almost 12 months since the war escalated. The situation is especially acute for the 1.2 million children who are currently displaced within Ukraine.

The bleak winter has also likely worsened the psychosocial situation for these and other children, who are already facing a looming mental health crisis, with a total of 1.5 million children estimated to be at risk of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorders and other mental conditions. And the impact on children’s access to education is just the latest disruption after the early end of the previous school year and disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

© UNICEF/Ukraine, 2022/Ibarra Sánchez

© UNICEF/Ukraine,2022/Ibarra Sánche

This is Veronika, aged 9, whose house was also reduced to a pile of rubble during shelling early in the war.

“I really miss my home, my house,” Veronika says. “I miss school. I want to go there, but we can’t because there are always air-raid sirens.”

For now, the family is living in temporary accommodation for internally displaced people supported by UNICEF and other organisations. They had to demolish what was left of their home so they could start to rebuild.

“We have some bricks left. We have some wood left,” Veronika’s mother, Tetiana, says. “But it’s not enough to rebuild the house.”

Despite the onset of winter, Tetiana and her family persist. “The children and I are already tired, but we handle it,” she says.

How is Unicef helping?

As Ukraine’s families, like Misha and Veronika’s, try to piece back together their shattered lives, UNICEF teams are working on the ground with partners to support them during the winter. In addition to providing much-needed winter items, such as clothing, boots and blankets, UNICEF is extending child-care services and life-saving cash transfers to particularly vulnerable families, while supporting schools and hospitals with generators and heating.

These life-saving supplies are being distributed in areas that have been impacted by the conflict, including the frontline and newly accessible areas of Kharkiv, Kherson, and Donetsk regions. UNICEF is continuing to work to get access to more and more areas of the country, so that every child can get the humanitarian supplies they need.

We want to thank the tens of thousands of people across Ireland, for their extraordinary solidarity and overwhelming support since the war broke out. UNICEF relies entirely on the support of the public and partners. We will continue to be there to support the children of Ukraine through the war and beyond to help rebuild their lives and leave a lasting legacy.

We thank you for what you make possible.

Learn more on how you can support - www.unicef.ie/legacy

© UNICEF/UN0749009/Holerga

Rewrite a child’s future

with a Legacy Gift in your Will.

Pauline Murphy | Legacy Gifts Manager pauline@unicef.ie +353 1 878 3000

Registered office: 33 Lower Ormond Quay, Dublin 1 Registered Charity No: 20008727 | Revenue CHY No: 5616