This one will be last post on the holidays, I promise...
So after our good fun at the Giant's Causeway, we headed back to the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery for a tour. I've been there quite a few times at this point, so i could practically give the tour at this point! American Bourbon once distilled (new casks each time), Scottich whisky twice distilled (in general) and Irish Whiskey distilled three times which makes it better. The Scots dry their grains over peat fires giving the smoky, peaty taste; while the Irish dry theirs over dry air, flavouring the whiskey less....
Still it was G's first time there, so it was fun to see his reactions. He had been well drilled by Mum & I in how to get picked for the tasting at the end of the tour. As there were so few people on the tour they only selected two volunteers, but he had no problem getting chosen.
So thanks to that, he's now a Qualified Whiskey Taster!
It was the last tour of the day so we couldn't let him hang around for too long sipping the whiskies! It was into the shop and time to buy a few pressies - not sure if this next photo reflects how he was feeling or Mum's picture taking skills!!!
After the distillery we were ready for dinner, but there was one more stop along the way. We headed over the Ballintoy harbour, which has some gorgeous houses over-looking one of the most picturesque spots in the whole of Ireland (IMHO). It's really hard to describe, so I'll fall back on words from this website:
During the late nineteenth century the harbour was extensively used for the shipping of sett stones - a small rail track once existed for moving the piles of sett stones and limestone to the quayside. At Brockie Quarry near Larry Bane over one hundred men were employed chipping and shaping sett stones that went to pave the streets of cities such as Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Limerick and Glasgow. The well built lime kiln stands as a testament to the harbour's industrial past - burnt lime would have been drawn away by horse and cart to help build the numerous stone cottage and rural halls in the district. Ballintoy is still a working harbour for local fishermen who continue a tradition that goes back to when man first arrived, it naturally produces good boatmen due to the dangerous waters which they and their father's have come to understand, respect and work upon - the large boat cave to the right of the car park would have been used to repair, lay over and build boats inside. Though the scores of basalt islands act to shelter the harbour from prevailing storms, it can still on occasions get battered - for me it is one of the best and most awesome location to watch a full blown Atlantic storm from - I have seen waves riding up the armour walling and washing the footpath at the left hand side of O'Rourke's Kitchen. The area of rocks nearer White Park Bay and overlooked by Dundriff is known locally as the Park End - this spot can pick up some of the biggest swell waves along the north coast.
Sunset over Ballintoy...
One of the more unusual houses overlooking the harbour is called Bendhu and has to be seen to be believed - an unusual construction in concrete, painted white so that it stands out from the surroundings....
We finished the day celebrating in style at the Cellar restaurant in Ballycastle, a little gem that Mum & I found by accident one evening. They do some of the best seafood around. The seafood platter that i had for starter was bigger than the main course that i had at Johnnie Foxes earlier in the week and was swimming in gorgeous garlic butter! And for a main course, what else but the Rathlin Surf 'n' Turf - 3 small fillet steaks, beautifully pink, and half a lobster on the side! They are one of the few places that will cater to Mum's allergy to dairy as well, they will always find a way to cook her stuff without butter! So with buttons at our waist undone we rolled back to the car for the journey home...
So after our good fun at the Giant's Causeway, we headed back to the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery for a tour. I've been there quite a few times at this point, so i could practically give the tour at this point! American Bourbon once distilled (new casks each time), Scottich whisky twice distilled (in general) and Irish Whiskey distilled three times which makes it better. The Scots dry their grains over peat fires giving the smoky, peaty taste; while the Irish dry theirs over dry air, flavouring the whiskey less....
Still it was G's first time there, so it was fun to see his reactions. He had been well drilled by Mum & I in how to get picked for the tasting at the end of the tour. As there were so few people on the tour they only selected two volunteers, but he had no problem getting chosen.
So thanks to that, he's now a Qualified Whiskey Taster!
It was the last tour of the day so we couldn't let him hang around for too long sipping the whiskies! It was into the shop and time to buy a few pressies - not sure if this next photo reflects how he was feeling or Mum's picture taking skills!!!
After the distillery we were ready for dinner, but there was one more stop along the way. We headed over the Ballintoy harbour, which has some gorgeous houses over-looking one of the most picturesque spots in the whole of Ireland (IMHO). It's really hard to describe, so I'll fall back on words from this website:
During the late nineteenth century the harbour was extensively used for the shipping of sett stones - a small rail track once existed for moving the piles of sett stones and limestone to the quayside. At Brockie Quarry near Larry Bane over one hundred men were employed chipping and shaping sett stones that went to pave the streets of cities such as Dublin, Cork, Wexford, Limerick and Glasgow. The well built lime kiln stands as a testament to the harbour's industrial past - burnt lime would have been drawn away by horse and cart to help build the numerous stone cottage and rural halls in the district. Ballintoy is still a working harbour for local fishermen who continue a tradition that goes back to when man first arrived, it naturally produces good boatmen due to the dangerous waters which they and their father's have come to understand, respect and work upon - the large boat cave to the right of the car park would have been used to repair, lay over and build boats inside. Though the scores of basalt islands act to shelter the harbour from prevailing storms, it can still on occasions get battered - for me it is one of the best and most awesome location to watch a full blown Atlantic storm from - I have seen waves riding up the armour walling and washing the footpath at the left hand side of O'Rourke's Kitchen. The area of rocks nearer White Park Bay and overlooked by Dundriff is known locally as the Park End - this spot can pick up some of the biggest swell waves along the north coast.
Sunset over Ballintoy...
One of the more unusual houses overlooking the harbour is called Bendhu and has to be seen to be believed - an unusual construction in concrete, painted white so that it stands out from the surroundings....
We finished the day celebrating in style at the Cellar restaurant in Ballycastle, a little gem that Mum & I found by accident one evening. They do some of the best seafood around. The seafood platter that i had for starter was bigger than the main course that i had at Johnnie Foxes earlier in the week and was swimming in gorgeous garlic butter! And for a main course, what else but the Rathlin Surf 'n' Turf - 3 small fillet steaks, beautifully pink, and half a lobster on the side! They are one of the few places that will cater to Mum's allergy to dairy as well, they will always find a way to cook her stuff without butter! So with buttons at our waist undone we rolled back to the car for the journey home...
posted by ellybabes at 10/19/2005 05:59:00 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home