Making butter & free Connemara tasting.


 One of the pub's friends, Imen makes butter. Her name practically demands it. She makes butter from cream from the cows that live on her farm, in her off-white stand mixer wearing candy coloured aprons while dreaming of Manolos. She stamps it with her custom made butter stamp and uses it to bake the most decadent looking cakes. I desperately want her to start making it commercially, and try to convince her of this often, because I want to buy it and serve it along side the brown bread we make using Colin's mum's recipe and slathered it on top of our rib eye steaks.

To sate me recently, three weekends ago, at the inspirational gathering that was Inishfood, she taught me how to make butter. She is good that way: a teacher, a sharer (and all kinds of wonderful besides!). Not three days later, she taught the country, and the world how to make it along side the lovely Ella McSweeney on Butterlive as part of GIY week.

Michael and I made this butter last night, using wild garlic I found in Phoenix Park on Sunday and Connemara whiskey. Michael, in typical peat-head fashion kept insisting the whiskey was not prevalent enough. I, on the other hand think I have a hangover this morning from the bit of the butter I tried smeared on fresh soda bread from the oven.

I used Imen's recipe here: but let it soften slightly before adding two tablespoons of finely minced wild garlic leaves, two generous measures of Connemara whiskey and a sprinkle of salt to taste (be careful with the salt, you don't need a lot!)

Posted by Seáneen. All typos are her own.

The butter is for serving on wild garlic soda bread at the Connemara 'vertical' tasting that we are holding this evening, hosted by Cooley distillery's John Cashman. The evening starts at 7.30pm and is free, but booking is essential by emailing Michael@LMulliganGrocer.com

It is a great opportunity to try this unique Irish whiskey, and the component parts that go into making the whiskey. Is is also a once off chance to gain unique insight into Ireland's only Irish owned distillery from their Global Brand Ambassador.

Connemara Peated Whiskey Vertical Tasting.
7.30pm, 29th March 2011.
L. Mulligan. Grocer.
18 Stoneybatter, Dublin 7. 01 670 9889.