Christmas at the Hearnden's

It's been a lovely festive season, quite extended with our Christmas Day on 28th. It all began with Hubby birthday on the 21st with a lovely sharing meal at Miller and Carter. The table was full of dishes (we needed a bigger on really) with steak, lamb and chicken taking centre place ... paired with a delicious Argentinian Malbec.

It has been and exciting time for us as Hubby bought a new car. Unbelievably we'd had our BMW Gran Tourer for 8 years, Hubby bought it when he retired. We both loved our 7 seater and have had many driving holidays in it through France and Germany but it was showing its age and we did worry expensive repairs may be looming. 

After trying a few BMW options we chose a X1, it's similar but different to our old car and is definitely lighter to drive. We no longer need 7 seats but wanted to make sure the boot was still big enough for our travels .... it's huge. 

Christmas Day was just the two of us as our grown up children spent the day with their other half's families. We had a lovely day starting with a glass or two of Buck's Fizz before a walk to our social club where we met up with my stepdad fir a Christmas drink.

It was very strange to lay the table for just two. In previous years we've had as many as 13 and had to bring the table in from the garden. 

We had a bottle of Louis Delaney champagne with our salmon starter followed by a superb bottle of White Castle Regent with our turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

Being just us there was no rush, it was almost dark by the time we had dinner which made it quite festive with the lights and candles lit.

Too full to eat any more straight away so our Christmas pudding was enjoyed later in the evening with a glass of Blandy's Clarence Maderia wine.

All in all a lovely Christmas Day followed by a chilled Boxing Day with our son and girlfriend.

Saturday was a food shopping day ready for our family buffet on 28th, the best bit of this was my doughnut treat accompanied by a chocolate Irish Coffee made with Jameson's Stout Edition and Mozart Chocolate Liqueur.

Our Hearnden Christmas on the 28th was superb, time together enjoying sharing gifts, eating a delicious buffet and a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. 

Thanks to my lovely Hubby and amazing family for making Christmas 2025 very special.

Jamesons Bow Street

On my actual birthday it was a treat was a visit to Jamesons Whiskey Bow Street in Dublin. We didn't know much or really like whisky until we visited Scotland and although I have enjoyed a James whiskey I didn't really know much about it.

I didn't realise until our visit is that Jameson Whiskey is actually made at Midleton Distillery in Co. Cork. So what is Bow Street in Dublin?

Bow Street was the original distillery started in 1780 by John Jameson. It was a complete industry including all trades needed in the whiskey production; cooperage, saw mills, engineers, carpenters, smithy were all needed as well as brewers and distillers. 

The barrel men were key to keeping the industry working and in the late 1920s became the symbol of Jameson. Since then there has always been a barrelman embossed on the bottom of each bottle.

Bow Street is now an amazing space that celebrates, informs and shares the love of whiskey. The bar is a huge space with fantastic beams and stone floors, the bottle chandeliers were amazing.

Although not a working distillery Bow Street is a superb experience, very informative led by our knowledgeable guide. Starting with the choice of two cocktails or a neat dram we discovered about how Jameson started, the hard work, the struggles during the famine and how the company survived to become an icon of Irish Whiskey.

The darkened whiskey room was very stylish with displays set up for everyone to have a dedicated learning table. As our guide explained how whiskey is made each section lit up highlighting the ingredients or process. It was a very inclusive way of explaining quite a complex process.

Our final room was the tasting room where each place was set with three whiskey drams. Our guide explained how each whiskey was different and how that is achieved using varying barrels and conditions.

What a superb experience, even if it wasn't in a working distillery. With plenty of time before our dinner reservation we settled into comfy seats in the bar, why wouldn't you!

I really enjoy a Guinness and stout beers and Hubby likes IPA so we chose whiskeys made using those barrels.

Jameson Stout Edition is triple distilled and finished in stout beer barrels giving a nose of fields and apples followed by flavours of orchard fruits with a hint of nutty chocolate on the lovely long finish.

Jameson IPA Edition is also triple distilled and finished in beer barrels but this time using Irish Pale Ale barrels to give a happy finish to the whiskey. There's plenty of citrus, a hint of heroines and a slight woody finish.

We enjoyed both whiskeys but didn't buy either in the Jameson store, simply because they are cheaper here in the UK, maybe the Bow Street prices are good for the American visitors who might not be able to buy at home. We will be buying both these whiskeys once there is space in our drinks cabinet!

A great afternoon on my special day and what better way to finish our experience than an Irish Coffee. I'm a huge coffee fan and really enjoy a well made hot coffee cocktail. This one was pure indulgence made with whiskey, chocolate liqueur, house-made stout liqueur, coffee and smooth cream ... the best Irish Coffee ever.

Thank you Hubby and Jameson Bow Street for a super whiskey experience on my 60th birthday, one to remember ... Sláinte !

Searson's Whiskey Bar

We had great fun in Dublin learning a bit more about Irish whiskeys and no more so than at Searson's, a beautiful whiskey bar just steps away from our hotel.

We called in on our first evening in Dublin, unfortunately we didn't have the chance to visit again but it is high on my revisit list if we ever return to the city.

Everyone was so welcoming, our saying we were interested in trying the whiskey was immediately met with seats at the bar in front of the very impressive whiskey bar. There was so much to see, I loved the small Snug and stills up high on the shelves whoses names matched the whiskey flights.

The bar staff knew all about each whiskey and after much deliberation as there was so much choice we decided on Lisa's Flight: Knappogue Castle, Writers Tears and W. D. O'C°nnell Bill Phil

The Whiskey Menu book was a little overwhelming with so so many choices of varying prices, some very expensive. I was very very honoured when the bar man gave me the huge whiskey bible to read, so much to learn as there are many many more Irish whiskeys than we see on our UK shelves.

Focusing on our Lisa's Flight we studied each whiskey, looking at where it was from as well as it's taste and flavours. It was so so interesting and surprising at how they differed yet had similarities too. 

Knappogue Castle 12 year old - triple distilled in pot stills and aged in bourbon oak for 12 years, 

Writers Tears Cask Strength - 53%alc from bottle 0701 of 2500, maturation in bourbon oak casks from single pot stills gives pear, apple flavours with honey and spice notes

W.D. O'Connell Bill Phil - limited production from County Waterford and County Louth, lightly smokey with citrus and malted biscuit flavours

It was great fun trying such different and new whiskeys, I found the cask strength too strong and surprisingly liked the smokey whiskey best. We studied the whiskey menu a little more and decided to try whiskey that we would maybe bring home, it's super to try expensive whiskey but we would probably never buy them to drink. 

Hubby chose Powers Gold Label made by Midleton Distillery, the same whiskey group as Jameson. Midleton Distillery seemed similar to Macallan with the Searson's bar having Midleton whiskey of each year on their very top shelf. 

I chose Paddy, again made by Midleton Distillery. I really enjoyed this and so we did bring a bottle of Paddy home.

We had a great time at Searson's Whiskey Bar, as I said we wish we had had time to visit again. There's something comforting and quite relaxing about drinking whiskey in a wood lined bar looking at rows and rows of great bottles of the amber liquid, it is certainly a sit back and enjoy spirit ... and we do!

Turning 60 in Dublin

A special birthday to celebrate with a trip to Dublin, somewhere we've have not visited before. Sailing on Irish Ferries Ulysses from Holyhead we enjoyed priority boarding as part of our Club Class booking. 

Our crossing had a little swaying but it didn't prevent us enjoying Club Class food and drink whilst relaxing in the lounge on the top deck with great views .... or would be on a non-rainy day.

Dublin was very busy as we arrived during rush hour but we found our hotel's car park and soon checked in. Pembroke Townhouse is a Georgian style hotel; our room on the 6th floor was cleverly decorated in keeping with the era. It was a very comfy room and although no tea/coffee in our room it was freely available in the beautifully designed lounge.

In search of dinner we strolled along the canal to Wetherspoons Keavan's Port which although had a small frontage was huge inside with so many rooms and different levels. 

Strolling back we stopped by Searson's whiskey bar, an absolute delight with wooden panelling and shelves upon shelves of whiskey.

I will be writing a separate blog about the whiskeys as we had a flight and a couple of others. The bar staff were fantastic sharing lots of knowledge, they even let me read the huge whiskey bible.

A great start to our holiday in Ireland was followed by the big 60 finally arriving ... I do like to spread my celebrations. After a delicious breakfast we took the bus into Dublin city centre. 

Our first stop was the famous Temple Bar, what a lively place even at 11am. I can imagine evenings are great fun as the atmosphere with the live band was brilliant, the Guinness was good too.

Dublin was very different to how I'd imagined. It didn't have many old buildings but lots of concrete block buildings that were amazing places inside. The traffic lights and road systems seemed very European and I was very surprised at how much graffiti there was. It was expensive to visit anywhere; the castle, Cathedral and museums so we didn't. We did find Molly Malone before wandering our way to Jamesons.

The tour and tasting at Jamesons was very good, lots of information and a chance to try various styles of whiskey. I will be writing a dedicated Jamesons blog post.

For my birthday dinner we went to PHX Bistro which lies along the River Liffey held within its concrete banks. Our meal was delicious, the restaurant had a mix of Italian French Spanish vibes which reiterated our European feelings. I had a lovely surprise at the end too.

I had a super birthday but our trip wasn't over as the following day we returned to Dublin centre to visit the Guinness Storehouse. What an experience over numerous floors finishing in the rooftop Gravity Bar with a pint or two. Again I will write a dedicated post as there was so much to see.

Our final experience in Dublin was discovering a new whiskey, Roe & Co. Owned by Diageo who also own Guinness this distillery is fairly new in the whiskey world.

It was great to see the stills and although we didn't take a tour the young lady who served our flight gave us lots of information about each whiskey and the company. Our flight was Roe & Co 106 with orchard fruits flavours with a touch of vanilla and soft spice: Roe & Co Solera Single Malt with plenty of caramel, fruit and nuts: and Roe & Co Flor Single Grain 14 Year Old which was the strongest of the three with tropical flavours and grassy notes. My favourite of the three as the 106 but all three were delicious.

It was a great way to end our few days in Dublin, as mentioned I will be writing about Searson's, Jamesons and Guinness. Our blog and our visit does seem whiskey/beer focused but Dublin didn't offer beautiful buildings or lovely views, unless we missed it, all we noticed was lots of concrete, graffiti and many many busses. We had a lovely lovely time but I don't think Dublin is a place we'll visit again. 

I will be writing about our trip to Waterford the home of Crystal glass. I'll end with a huge thank you to my super Hubby and Dublin for a great 60th birthday, all said it was a great way to celebrate turning another decade.