Travels to Northern Ireland,
Irish Republic and Glasgow Scotland
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| Geometric stones of Giant's Causeway. |
Just me, along with F. Scott, Joyce, other writers … us
writers have to come home. My venture home was filled with an unexpected turn
of events.
You may have noted that I appear
to gather knowledge from Bartenders, generally a classy group of people, well-educated
and read, experienced, and overall, with some exceptions, a friendly gaggle of
people. Some known to measure the pour, others not. Some prettier. Like bartenders, barbers also are a source of
advice … hair styling, golf tips, pony tips, sports, retirement planning and
taking on a new part-time job are some of the issues that come to mind. I will tell you that there are two barbers important
in my life. If you exclude the Urmey Hotel Barbershop of Miami – the Cuban barber where I grew up, he only spoke
Spanish. I always waited just for him. So like my barber Dwayne, who thru trial
and mostly error, I have learned to trust his direction …… So on a hunch that a
Scot barber might add to my knowledge. So I had my haircut in Glasgow’s Charing
Cross neighborhood and learned from my barber that I am likely an “Ulster Scot”.
Both the Hare and Maginnis side from Enniskillen and County Down of Northern
Ireland. One great grandmother from Glasgow, Scotland. It’s a good bet then, that I am a
Scot from those who moved to Ireland for many reasons, many many years ago.
That’s good info to know when you go to Ireland and Scotland.
Ferry Tree and farmer explaining the
problems created, still to this day.
Kindly note the "ties" on the tree for good luck. |
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For my trip to Cuba I took with
me The Old Man and Sea for reading. Where better to read that book. For
some reason I asked someone to autograph it as a remembrance. Well it took off
like a hurricane. Unlike my trip to
Cuba, the Irish were not at all inclined to autographing my copy of Edna O’Brien’s The Country Girls Trilogy, the Irish being much less demonstrative than
my Greek heritage. “Night and Day” might come to mind. You may recall that I
took with me to Cuba The Old Man and the Sea. The Cubans could not
autograph it fast enough. Ireland – from the Aer Lingus Stewardess, Immigration
…. all politely declined to sign the book. Oh well. I did not meet the
bartenders in Cuba that I met on this odyssey.
A trip to Ireland and Scotland by necessity will involve taste testing. To
the reader, travel to these fine cities with their superb pubs and bars, and the staff who will take delight in
assisting you – please consider this as your personal guide. To the barwomen
and barmen who guided me on this tour, a most heartfelt thanks … Steve, Mark, Staysi and the Bon Accord bearded
bartender whose name I did not capture, along with the many others …
Northern Ireland
An adventure away from Giant’s Causeway
Old Bushmills,
Bushmills, Ireland
The Bushmills Bar in the Tavern Dining Room stopover with its
tour, cafeteria, bar, and gift shop. The Irish foods were excellent and worthy
of the visit, the whiskey choices
excellent, as you could dream. I started with a Bushmill 12YO, and it was as smooth as you could wish. The
barman, touching his nose on the side,
offered me a Bushmill 16YO. Oh
so smooth. So it’s a lovely treat to journey to Bushmills as you divert from
the experience of the remarkable geometric stones of “Giant’s Causeway”, but please
make sure to tell your family the true purpose of the trip is to go to “Giants Causeway”! My date - for
the day - enjoyed her Bushmills Honey.
We enjoyed are drinks along with Guinness Steak Pie, peas, potatoes along with
Guinness Cheesecake. Did I mention peas? You'll have that a lot, love!
This was the second time
someone touched their nose in speaking to me. At Trinity College dorm
registration, the young man touched his nose and winked, when I asked if anyone
would mind if I “stole” one of the TC pens on the counter. I have to talk with
some Irish to better understand what’s behind the touching of the nose. But I
harbor a suspicion.
Belfast
“Sillies” and “top and bottom” with Mark and
Lucy.
The Merchant Hotel’s Bert’s Jazz Bar.
A unique experience in this divided city and
divided nation. Our visit to Bert’s Jazz Bar and meeting Barman Mark and
Manager Lucy Martin were only to add to the treat. Charmed by the live jazz and
the company of these hosts, my favorite girl had a Jack Rose Cocktail. Mark makes his own bitters and Grenadine. For me,
Mark recommended to start with a Green
Spot Pure Pot Still. I had that neat with a splash of water. Jazz in
the background, seated in the back of the dining room, near to the charming
Lucy, we enjoyed the evening. Later,
Mark had me try Spring Blossom
[gin, apple
juice, lemon juice, mint bitters]
which he served to me at our table – nice touch, not seen before.
A side note – sharing with our hosts a piece
from the New York Time’s on slang used
by New York’s barmen/women, the
two hosts got together and returned the favor telling me of their own jargon.
- Jigger”.
Their word for the 2 cupped measure that they ordinarily refer to as a “top and
bottom”. I like that better.
“Sillies”.
Their word for cocktails that are silly (or uncomplicated), e.g., Gin & Tonic,
Rum & Coke, etc.
The Most Bombed Hotel in Europe
The Piano Bar, Europa Hotel
This famous hotel, during the troubles was
the most bombed in all of Europe. A very refined space with two bars, overlooking the Great Victoria Street and the
more historic pubs of that street. (Aside here – need not be looking for Great
Victoria Street in the Irish Republic. Ponder that over a dram.)
That Sunday evening we were treated to Red Breast Irish Whiskey. The lady
neither a whiskey or beer drinker, enjoyed
an Irish Smile. So that evening we took in the quarters, admiring
the art piece of an HW shirt from a craftsman who built the Titanic, built by Harland
& Wolff Shipyard. You may know it as the Titanic shipbuilder... a shirt that was only recently found tucked into
a joist of the HW boat yard. Barman Michael took pains to explain the history,
the story of the shirt, and our drinks. I got quite accustomed to asking the
barman for his opinion on what to drink and the general discourse we had over
the whiskey.
History abounds in this country of friendy
people. Be prepared to be referred to as “love” quite often.
THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
It took me some time to understand which of
these two independent countries was which. Only being there did I gain a
familiarity about which was which, the dominant religion in each, where the
“troubles” started and where they may still be active? And of course murals.
Dublin
Staysi a remarkable BarWoman.
Guinness Storehouse
Once you get the picture of how large this
site is and its situation in downtown Dublin, its a short 20 minute walk from
Trinity College. If your Irish luck permits you a stay at the college.
I found a remarkable bar woman, who saved my
experience of this visit.
For – Staysi, seeing I was without a Guinness and having being told I’d
have to return back up the 5 stories to
get one, and not enjoying my experience. She went up the 5 floors to the bar
and brought one down back from the five floors . She told me,
as I surprisingly looked up, “I
did not want your experience at Guinness to be a disappointment.” [They even speak so elegantly.]
What a remarkable young woman, about whom I
have since written to her supervisor and thanked. If you see her, give her a kiss from me.
Guinness is worthy the visit for many reasons – a) It’s on the list of to do’s;
b) they have good food; c) on the 5th floor you will see a gorgeous
panoramic view of Dublin, and its
profiled cathedrals and colleges; 4) it has a really cool gift shop. Oh yes, and
you drink a Guinness.
Thank you, Staysi .
Drinking with Steve, or whatever name he’s
going by tonight.
The Brazen Head Pub
Imagine, the date on the side of the building
says 1198. That’s not a typo – 1198! Our guide this evening is Steven Wilson along
with “Writers Tears”, my
whiskey for the evening.
The Brazen Head is distinctive, charming, has live music & is
away from the touristy Temple Bar area of the City “pub”. The pub itself has a number of different rooms and
seating areas. You can visualize how it might have transitioned to growing larger
and larger over the centuries. We made it to the main bar that had live traditional
Irish music. We enjoyed that evening til closing as the music ended. What a
treat, our last night’s stay in Ireland before heading home. Or was I home?
Matching the music from these 6 men and one
woman was our guide Steven. Steven made my favorite girl a cocktail of Cuban Rum tres anos, with gingerale
and a slice of lime. Made with precision and care – sign of a true craftsman.
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| Musicians The Brazen Head Pub |
For me, as we conversed with a small group
of barmen, in a quiet back bar, after some hunting and gathering by him, Steven
presented me with a choice of 4 bottles. Naturally, I selected the Writers Tears 16 YO, Single Pot
distilled whiskey. Wonderful!
Back
story –an inside joke on the barbill is that the names are fictitious. Vileson
Stiflin was the name on the bill. He admitted to being Steve after some good
Irish humor. So if you choose to meet Steve and be guided by him, anticipate some
other name that night. Give him a touch on your nose and see if he admits to
being Steve.
GALWAY
Scallops with a “tail”.
Lohan’s Bar and Restaurant
“Lovely” as my landlady Maureen Tarpey of
Dormers B&B in Salthill would say. Waiting on us that evening was Eoin
Dempsey, George and we got to meet the lady of the house - Geraldine Lohan! We
spent the evening listening to a 3-piece Irish band and enjoyed Irish Lamb
Chops and Scallops from Galway Bay. Did I mention Galway Bay? The bay haunted
us just outside the window of the very fine establishment and on our walk back
home. Geraldine went to great effort to show us the scallops which they serve
with a “tail” on it. I can only describe it as similar to a lobster “tail”. The
tail tasted fresh from the bay. Paddy
Powers was my first for the evening.
The full moon, the River Corrib and Galway
Bay.
Il Vicolo Italian Restaurant & Bar
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| Moonlit Night River Corrib - Galway |
Yes, that is correct. Galway has an Italian
restaurant. And if you are walking around at 8:30 in the evening, you will be
hard pressed to find a restaurant serving dinner at that late hour. We really
lucked upon this very fine restaurant, with Grappa
enthusiast Rogerino “Rico”, Marsha, and owner Gerry. Our table
overlooked the river flowing into Galway Bay. It was a beautiful treat for our
last evening in Galway. Lights sparkling on the River Corrib, the sound of the river
splashing along the walls and making the turn to what at one time had been a factory using the water
power. We were there ‘til 11:00 PM enjoying our octopus, zucchini flower, linguini and chocolate mousse … drinking a
Cataratto, Nebiolo D’Alba, from Fiang d’ Avellino, the digestif Fernet Branca, and a Cocoa Averno for my date.
Scotland
Glasgow
And you pronounce it “GLASS GO”.
“Coppers” everywhere.
State Pub, Holland Street
State Pub is a coin toss from the City’s
major police station. The crowd at the pub seemed not as humorous as I had
become accustomed. After striking up the conversation our bartender Jason
steered me to Tamdhu 10YO
[Speyside], followed by Broughton Summer Ale. Interestingly they
serve this beer without gas. Nice indeed. Listening to the live music, Blues on
Tuesday’s, I took note of their bar inventory …Wild Turkey, Jim Beam Black, Canadian Club, Bombay and Sapphire gins,
Smirnoff, Drambuie, Bacardi, Disarrono, Chartreuse. Drinkers in this
city are no slackers. At the end of the evening I asked Jason –“if you weren’t
here, where would you next take a dram?” His response - enthusiastically, “The
Bon Accord”.
“A whiskey Bar!”
The Bon Accord
My most favorite because of my experience
with the bearded barman. When approached about a cocktail for my “eye candy”
that evening, his only comment to me was “it’s a whiskey bar” and turned away.
I think he is the most quoted of my barmen. Well, she had a nice wine, and for
me a Tennants. This is an
authentic Scot Pub, member of the “whiskey trail bars”, football pictures
galore, walls lined with whiskey case sides. I took note, not only here but
elsewhere – in Scotland the pours are diligently measured. In Ireland they just
eye the tipple they pour. Interesting. Maybe
that is the reason they call the jigger a “measure”.
Palomino Smokehouse
Bath Street, Charing Cross
Damien was such a great host that, although Palomino
does not classisfy in the pub definition, I wanted you to hear the story.
Damien had me try Tallisker 10YO
[Isle of
Skye], warmed glass – no water,
of course no ice. Damien took pains to demonstrate that he first warms the
whiskey glass with hot water, then dries it and only then pours the “tipple”. Charing
Cross’ Bath Street is a coming and going area; if you read any detective novels
of Scotland, you’ll bump into Charing Cross and Bath Street. Not certain if my girlfriend had 2 cocktails that
night and foregone the wine, or I made note of the names. The bar card noted a
“Meat Bar Cocktail” – yes this is called smokehouse for a reason – and
the second –“Cheaky Vimto Cocktail”
. You know I will have to research those two. But as you can tell, we found
another place to enjoy a local meal of Smoked Mozzarella pizza and a Smoked
Tasting Plate. Thanks for recommending, Jason, and thanks to Damien for the
experience.
Sláinte!
Drink – “Green Spot Pot Distilled” in a
warmed crystal old fashion glass, just a wee splash of spring water.
Appetizer – fresh oysters.
Music – The Pogues – “If I Should Fall from
Grace with God”.
