Dinner is over, the table cleared, presents opened. Now is the time to enjoy a small but exquisite flavour-packed drink of some description. These are wines and liqueurs to sip and savour slowly as you ponder life. I often end up enjoying a glass of Amontillado sherry with some nuts and blue cheese, but this year, I will definitely go for one of the featured drinks. Our own Irish drinks producers offer many options – and not just whiskey.
Port is traditional and a wonderful, mellow and warming wine but it is far from the only drink, and there are many kinds of port. Today I feature an aged white port, an Italian dessert wine and two delicious Irish drinks.
While the standard Killahora Pom’O is very good, this blend of apple juice and apple brandy matured in used whiskey casks from Dublin distiller Roe & Co adds in whole new dimensions of flavour.
Highbank are alchemists who create a wonderful range of organic drinks, vinegars and other products. I feature their fortified apple wine, but if you prefer something stronger after dinner, their Highbank Brandey or Highbank Dark Doyle Rum are both delicious organic apple-based spirits.
Vin Santo is an unfortified sweet wine made from dried grapes. The wine is generally aged for years in small oak or acacia barrels. The Tuscans would often serve it with biscotti – cantucci are traditional – but a mince pie would be nice.
Killahora Pom’O Roe & Co
17%, €30.95
This is a glorious mix of baked apples, caramel, orange peel and exotic spices. Serve in a large wine glass to enjoy the flavours to the full.
Direct or from Celtic Whiskey, D2; Ardkeen, Waterford; O’Donovan’s, Cork; Cavavin, Galway; Bradleys, Cork; Terroirs, D4; Molloy’s; Baggot Street Wines and other independents
[ Two wines to try over Christmas, now on special at SuperValuOpens in new window ]
Highbank Organic Apple Wine
20%, €8.90 for a 5cl bottle, €49 for 75cl
Luxurious textured apple fruits with layers of spice and butterscotch. A real Christmas treat.
Direct from the farm or online from highbankorchards.com
Niepoort Colheita White Port 2012
20%, €52
Orange peel, toasted almonds and luscious stone fruits – finishes fresh but sweet. Try it chilled with desserts, blue cheese and mince pies.
From Rua, Green Man Wines, Pinto Wines, BaRossa Wines
Isole e Olena Vin Santo de Chianti Classico 2011
14.5%, €82.95 per half bottle
Not cheap but a wonderful Christmas treat. Walnuts, burnished wood, orange peel and dried apricots with a refreshing acidity that balances the sweetness.
From Wineonline.ie Baggot Street Wines; The Corkscrew, D2; Clontarf Wines; Martins, D3; McHughs, D5; Grapevine, Dalkey
