FOR THE SECOND TIME in two weeks, we’ve a luxuriously long weekend stretching out ahead of us. In fact, this one’s even longer than the last. So, what have you got planned with your time off?
To celebrate the four days off in style, why not wander further afield from your local and try a cocktail in one of the best hidden gems around the country?
Here’s some inspiration for the perfect backdrop to enjoy great company and a delicious cocktail in this Easter weekend.
Situated in the heart of Galway city only minutes from Eyre Square lies Blake’s Corner Bar, which has strong links with Persses’ Whiskey Distillery and is an official stop on the Galway Whiskey Trail.
Along with being part of an award-winning brasserie, they also host their own G&T Fest with delicious Irish-produced gins such as Blackwater No.5 and you can keep an eye on their Instagram for a flavour of the cocktails they serve.
Unlike any other cocktail bar in Ireland, every twelve weeks Cask produces a brand new cocktail menu according to the seasons and which ingredients are available from their artisan suppliers.
Expect Irish-inspired cocktails such as ‘Man of Arann’, made with Connemara-peated whiskey and dillisk and ‘Poachers Pie’, made with Cask Hedgerow Gin and blackberry and rosemary shrub, all enjoyed in a gorgeous, old Victorian building.
Known affectionately to locals as ‘The Harbour’, you may have been inside one area of what Lonely Planet once called ‘The Best Bar in the World’ but there are always additional hidden gems within this pub to discover.
Host of Ireland’s first ever ‘Toastie Festival’, the bar contains a converted attic area covered in Pope memorabilia along with the trad-filled snug. It once even had a room dedicated to Stranger Things (where nowadays you can find their feline residents snoozing by the fire).
You may walk by it everyday but lying just metres under your feet is a stylish, subterranean bar inspired by 1960s Italian-American restaurants. Here you’ll find low ceilings and dark booths, and a dedicated Campari bar. Luna is part of John Farrell’s culinary portfolio which also includes Dublin restaurants 777 and Dillinger’s.
Hidden just below the spot that used to house Super Miss Sue, their impressive cocktail menu includes the likes of Campari Spritz and even encompasses rosemary and cucumber non-alcoholic cocktails.
Also another great venue in the Irish Gin & Tonic Fest, Maisies Bar serves over 30 whiskeys and 60 gins, offering delicious gins such as Drumshambo Gunpowder Irish Gin, ShortCross Gin and Blackwater No.5.
Inside, you can expect charming wallpaper and exposed brick and they even offer group cocktails such as ‘sharing teapots’, filled with Hendrick’s Gin, elderflower liqueur for groups of three.
Housed over three stylish floors in what used to be Dublin’s Bread Company and in what would have been the site of a scene from chapter 10 in Ulysses, all of the drinks in Mulligan & Haines are named after Ulysses characters or ideals.
Expect shelves of old books, vintage photos, leather seats and fresh twists on martinis and whiskey sours in a completely refurbished version of what what was formerly Sweeney’s of Dame Lane. Plus all cocktails are less than a tenner.
Tucked away from the bustle of Merrion Row is the elegant Unicorn, which offers a number of different, Italian-inspired cocktails such as the Amalfi Martini (limoncello, lemon and vodka). It also has one inspired by Jaffa Cakes (Baileys, cointreau, chocolate liqueur and amaretto).
It’s been the scene of candlelit dinners for the likes of Liam Neeson, Lionel Richie and Bono and has been operating for 80 years this year, claiming to be Dublin’s oldest Italian restaurant – so it’s the perfect place for a quiet Aperol Spritz.
Wherever you end up popping into over the long weekend, treat yourself to a refreshing drink with Schweppes’ Classics. Including tonic, slimline tonic, soda water, bitter lemon and ginger ale, there’s a classic mixer to suit everyone’s tastes.
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