Whiskey got its name from usquebaugh (uisce beatha) meaning literally "water of life," and Four Seasons Hotel Dublin is celebrating this Celtic spirit with a selection of whiskey-flavored dishes and whiskey-inspired cocktails that will breathe new life into February by warming the cockles and tantalizing the taste buds. Special selections will be offered in the Lobby Lounge through February 20.
The lounge will be serving a range of cocktails such as Mint Julep, available made with either Woodford Reserve or the intriguingly titled Paddy Van Winkle 20 Year Old, which is also used in the Old Fashioned with cane sugar and orange bitters. One could always go the whole hog and have a Full Irish Breakfast Martini (pancetta-infused Jameson, egg white, lemon juice and honey) or perhaps An Irishman in Paris (Jameson 12 Year Old and Grand Marnier Champagne) is more evocative of the true essence of the spirit.
With a great selection of some of the world’s finest whiskeys at its disposal, the in-house culinary experts at Four Seasons Hotel Dublin have done the cocktail menu proud by developing a superb selection of mouth-watering dishes that includes Southern Comfort gumbo; Manhattan-marinated smoked trout; and smoked rib eye steak with a Tennessee whiskey sauce; each of which can be followed by butterscotch pudding with Scotch whiskey whipped cream. or a whiskey fudge cake and hot whiskey anglaise.
And, for a truly unique touch, Four Seasons Hotel Dublin will serve a selection of whiskeys (Midleton Very Rare, Jameson 18 Year Old & Highland Park 18 Year Old, among others) with a perfect sphere of ice made by the Hotel's own ice ball maker. The gadget, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, is used to make a sphere of ice (as opposed to a cube), which (we hear) is superior because round ice melts more slowly than square ice.
There are also Irish or Scotch whiskey tasting trays available if, with all the choice on offer, the decision process proves simply too difficult.
For more information, visit www.fourseasons.com/dublin.