While dollops of Irish culture, the stunning Cliffs of Moher, the UNESCO Global Geopark of the Burren and the Aran Islands will be on your menu of places to see in County Clare, for places to eat and drink here are seven stops that must be on your plate.
Burren Farm Experience
Join the O’Rourke family in the middle of the Burren National Park and experience first-hand what Irish family farm life is really like. Enjoy a tractor ride, go on a hike to the majestic Lough Bunny and take time to enjoy the good life unwinding in the splendour of the park. Then rest and rejuvenate over a delicious rustic picnic in the spectacular surroundings and fresh air.
Shuck Off Oyster Experience
Savour an informed, humorous and interactive introduction to the world of oysters and shellfish. Listen to stories about the sea at the foothills of the Burren as you learn how to shuck the oysters. Best of all, with your new found expertise, shuck and eat as many Flaggy Shore oysters as you want, together with a specially selected glass of wine.
St Tola’s Goat Cheese
Get close up with friendly nanny goats and gentle kids at the home of St Tola’s Goat Cheese. Your guide will explain the importance of sustainable farming and the nutritional benefits of goat milk, and you will get a chance to visit the milking parlour. Finish with a simple cheesemaking demo and a tasting of two goat cheeses from the St Tola range, known as one of the best gourmet products in Ireland.
Wild Kitchen
Meet Oonagh O’Dwyer, whose local knowledge leads to adventures down quiet laneways and on deserted beaches. Within visually stunning, secret panoramas of wide open skies, rolling green fields and blue waters, engage with nature and learn how to sustainably harvest many varieties of nutritious seaweed. Discover slow, local, seasonal eating and food with a sense of place.
Burren Fine Wine & Food
Enjoy a two-course meal and guided walking tour of the Burren where you will feel the limestone, breathe fresh air and learn how the locals live. Walk through a working farm and meet some of the animals. Your guide will point out some examples of the wild flowers as you listen to the gentle flow of the Rathbourney River making its way to Galway Bay, amid a lovely green canopy of hazel.
Hazel Mountain Chocolate
Meet the experts who will show you the wonders of bean to bar chocolate. This tour on a 300-year-old family farm goes through all the stages of chocolate making – roasting, cracking, winnowing, stone-grinding and tempering. Sample chocolate at its various stages, finishing with a tasting of some of the best single origin chocolates. The experience is much like a microbrewery tour, and you will leave with a great appreciation for the growing bean to bar craft chocolate.
Ennis Whiskey Experience
On this guided whiskey tasting tour of Ennis, County Clare’s biggest town, experience the four pillars of Irish whiskey styles, single grain, single malt, blended and single pot still. In four different pubs – one whiskey style per pub – experts from the Ennis Whiskey Club guide you from location to location and present each whiskey in a relaxed and informal manner.
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