Bushmills Distillery in Northern Ireland © ANDREW HARPER
asked him if he made all of it himself. “Oh yes, indeed,” he answered with a twinkle in his eye. “Winters here are quiet and long. This fills the time.” I left with a bill of goods that included a vest, hat, and a beautiful scarf. Total cost of these one-of-akind artisanally made items: $208. If you can’t make it to Ardara, you can shop for Doherty’s products online, but alas, it’s not the same as seeing him at his loom!
2) whiskey AT TENTIVE READERS WILL BE AWARE
of my fondness for a wee dram of single malt scotch, but I’m also a devotee of good Irish whiskey. As the Irish like to point out, they invented
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the stuff and the Scots came along and made it their own. But the Irish have been playing a smart game of catch-up, and over the past few years, the range of Irish offerings has grown in number and in quality. Having visited the Jameson Distillery on my last visit to Ireland in 2008, I was keen to see Bushmills, which is up in the north part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland, very close to the Giant’s Causeway. Believed to be the oldest licensed distillery in the world, Bushmills (or, more properly, “Old Bushmills”) has a line of distinguished bottlings that wins medals in spirits competitions all over the world. The most important distinction between Irish and Scottish whiskies is that the Irish distill the spirit three
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