On Thursday, October 16th, the Beár Bia podcast hosted its first live and ticketed recording event. It took place at The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo, down in County Leitrim. It was a celebration of the modern, iconic Irish brand, Gunpowder Gin, with its wonderfully complex range of international and local botanicals. The gin's inspired mix of spice and citrus notes lends itself remarkably well to food pairings, and both the food and Gunpowder gin cocktails on the night were all delicious. With a nod to some of the Chinese tea and Asian fruits that Gunpowder gin is named after, Oisin Davis, the Beár Bia co-host, mixed up a big bowl of punch to welcome everyone. It featured the Gunpowder gin, lychee, Jasmine tea, extra dry Martini, and lime. Founder of The Shed Distillery and Gunpowder gin Pat Rigney then took all the guests on a very special backstage tour of the production and distilling space, allowing everyone to get a deeper understanding of how his team craft their spirits. After everyone was seated, two small plates and their cocktail pairings were shared. The first was a Ward’s Donegal crab dish that came with a celeriac remoulade, crushed avocado, and herb mayo. All of it was made by the distillery’s head chef, Dave Fitzgibbon, who also told us about the father and son team from Ward's who hand fish the crab we enjoyed. Cian Wrynne, Gunpowder's on premise manager then served up a cocktail made to pair with the crab - an Atlantic Citrus Gimlet. He mixed it with Gunpowder Irish Gin, Gunpowder Sardinian Citrus Gin, seaweed, lime cordial and fresh fennel and dill oil. It was an exceptional combo and as Dee Laffan, co-host of Beár Bia, remarked, "The freshness of the crab, avocado and dill is fantastic with this gimlet cocktail. The lime, fennel and dill in the cocktail all complement the food so well. This pairing is such a delight to eat and drink. So fresh."The multiple award-winning Thornhill duck leg bonbon was the second dish of the night and was served alongside pureed fig and parsnip. This was a real delight - crispy, unctuous and enriched with Autumnal flavours. Cian's Orchard Highball cocktail that he made to pair with it, was the perfect accompaniment. It was mixed with Gunpowder Fig & Laurel, Killahora Apple Ice Wine, fig syrup and Poacher’s Ginger Ale. Oisin Davis had lots to say about this pairing, "This was my first time sampling the fig & laurel Gunpowder gin and it really has such an earthy tone to it. Brilliant to see it mixed with seasonal orchard flavours and even better when paired with the duck, which Dave cooked perfectly confit style."With a Gunpowder gin chocolate truffle to finish off the event, this was a lovely sweet ending. Huge thanks to all the guests who came along and to Dave and Cian from the distillery who proved that Irish gin and Irish food pairings are an absolute joy irregardless of the food comes from the sea or the land. thesheddistillery.com

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