12-07-2025
Irish in culinary and drinks world celebrated in new film
The writer-director of a new film about the work of the Irish in the culinary and drinks world has told RTÉ Entertainment he wanted to show international audiences that there was more to his home country than just stereotypes.
Carlow filmmaker Frank Mannion's latest documentary is A Sip of Irish, having previously made Quintessentially Irish and Quintessentially British.
"I wanted to make a film that would appeal primarily to an international audience who think of Ireland as just the land of Guinness and Irish stew," Mannion told RTÉ Entertainment.
"Since the time of Brian Boru, we have often been stereotyped as a nation of big drinkers. But the irony is that our alcohol consumption has been declining for over two decades - just as our drinks exports have been steadily increasing.
"Instead of filming at obvious locations like the Guinness Storehouse, we highlight the craftsmanship of artisan brands like Killahora Orchards in Co Cork, where celebrity chef Anna Haugh raves about its Rare Apple Ice Wine, and Kinnegar Brewing in Letterkenny. Pat Shortt told us that its draught Scraggy Bay IPA is his favourite tipple."
"I interviewed Deirdre O'Carroll, the very talented blender of Redbreast, Midleton, and Jameson whiskeys," Mannion continued.
"Her interest in the intricacies of whiskey-making was sparked by an innocuous-sounding university module - at University College Cork - called Cereals and Related Beverages.
"Jameson sells tens of millions of bottles a year but has historically always faced stiff competition, especially when Prohibition decimated (sic) the local Irish industry.
"Almost 100 years later, let's hope that Deirdre and the whiskey industry ride the storm of the tariffs being imposed by the world's most powerful non-drinker, President Trump."
When asked for what had surprised him during the making of his film, Mannion said: "I was surprised to learn about the Wine Geese, the dynamic Irish emigrants who became hugely successful in the wine world in Bordeaux, Napa Valley, and Australia.
"The Lynch family who gave their name to the world-renowned Château Lynch-Bages were from Galway.
"In fact, an 'Irish wine' was the first into space: a 1975 half-bottle of Lynch-Bages made it onboard the Discovery space shuttle, making it the world's most travelled wine bottle.
"That bottle is now in the possession of Kinou Cazes Hachemian, the owner of Lynch-Bages. Sadly, I couldn't persuade her to open it for A Sip of Irish. She did claim that it was out of this world!"
"I was surprised to learn that what we think of as Irish is not Irish in origin," he added.
"Bailey's Irish Cream was invented by a British team led by a South African in London, partly to reduce Ireland's excess dairy production.
"I also learned that when Russell Crowe was filming The Pope's Exorcist in Ireland, he came across the village of Muff in Donegal - one of our A Sip of Irish filming locations. He loved Muff Liquor's gin and vodka so much that he invested in the company and brought fellow musicians Ed Sheeran and Ronan Keating on board too."
