Delicious UK - (09)September 2020

MADE FOR SIPPING

T

hereareplentyofgood

reasonstovisitLongueville

HouseintheCountyCork

countryside.The300-year-old

countrymanorhasroomsfora stay

andanaward-winningrestaurant.

It alsooffersactivitiessuchasfly

fishing,falconry

andhorseriding

onthesurrounding

180-hectareestate

inthebeautiful

BlackwaterValley.

Fordrinkers,however,the

estate’sbiggestdrawis a tourofthe

10-hectareappleorchardand

distillery.PlantedbyLongueville’s

then-ownerMichaelO’Callaghan

in1985,theorchardis hometo

dabinettandmichelinciderapple

trees,whosetartandtannicfruit

areusedtomakeciderandanapple

brandy,Cork’sanswertocalvados,

madebydistillingcider,then

ageingthespiritinwoodenbarrels.

“Myfatherinstilledinhis

childrenthefactthatwe’reonly

curatorsofthelandforthenext

generation,”saysMichael’sson

WilliamO’Callaghan(left),who

nowrunsthebusinesswithhis

wifeAisling,afterhisfatherdiedin

2010.“Wehavea strongblossom-

to-bottleethoshere,usingonly

ciderapplesthatwe’vegrown

ourselvesandusingonly 100

percentjuice.Noconcentrates,

nowater,noaddedpreservatives,

noaddedsugarsandnoadded

sulphates.It’sa totallynaturalcider.

We take great pride in being as

sustainableaspossiblewitha huge

respectfortheterroirand

environment.Wedon’tuseany

pesticidesorchemicalsinthe

orchardsorontheapples.”

Williammakeshissmooth,rich

brandyandtwotypesofciderwith

masterdistillerand

chiefcider-maker

DanDuggan.

Theoriginal

LonguevilleHouse

cideris crisp,cleanandmedium

dry,butit’sthericher,punchier

Mórthatwonthreestarsinlast

year’sGreatTasteAwards,aswell

asa topGoldenForkgong(forthe

bestproductinIreland).Developed

overa numberofyears,thecideris

a specialproduct,madebyallowing

freshlypressedapplejuiceto

naturallyfermentandageinbarrels

previouslyfilledwithapplebrandy.

Móris theIrishwordfor‘big’– a

nodtothecider’s8 percentABV

andbigger,rounderflavour,which

comesfromthebarrelageing.

“Ithasa butteryfruitiness–

apricotandbutterscotchnotes– but

alsostructurefromthetannins,”

saysWilliam,whotrainedasa chef,

includinga stintwithRaymond

Blanc.“Cidermakingis an

extensionofcooking.It’sjustlike

inthekitchen– if youworkwith

goodingredientsyou can make

a good product.”

TOBUYONLINEandgetstockist

information,visitlonguevillehouse.ie

and longuevillebeverages.ie

WORKING

TOGETHER

delicious.supports

TheGreatTasteAwards.

Todiscovermoreaboutthem,

whatthey’reaboutandhow

they’rejudged,visit

deliciousmagazine.co.uk

Mórcider,agedinbrandybarrels,isasrefinedastheLonguevilleestateinCounty

Corkwhereit’smade.Craftedusingjuicefromtheestate’sorchards,it’swona top

internationalaward.PatrickMcGuigantalkstoWilliamO’Callaghan,a second-

generation cider maker who follows the family tradition by keeping things simple

PHOTOGRAPHS: RICHARD FAULKS, TOBY SCOTT

Wehavea strong

blossom-to-bottle

ethos here