0:00:07 > 0:00:09CORMAC SPEAKS IN GAELIC
0:00:16 > 0:00:17SEAGULLS CRY
0:05:41 > 0:05:42Noel, I have a confession to make -
0:05:42 > 0:05:44I've never been in a distillery before.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47If I had to imagine it, this is probably the way
0:05:47 > 0:05:49I would have imagined it. But this isn't the start of it, is it?
0:05:49 > 0:05:52No, not at all, this is the end of the distillation process,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56when we put the spirit into the casks for maturation.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59They have to lie here for three years
0:05:59 > 0:06:02before we can call them whiskey.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Now, in Cooley, we make three different types of whiskey.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09We have a malt whiskey, which is just plain malt,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13and it gives us a very fruity type of whiskey.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16We have a peated malt, which has been dried using
0:06:16 > 0:06:20peat in the process. And that gives us a smoky flavour to the whiskey.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24And the third one is grain, and we use grain to give us
0:06:24 > 0:06:28a blending whiskey for a light character whiskey.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31And most of the character in that whiskey comes from the casks
0:06:31 > 0:06:33which you see here.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42Noel, you are a master distiller here in this distillery.
0:06:42 > 0:06:43What does a master distiller do?
0:06:43 > 0:06:47I am responsible for the liquid in the bottle that people
0:06:47 > 0:06:49get at the end of the day.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53The whole essence of the work that I do is about consistency, so you
0:06:53 > 0:06:56want to make sure you get the same raw materials coming in.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59We check the water, we check the barley, we check the malt,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01we check all of the ingredients that go into making the whiskey.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06- What I'm leading up to, of course, is can I taste of some of these whiskeys?- Well, of course...
0:07:06 > 0:07:09- LAUGHTER - ...there's no point in coming to a distillery without
0:07:09 > 0:07:11having an opportunity to see what's involved.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14So we would look at something like the grain whiskey...
0:07:14 > 0:07:16This is the way it comes off the stills -
0:07:16 > 0:07:19clear - there is absolutely no colour in it at all.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24This sample is 69%. That's the strength it goes into the barrel at.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27So when we taste whiskeys at this kind of strength,
0:07:27 > 0:07:31we need to put them into a nice tasting glass. We add some water.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36Most of the tasting is coming from your nose, not from your mouth.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39That's why we use nosing classes to taste the whiskey.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42- So if you taste that, it's very mild, very light.- Very light.
0:07:42 > 0:07:45That's the grain.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50There's not too much of an aftertaste.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53- No, there shouldn't be. - It's very light.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56I'm wondering, is the location of this distillery accidental,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00or is there something about the local area here that adds
0:08:00 > 0:08:03a certain something to the quality of your whiskey?
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Everything about the distillery
0:08:05 > 0:08:07and where it is impacts on the final product.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12We are very fortunate that we have a very good water source
0:08:12 > 0:08:14in Slieve na gCloc,
0:08:14 > 0:08:15which is behind the distillery here.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22We're shadowed by the two mountains on either side, and this creates
0:08:22 > 0:08:27its own little microclimate where we would have a mild winter.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30So that gives us an extra couple of months, maybe,
0:08:30 > 0:08:32of maturation time that you wouldn't
0:08:32 > 0:08:36get in somewhere like the North Highlands of Scotland.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30GERRY SPEAKS IN GAELIC
0:14:07 > 0:14:09PADRAIG SPEAKS IN GAELIC
0:18:53 > 0:18:55EAMONN SPEAKS IN GAELIC
0:21:57 > 0:21:59Brendan, I come from a county not with a strong hurling tradition,
0:21:59 > 0:22:02but a strong tradition of bullets, where the idea was to cover
0:22:02 > 0:22:04a distance in the shortest number of throws.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Is this the same sort of thing?
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Yeah, pretty much the same thing. The course is 5km around.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10It works its way around in a square.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Rougher terrain, harder to get your feet, there is
0:22:13 > 0:22:15a different technique involved in getting
0:22:15 > 0:22:17around the mountain, but the same rules apply,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20I suppose, where the ball falls... Then you hit your next poc
0:22:20 > 0:22:22and the guy with the least amount of pocs around 5km gets the nod.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Is it always held over mountainous terrain?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32It is. In the preliminary rounds, there is the provincial finals
0:22:32 > 0:22:35that are held, so each county would have their Poc Fada round piches,
0:22:35 > 0:22:39but the provisional finals now are held up on mountain ranges.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Not too dissimilar conditions to this.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43It has really enhanced, I think, the brand of the Poc Fada
0:22:43 > 0:22:46because it gives the competitor the real experience
0:22:46 > 0:22:49of the mountain, because this is where the All Ireland final is on.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52One of the speeches earlier on specifically mentioned Cuchulainn
0:22:52 > 0:22:56poccing the ball over the mountain - is this a conscious part of the Poc Fada tradition?
0:22:56 > 0:22:58It is. That's where the history of it started.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01You can see in all the branded merchandise we have
0:23:01 > 0:23:03the Poc Fada and Cuchulainn is all across it,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05and I think it adds to the tourism part as well.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Just to highlight that this is a very special place, you know?
0:23:08 > 0:23:10I think everybody up here is delighted
0:23:10 > 0:23:11to be part of a competition that
0:23:11 > 0:23:13has such long time and history,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and obviously associated with the Cuchulainn part as well.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23So the state of play at the moment is that Eoin Reilly of Laoise
0:23:23 > 0:23:27is across the finish line in 58 pocs,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29- and the yardage I will find out in a while.- Right.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32How many yards are here?
0:23:32 > 0:23:37- How many pocs to here? 50?- 50 pocs. - About 50 pocs from here.- Right.
0:23:37 > 0:23:41- It all depends on whether I can get home in eight pocs or not. - Do you reckon?
0:23:41 > 0:23:43So God only knows, I suppose. You know? Could take seven,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46but we'll see what way it goes. It depends on the wind and there's
0:23:46 > 0:23:49a shower coming, so I want to get going before that comes in.
0:23:49 > 0:23:50Right, Brendan, good luck.
0:24:19 > 0:24:20Yes!
0:24:21 > 0:24:26- Congratulations. Well done. It was a close-run thing at the end, though? - It was too close for comfort,
0:24:26 > 0:24:28if I'm to be honest. You know,
0:24:28 > 0:24:30when I got to the halfway point, I was one shot behind.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33When I got to the last quarter coming across,
0:24:33 > 0:24:34I was 30 yards behind.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37So I made up the ground. And Eoin Reilly and Andrew Fahey,
0:24:37 > 0:24:40who were second and third, ended up going into the ravine,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42and I - luckily - cleared it.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44And it's small things like that over 5km...
0:24:44 > 0:24:45LAUGHTER
0:24:45 > 0:24:50..that turns it and thankfully, 57 shots got me in first.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55The winner of the 2015 Poc Fada - Brendan Cummins, Tipperary.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Has this set you up for another go next year?
0:24:58 > 0:25:01I'll come up into the mountains as long as I'm invited, you know.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05It's as simple as that. I think in life, if you're half good at something, you keep doing it.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06LAUGHTER
0:25:06 > 0:25:09No, I will, I will give it as many goes as I can.
0:25:09 > 0:25:10While it's nice to win
0:25:10 > 0:25:12and all that, even if I had come last up in the mountain today,
0:25:12 > 0:25:17I'd still like the challenge of it, you know? And just to see how good I can be around the place.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19So today, thankfully, it was one of those good days.