Friday 9 March 2007

Homage To The Munster Red
Nash's Red Lemonade

Nash’s Mineral Waters supplies a wide range of ‘mixer’ and soft drinks products to pubs and restaurants. Our 2 litre range is also available in supermarkets.

Best known is of course, Red Lemonade for which Nash’s is rightly famous
throughout Ireland. The unique, tangy taste and fiery colour entices even the most jaded palate and it is sold in 2 litre, 500ml and 250 ml sizes. White Lemonade and Orange are also part of our carbonated range and sold in a handy 2 litre size, with Orange and Lemonade are also available as a 500 ml option.

Company History

More than 700 years ago a group of Knights Templars returning from the crusades, settled in West Limerick, Ireland. The site they chose for their castle was influenced by the presence of a well, providing an abundance of cool, clear spring water of the utmost purity and freshness. They named it St. David’s Well and surrounded it with a sturdy keep inside the castle. Eventually a town grew up, called Newcastle West – today a thriving village in one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland.

Then … and Now:

The modern company as we know it was the brainchild of Richard & Johanna Nash in 1875, and it has remained a family business since then. Using only the best ingredients and the pure water from St. David’s Well, the enterprising couple mixed, bottled, capped and distributed their soda water and ginger ale for thirsty farm workers. Displaying a flair for anticipating trends, their innovation led to distribution to local pubs and markets beyond.

Starting only with a pony and trap, Richard Nash was soon using trains and 40 horses and traps to distribute his increasingly popular products. By the 1920s though, lorries had replaced the traditional form of transport and the Nash’s would have been over-whelmed to see their soft drinks being introduced to countries they had never even heard of, such as Ghana and Tahiti.

One product, however, has remained favourite locally – Nash’s Red Lemonade. No farm worker’s lunch was complete without a bottle of the unique fiery coloured drink. To this day the formula for this refreshment remains a closely-guarded family secret.

Today, Nash’s is a successful business, based in Newcastle West. Innovation, however, is still at the forefront of the company’s success and new products are continually coming on stream. Nevertheless, Nash’s will always remain true to its roots, supplying simply the best soft drinks and mineral water around.

RED LEMONADE
IN IRELAND


Red lemonade is a popular soft drink in Ireland. Unlike in other countries, Lemonade in Ireland comes in two varieties - red and white. Both are officially lemon-flavoured, but there is a marked difference in taste between the varieties. Visitors to the country are often surprised when serving staff ask which type of lemonade a person has ordered.

Red lemonade is one of the most popular mixers used with spirits in Ireland, particularly whiskey, including Paddy, Jameson and Southern Comfort.
Three major brands of red lemonade exist - TK (Taylor Keith), Country Spring which comes in a three litre bottle, and Nash's. TK is by far the most popular.

Red Lemonade is frequently quoted in the top ten things that Irish expatriates miss about the country.

A popular urban myth is that red lemonade only exists in Ireland as the chemical used to make it red is banned elsewhere in the world.

From WIKIPEDIA


Out in the Country
And Up Crotta

My grandfather, Dicko Laide, who had a curious sense of humour and liking for the bottle of stout, was always an avid spectator to see how "the townies" were getting on at the game of hurling. He was hoping perhaps that we could contribute to the revival of the glory days of Crotta Hurling to which Pat & Dick Laide had made great contributions. He was never slow to shout out instructions as he leant over the wall behind the house - "Tanam an Dial men throw it up high and hit it on the way down" was one of his catch cries. We tried our best and many a good Sunday afternoon was spent hitting a sub-standard, if not homemade sliothair. Dicko Laide was always good for two shillings or half a crown for Nash's lemonade in McElligotts of Crotta Cross.
Dick Spring

IRISH WORLD
HERITAGE CENTRE

We carry a range of produce imported from Ireland including Shaw's puddings, Tayto Crisps, Odlums Bread Mixes, McCann's & Irish Pride Bracks, Barry's Tea, Bolands Mikado & Kimberley Biscuits, Cidona and Nash's Red Lemonade to name but a few.

BUNRATTY AND HOME

We walked though the nearby Blarney Woolen Mills outlet just as it was closing. We also took a quick look at the celebrated Durty Nellie’s pub and restaurant, which dates to 1690 and claims to be the oldest pub in Ireland. But the heavy cloud of cigarette smoke inside the establishment turned us off. So we ate at the hotel’s restaurant. The meal was pretty good, the food portions generous and the prices moderate. Our waitress was a charming and friendly young woman named Sioghan. She introduced me to one of Ireland’s favorite libations, “Jameson with a dash of red.”
The concoction is made from a pour of Jameson Irish Whiskey and topped with a small amount of Nash red lemonade. We had seen a distinguished looking, older gentleman drinking it in a pub in Ballyferriter.
When I described it to Sioghan, she knew exactly what it was. It is somewhat sweet and tastes like an Old Fashioned. When I asked Sioghan if it is consumed as a before-dinner aperitif or as an after-dinner cordial, she cheerfully exclaimed “all the way through.”
By Lewis Nolan March 2003




















































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