Thinking and Drinking

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We have no wish to lecture responsible adults about the damage that inappropriate use of alcohol wreaks on themselves and others, within homes across the world and out on the streets. Being responsible adults means making our own choices, however wisely or stupidly we may decide to do so. 

Here’s our distiller’s story for you though.

“Once upon a time, far far away . . . Well, ok, some 30 years ago and only over in Dublin’s fair city, as dawn was breaking I encountered a man from Belfast. Unfortunately, at the time I was in the back seat of a Nissan Micra which stopped at red traffic lights, and he was in a fully laden articulated lorry, which didn’t. Specialising in trauma management at the time, ironically, I became acutely aware of the deafening screech of tyres biting into tarmac, and confidently expected to see a vehicle slide past us because don’t you know trauma never happens to us or our loved ones, only to unfortunate others. But my time awareness changed rapidly as it does in trauma, as what seemed a tremendous explosion occurred around me. A moment of ridiculous beauty as the rear window appeared to curve around my head, brightly lit by the truck’s headlights and shattered into thousands of brilliant diamonds flying forwards. At the same time a tremendous pressure grew as my head was being thrown backwards through where the rear window was supposed to be, followed by intense pain as the back of my head was hit by something very, very hard, increasing to unbearable as the truck’s bonnet ploughed to half way through the Micra’s back seat; my first dawning realisation of danger rapidly escalating to the crystal clear thought “this gets any worse, I’ll die”. And then light fades as the car ricochets forwards off the front of the truck, and for a while I fade too. Coming round, a recognition of being precariously lodged within a now strange metal shape, and stuck by my feet under the driver’s seat. Both those sat in the front of the car struggled out, and I felt desperately alone and feared fire. Relieved my limbs still worked, with help I managed to free my legs and got lifted out, to sit on the kerb, keeled backwards and recall no more until in the Mater Misericordiae hospital I woke with a hairful of glass and blood, and a head, back and bodyful of ache. Human body versus heavy truck is never going to be a good match.

The truck driver from Belfast had been driving while still drunk from the night before. I expect he had a hangover for a day. Yet I had severe back pain and headache from whiplash constantly for many months, controlled by medication. This subsided to daily back, neck and headaches, again controllable by medication, for over four years. Since then, headaches cleared but back pain continues, occasionally impairing functioning. Thirty years ago this happened. I admit I do occasionally wish that truck driver could have my enduring experience of our meeting.”

Please enjoy our distillery’s gorgeous products to the full, and cause no harm.