Murphy's can do no wrong.

I have yet to meet a Murphy I didn't like. Our program is run by the great Dr. Murphy and I am a fan of Murphy's stout, so it was no surprise to find such a winner in Murphy's ice cream on the Dingle Peninsula. Well, I take that back. I was surprised at how absolutely amazing the ice cream was. My 6 weeks of gelato research in Florence have taught me that you can judge ice cream by its looks alone, so I was expecting good things when I saw the ice cream case (nevermind the plaques and awards on the wall outside).



The first day (yes, it was so good I had to make a return visit the next day), I started off slowly. I sampled a few flavors and finally decided on sea salt and burnt caramel. I know what you're thinking.... "sea salt, Kelly?" Trust me. It has a sweet cream base made with local Kerry cream and the addition of sea salt brightens the flavor--no more plain old Vanilla. Add it to the sweet caramel ice cream with darker notes and the combination is perfect. It's like they were meant to be.



(salt on the left, burnt caramel on the right)

On Saturday, I returned, sleep-deprived and cranky. I left with a smile on my face and that feeling you get when you've had exactly what you were in the mood for only better. Allow me to introduce you to affigato.

Start with amazing espresso, pulled ristretto (short for maximum flavor like in Italy). Make sure you have the right edible accoutrements. In this case, chocolate pirouette cookies, creamy Bailey's ice cream and a truffle if you're feeling fancy.



Next, slowly pour said espresso over ice cream.



Decorate. Add spoon & eat.



The sweet, creamy Bailey's ice cream combined with the rich, bold espresso made for a delicious flavor profile and an interesting texture. The espresso melted the ice cream slightly, giving it the texture of gelato, and the ice cream cooled the espresso. Each bite was perfect.

At present, I'm caught with a serious sore throat and an awful cough, so I was happy to find out that Murphy's sells their ice cream in Galway. I will be spending my afternoon catching up with my newfound friend.