Brought to you by Rare 1784.

Nothing complements a premium whiskey like a fine steak.

Now meat-eaters have a brand new venue for life’s extra special occasions; and it’s right in the heart of Ireland’s gourmet capital.

Rare 1784 opens this evening in a cosy, low-lit dining room at the Blue Haven Hotel, Kinsale.

Inspired by the site’s history as a bonded warehouse in the 1800s and its origins as the Kinsale Meat Market in the 1700s, Rare 1784 brings the property bang up to date, with a menu to match.

Settle into a table in the candlelit restaurant and order a tasty cocktail with a local twist to get things started (try the Smoked Old Fashioned).

Starters are decadent and include the Blue Haven’s famous seafood chowder and oysters served five tasty ways, so go easy on the bread basket if you want to go the distance.

There are plenty of mouthwatering options if you’re in the mood for fish, chicken or duck, but the steak is the main event at Rare 1784 and when it comes to quality, they are not messing around; all steaks are 100 percent Irish Beef from Irish farms, dry-aged to perfection in-house.

First choose your cut: there’s a 10oz ribeye and a nine ounce sirloin, both aged for 32 days and an eight ounce fillet, dry-aged for 21 days, to tickle your fancy.

All three are served with tender stem broccoli, bearnaise sauce, buttermilk onion rings and pepper sauce with a choice of French fries, creamy mashed potatoes or a mixed leaf salad.

A treat for whiskey fans

As well as a premium whiskey selection that will delight the most discerning connoisseur (served in a Waterford Crystal tumbler, natch), the bar can also deliver a whiskey tasting board, expertly paired with chocolates from local artisan chocolatier Kokos.

The Rebel Flight (€10) will present you with three West Cork 12-Year-Old Whiskies, each aged in a different barrel imbuing its own distinct flavour – Sherry Cask, Rum Cask and Port Cask – and paired with a handmade Chilli Caramel chocolate.

On the ‘spoil yourself’ end of the scale, the Premium Flight (€50) includes the cream of the crop – Midleton Barry Crocket, created to commemorate the career of the former master distiller, alongside a Midleton Very Rare and Powers Signature Release.

Koko’s Dark Salted Caramel is the perfect choice to enhance the flavour.

A series of whiskey tours and events is in the planning stages, but if beer is more to your taste, a Blacks Craft Beer or Cork Stout tasting board is the perfect alternative to the hard liquor.

There’s only one way to finish a meal as magical however, and that’s with a West Cork Irish Coffee.

Rare 1784 is open seven days a week from 5.30pm. Check out the full drinks menu here and the dinner menu here and call 021 477 2209 to reserve a table.