The smell really is like lying in a meadow in the middle of summer,” smiles Claire Davey, as she twists the top off of a jar of dried meadowsweet and invites Irish Country Living to take a deep breath in.
Dandelion, gorse flowers, rose petals, chamomile, yarrow, peppermint... a quick scan of the shelves behind the counter at America Village Apothecary reveals something of a sorceress’s store cupboard.
Except that Claire uses her alchemy to transform the flowers and botanicals she’s foraged from the hedgerows and fields near her home – along with carefully sourced ingredients – into syrups, elixirs, bitters and tinctures for cocktail and culinary creations.
“The whole aim of America Village Apothecary is to connect people with nature,” says Claire of her “tasting room” in Galway city, where people can not only sample and buy her handcrafted products, but also enjoy a drink with a difference; whether it’s her “winter wellness” tea blend or a hot port with elderberry and bergamot to her signature “She and T” or non-alcoholic apple rose martini.
Foraging a future
The business is named after the village of “America” in north Connemara that Claire now calls home, though she is originally from Yorkshire and enjoyed something of an adventurous childhood travelling with her parents around the UK.
“We lived on a bus a lot, we lived on a boat,” she lists. “Before the age of seven, I’d say I’d lived in 10 different places.”
Inheriting their itchy feet, Claire moved to the west of Ireland at 17, and went on to study archeology and later, community work, supporting young people, the travelling community and asylum seekers in her professional life.
(Apart from a short stint in the United States, that is. “I was a painter and decorator, believe it or not,” laughs Claire.)
After meeting her partner, Micheál, however, and settling in America village with children Joe,now 18, Ada, eight, and Feichín, seven, Claire felt that it was time to seek a fresh start.
And as it turned out, she did not have to look far.
“I was just really drawn to the nature around me,” she says of learning to forage for – and crucially, extract flavours from – flowers and plants like gorse, dog rose and red clover.
“I felt it was compelling that I needed to do something with them.”
Working from her kitchen, and later a converted shed, Claire began to experiment with creating products for both culinary and cocktail use and approached local restaurants and shops in Galway for their feedback, with award-winners like Kai, Ard Bia, Sheridan’s, McCambridge’s and Loam all proving supportive. And before long, her botanical concoctions were working their magic abroad.
“Fortnum and Mason in London contacted me to see would we supply them, which we did,” explains Claire; but in 2018, she decided to take her business a step further by opening “America Village Apothecary” in what was a former pharmacy on Galway’s Dominick Street Lower with personal investment, as well as support from her local enterprise office. 
“I always had people asking me was there a place they could come to, could they visit and I always had to say no because it was my kitchen or the shed,” explains Claire, “so I always wanted to have some place of my own; a little tasting room.”
Tasting room
Part of Claire’s mission at America Village Apothecary is to educate people about the value of the plants growing on their doorstep.
“People consider a lot of those plants weeds – like dandelion or red clover – and they are some of the most potent plants we have,” she says; adding that the products themselves also have health benefits.
Bitters, for instance, where alcohol is used as a solvent, have traditionally been used to aid digestion. “They’re kind of like a gym for the digestive system, they get all the juices flowing,” she explains.
But education aside, Claire wants America Village to be a “little haven” where people can escape for a tea, coffee or homemade soda during the day or pre- or post-dinner drink at night, while nibbling on a tasting board with cured meats, cheeses, fruit, crackers and preserves.
She also hosts workshops and a monthly “tasting club”, with curated food and drink pairings and hopes that long term, she can play a part in encouraging people to think as much about what they drink as what they eat.
Indeed, this year, she hopes to release her own America Village Apothecary spirit as she continues to forage a future in the Irish food and drinks industry.
“Really I feel like I’m only just beginning, to be honest,” she smiles.
America Village Apothecary, 31 Dominick St Lower, Galway. Winter hours, open Tues-Sun from 11am-8pm and to 11pm Fri and Sat. For further information, visit www.americavillage.com
Read more
Meet The Wild Irish Foragers & Preservers
Beginners series: Aisling tries...foraging
The smell really is like lying in a meadow in the middle of summer,” smiles Claire Davey, as she twists the top off of a jar of dried meadowsweet and invites Irish Country Living to take a deep breath in.
Dandelion, gorse flowers, rose petals, chamomile, yarrow, peppermint... a quick scan of the shelves behind the counter at America Village Apothecary reveals something of a sorceress’s store cupboard.
Except that Claire uses her alchemy to transform the flowers and botanicals she’s foraged from the hedgerows and fields near her home – along with carefully sourced ingredients – into syrups, elixirs, bitters and tinctures for cocktail and culinary creations.
“The whole aim of America Village Apothecary is to connect people with nature,” says Claire of her “tasting room” in Galway city, where people can not only sample and buy her handcrafted products, but also enjoy a drink with a difference; whether it’s her “winter wellness” tea blend or a hot port with elderberry and bergamot to her signature “She and T” or non-alcoholic apple rose martini.
Foraging a future
The business is named after the village of “America” in north Connemara that Claire now calls home, though she is originally from Yorkshire and enjoyed something of an adventurous childhood travelling with her parents around the UK.
“We lived on a bus a lot, we lived on a boat,” she lists. “Before the age of seven, I’d say I’d lived in 10 different places.”
Inheriting their itchy feet, Claire moved to the west of Ireland at 17, and went on to study archeology and later, community work, supporting young people, the travelling community and asylum seekers in her professional life.
(Apart from a short stint in the United States, that is. “I was a painter and decorator, believe it or not,” laughs Claire.)
After meeting her partner, Micheál, however, and settling in America village with children Joe,now 18, Ada, eight, and Feichín, seven, Claire felt that it was time to seek a fresh start.
And as it turned out, she did not have to look far.
“I was just really drawn to the nature around me,” she says of learning to forage for – and crucially, extract flavours from – flowers and plants like gorse, dog rose and red clover.
“I felt it was compelling that I needed to do something with them.”
Working from her kitchen, and later a converted shed, Claire began to experiment with creating products for both culinary and cocktail use and approached local restaurants and shops in Galway for their feedback, with award-winners like Kai, Ard Bia, Sheridan’s, McCambridge’s and Loam all proving supportive. And before long, her botanical concoctions were working their magic abroad.
“Fortnum and Mason in London contacted me to see would we supply them, which we did,” explains Claire; but in 2018, she decided to take her business a step further by opening “America Village Apothecary” in what was a former pharmacy on Galway’s Dominick Street Lower with personal investment, as well as support from her local enterprise office.
“I always had people asking me was there a place they could come to, could they visit and I always had to say no because it was my kitchen or the shed,” explains Claire, “so I always wanted to have some place of my own; a little tasting room.”
Tasting room
Part of Claire’s mission at America Village Apothecary is to educate people about the value of the plants growing on their doorstep.
“People consider a lot of those plants weeds – like dandelion or red clover – and they are some of the most potent plants we have,” she says; adding that the products themselves also have health benefits.
Bitters, for instance, where alcohol is used as a solvent, have traditionally been used to aid digestion. “They’re kind of like a gym for the digestive system, they get all the juices flowing,” she explains.
But education aside, Claire wants America Village to be a “little haven” where people can escape for a tea, coffee or homemade soda during the day or pre- or post-dinner drink at night, while nibbling on a tasting board with cured meats, cheeses, fruit, crackers and preserves.
She also hosts workshops and a monthly “tasting club”, with curated food and drink pairings and hopes that long term, she can play a part in encouraging people to think as much about what they drink as what they eat.
Indeed, this year, she hopes to release her own America Village Apothecary spirit as she continues to forage a future in the Irish food and drinks industry.
“Really I feel like I’m only just beginning, to be honest,” she smiles.
America Village Apothecary, 31 Dominick St Lower, Galway. Winter hours, open Tues-Sun from 11am-8pm and to 11pm Fri and Sat. For further information, visit www.americavillage.com
Read more
Meet The Wild Irish Foragers & Preservers
Beginners series: Aisling tries...foraging
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