Because I am of Irish heritage (and proud of it, as the descendant of some king or the other should be); because I pontificate freely and often on spirits of every type; and because I drink a lot (as befits a descendant of Hibernian horse thieves and Fenian scalawags); because of all these things, people constantly ask at this time of year: what should I drink for St. Paddy’s Day?
Folks, it’s not that hard.
Your options are pretty clear: Guinness, Harp and Irish Whiskey.
If you want to be efficient, combine all three into a Black& Tan with an Irish Whiskey back. And please remember: Patience! Go slowly and carefully layer the ingredients, for that is the crucial touch.
While it can get different than that, it doesn’t get any better than that, and if you’re highly proficient, you can nurse that threesome all night long for maximum pleasure and minimum discomfort the next day, because it’s not necessary, as some people think, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by turning green the following day.
Alright then; there’s the established baseline. Should you wish to build on that and explore the grand new expansion of Irish Whiskey brands, there are certainly many options available.
Here are a few:
--If you’re looking for the finest expression of Irish whiskey extant, invest in a bottle of Midleton Very Rare. If you have already had it, you know how good it is; if you haven’t, you need to experience it. Failing the Midleton, there’s the absolute pleasure of Green Spot Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey (now available in the U.S., huzzah, huzzah) and the older and more complex Redbreast Single Pot Still 12 Year Old.
--A new favorite from the revival of an old tradition is Teeling Irish Whiskey. The Teeling family was considered the best of the many Dublin distillers from days of your, said days disappearing with the diminution of distillers (from over 200 to a mere four at its lowest point). Now the latest scions of the Teeling family are resurrecting the whiskey and the distillation thereof. Their first release under the “Small Batch” program was the Teeling Irish Whiskey Rum Cask Finished, and it was an immediate success, rich and rounded and lavish on the tongue, fine aged Irish whiskey mellowed with the influence of fine aged rum. Since that release, they have also come out with two more, the Teeling Small Batch Single Grain and the Teeling Small Batch Single Malt, both as remarkable as the first.
--Proving that old dogs can learn new tricks, Jameson Irish Whiskey has come out with a special release of “Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition,” a clever combination of two of the ingredients in the holy triumvirate cited earlier this article. It is Jameson Irish Whiskey finished in a used Guinness Stout barrel. Hmmmm, you say. Yes it works, and it works quite well, with the lilting citrus tingle of the whiskey aided and abetted by the dark, chocolatey base notes of the stout…you know, the old Reese’s peanut butter and chocolate ménage à deux redux.
Further than that we need not go and I will not go. If you feel the need to put green food coloring in any of your preferred alcoholic beverages, more pity you. For all his drinking and carousing in fine Irish style, Borstal Boy Brendan Behan never once disgraced himself by sinking into such a depraved practice, and neither will I. Leave the green dye for yer Easter Eggs, boyo; and leave the serious drinking for the grownups.