Irish Whiskey

Irish whiskey has always been on of my favorite drinks. During the 1980s and early 1990s after a hard workout on the weights, I would go to the New York Athletic Club "Tap Room" bar for some refreshment and convivial conversation. During winters I drank Irish whiskey, straight on the rocks. Brendan, the bar's loquacious Irish bartender at the time, always enjoyed pouring me a Jameson. And of course when some beefy fellow down the bar ordered a glass of wine or Coor's Light, he would grimace.

I bear a surname well-known to the Irish; it has a rich heritage there with connections to the early Norman knights who went to Ireland in the 12th century and stayed. I'm not claiming any connection to the nobility - I suspect the name was borrowed from the Duke by one of the saloon keepers on his estate at the time the common man was ordered to take a surname. And I know my great, great, great grandfather ran a saloon in SE central Ohio about 200 years ago. All that is to point out that drinking Irish whiskey might have some deep and long connection to me.

Thus on this St. Patrick's Day I write about Irish Whiskey.

Most Irish whiskey is distilled three times versus double distilling for most Scotch twice. Peat is rarely used in the malting process, so that Irish Whiskey has a smoother finish as opposed to the smokey overtones common to some Scotches. There is lots of variety and overlap in the flavors, of course. If you like Scotch, I urge you to branch out and try Irish Whiskey. It's rather simple to buy: unlike Scotch, there are a limited number of brands. The quality is very high in them.

Here is my primer. For ease, I have classed them alongside some well known Scotch whiskies. The Irish whiskey is a bit less expensive in general, simply as it's less well known and can bear less price premium.

TOP

Jameson Gold - this is the best Irish whiskey that I've ever had. The flavor and finish reminded me of Johnny Walker Blue. Both bring to mind a fine cognac with whiskey flavor. Cost is around $60 per bottle (750 ml).

UPPER MIDDLE

(A) Black Bush from Bushmills. This whisky is a bit lighter and very, very smooth. I class it alongside Johnny Walker Gold. Cost about $40-50 per bottle.

(B) Bushmills Single Malt. As a single malt you'd expect a stronger flavor and you get it. Johnny Walker Green is the parallel scotch product. Cost is about $40-50 per bottle.

MIDDLE

(A) Tullamore Dew 12 year old - very fine, very smooth. About $30 per bottle.

(B) Jameson 12 year old - my standard at the NYAC bar. About $30 per bottle.

Both are analogous to Johnny Walker Black.

LOWER (A very high low)

Jameson - good, full flavor, reasonable price at around $15-20 per bottle.

My bar has far fewer Irish whiskeys that Scotch simply because there are few brands. If you stick to products of Jameson or Bushmills, you'll get a fine product. Try them and experiment. I'm always on the lookout for new Irish whiskeys. The distillers are slowly moving out new premium products as they lag far, far behind the Scottish distillers in creating brand differentiation and premium, niche products.

HOW TO DRINK

I drink them in two ways. One way is simply on the rocks in a short glass: I fill the glass with ice and add the whiskey. I let the ice melt a bit to make the taste better. Again as with Scotch, I think the cold water brings out the flavors and aromas better and permits better mouth-feel and taste as the bite of the alcohol is cut a bit.

The second way again follows my Scotch drinking pattern. I pour the correct amount into a special curved whisky glass that brings out the color and texture, then add a single ice cube to the glass. I let it melt and then sip the fine whiskey. I also swirl the whiskey around the glass and enjoy its color and aroma. Last night I had a glass of Jameson Gold in this manner - it was exquisite.

OK, I admit it: last night I had a taste-a-thon of the top three Irish whiskeys listed above as research for this post :)

Markets

The grind up continues. Krypto has no sell orders this morning, but some might be close at hand. CLF in Fido Fund is up a lot - I need to look at its chart to see if it's in sell territory. I had expected that company to be taken over at a high price, but if it gets to my sell range, I'll let is go anyway.

Word of the Day

"Educe" - verb, transitive [$10]
Educe means 1. to bring out or develop from latent or potential existence: elicit; 2. infer, elicit a principle or number from data.
Sentence: In the "humble" [ ;) ] opinion of Bunkerman, a small ice cube added to whiskey educes its inherent flavor and aroma to come forth in much more quantity for a more enjoyable drink.