Drinking the Irish way

So, now that you have an idea where to go to celebrate, what are you going to drink? First of all, do yourself a big favor and avoid anything tinted green. God did not intend for beer to be green. If it is pale enough to be tinted green, then it is not a serious beer anyway and you should just say no.

Guinness makes you strong
It’s true. There is a sixth food group in Ireland – Guinness. The Irish drink it, cook with it, bath in it and breathe it. And you may be surprised to learn that it has considerably less calories than most beers. There is legend of the healthy properties of Guinness. At one time it was even given away free to new mothers as a restorative in Dublin hospitals.

If you don’t want the standard excellent pour of Guinness, you may be interested in one of the many variations of ways to drink Guinness. Consider asking for one of these tomorrow at your favorite pub!

Varieties of Guinness drinks:

Black and Tan – Guinness and Bass
Black and Red – Guinness and Kriek
Black Velvet  – Guinness and Champagne
Irish Car Bomb – Guinness, Bailey’s, Jameson Whiskey (Involves a shot glass of Bailey’s and Jamesons dropped into a pint of Guinness. This is a popular choice and should be experienced at least once!)
Black Monk – Guinness and Trappist Ale
Guinness Float – Guinness and vanilla ice cream (This one may be a stretch to pull off at the bar but try it at home for your late night dessert!)
Half and Half – Guinness and Harp

Beer and Ale
If you choose to partake of a beer other than Guinness (gasp), there are options such as Murphy’s Stout, Kilkenny, Smithwick’s, Harp, and a few notable other brews. (Don’t make us repeat the rule on “green” beer.)

Irish Whiskey:  Protestant or Catholic?
An ongoing debate in our country seems to be associating Jameson as a Catholic whiskey and Bushmills as a Protestant whiskey. Yes, there are people tomorrow who will swear by this distinction. The truth is, it is really all relative to geography, as Bushmills is located deep in the heart of Northern Ireland Protestant territory and Jameson is from the Catholic area of Cork.

Interestingly enough, Bushmills was licensed in 1608 by King James I and again located in the heart of Protestant country. However, Bushmills has a Catholic as a master distiller. Jameson was founded almost 200 years later by a Scot, who most likely was a Protestant. So there you have it.

My answer? I prefer Redbreast Irish Whiskey.

Irish Cocktails

If you decide to be creative at home with some libations of your own, you may want to give one of these Irish cocktails a try.

“Irish Old-Fashioned”
To 1/2 lump of sugar, crushed with a dash of Angostura Bitters, add ice cubes, a shot of Irish Whiskey, a twist of lemon peel, one slice of orange and a cherry. Stir and serve in a wide glass.

“Irish Punch”
Heat a good-sized glass. Add 2 slices of lemon, 4 cloves and 1 glass of Irish Whiskey. Fill with hot water, add sugar to taste, stir well and drink.

“Irish Handshake”
Add together 2 parts Irish whiskey, 1 part Green Curacao and 1 part fresh cream. Use a cocktail shaker to shake well with chipped ice and serve as a cocktail.

“Irish Whiskey Sour”
Shake violently with chipped ice, the juice of 1 lemon, a teaspoonful of sugar and a little white of an egg. Pour into a glass and add 2 ounces of Irish Whiskey and a little soda.

“Irish Coffee”
Heat a stemmed whiskey goblet; pour in one jigger of Irish Whiskey, 3 cubes of sugar, fill goblet to within 1 inch of brim with instant coffee. Stir to dissolve sugar, top with slightly aerated whipped cream, so that the cream floats on top.

“Irish Cream Coffee”
1 12-oz. wine glass, preheated 10 oz. Bewley’s Gold Roast Instant Coffee
1-1/2 jigger Bailey’s Original Irish Cream
1/4 c. heavy cream, whipped until stiff peaks form ground cinnamon (optional)
Pour hot coffee into the heated glass. Add the Bailey’s and stir well to blend. Top with a mound of whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

 

Celebrate and imbibe safely tomorrow! And remember,

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven
half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.