On the second day of St. Patrick, my true love gave to me 2 shots of Paddy, and a pint of Kilkenny . . . .
As our quest to honor great Irish tipples leading up to St. Patrick’s day continues, there can be no doubt that Irish Whiskey will play a prominent role. Whiskey in Ireland is a centuries old tradition and Irish whiskey has unique characteristics which set it apart from the other great whiskey styles of the world. How Irish is whiskey? The word actually comes from the Irish gealic “Uisce beatha” which means “water of life”. Ireland also lays claim to being the birthplace of whiskey although Scotland claims the same and their word for water is “uisge beatha”. It is interesting, however, that the two countries spell whiskey differently with the Scots omitting the “e” (whisky) and the Irish using it.
How is Irish whiskey unique? Unlike Scotch, in Irish whiskey, the barley doesn’t come into contact with peat smoke during drying which makes it much more approachable than the intensely peaty whiskies of Scotland. It is also sweeter and more full-bodied than its Scottish counterpart. It is completely different from American whiskeys such as bourbon which are made primarily from corn. It is great neat or on the rocks, but also goes well with ginger based carbonated beverages or club sodas – I haven’t found it to mix with cola as well as American whiskey, but to each his own.
Today’s feature drink is Paddy Old Irish Whiskey and no other beverage is named better for a St. Paddy’s celebration than this classic Irish whiskey. It is fair, however, to point out that this excellent Irish whiskey is named Paddy after the salesman Paddy Flaherty who took this small Cork distillery and turned it into a world class operation through innovative marketing (such as buying shots for Irishmen throughout the country). Produced since 1779 in Cork, this whiskey employs a triple distillation process and ageing in high quality oak casks and is a phenomenal tipple to add to your collection. While most Americans are very familiar with Jameson and Bushmills, this whiskey deserves a try as well and has a very lovely map of Ireland on its bottle.
Slainte!
