Like Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day, Irish whiskey for many people makes a more or less annual, high-profile, big hullabaloo appearance on St. Patrick's Day next week. And just like the big furry rodent in his hole, it then disappears back onto a bar shelf for another year, with an occasional appearance in Irish coffee and Irish Car Bombs.



That's a damned shame. It's safe to say that most people really don't know what they're missing by relegating Irish whiskey to that one day. And it's kind of silly and absurd. It would be as if Scotch were consumed only on St. Andrews Day, the celebration for Scotland's patron saint. Good thing it isn't because most people don't even know when St. Andrews Day is. (It's November 30 in case you were wondering.)

Scotch is enjoyed year-round on all occasions. And Irish whiskey can and should be as well. In fact you could easily argue that, because of Irish whiskey's very easygoing approachability compared to the relative muscularity of many Scotches, it would be an even better choice as a regular beverage. Certainly at least to those who previously haven't considered themselves whiskey drinkers.

Getting people to explore and shift their perceptions about Irish whiskey is one of my missions in life. But it's one drinker at a time. Let's start with you.

If you're already an Irish whiskey drinker I'd like to hear what you're planning on having on St. Patrick's Day. I haven't decided yet myself. That's an indecision compounded by the 70 or so Irish whiskeys I have on hand, including the 12 newcomers from my January trip to Dublin.  But that is a happy problem.

If you're not an Irish whiskey drinker or just an occasional sipper, here are some recommendations:

1) The standard Jameson is impressively good for a "regular" whiskey, as is Bushmills. Very affordable at about $20, quite likable, and readily available in most bars and liquor stores.

2) Tullamore Dew is the second best-selling whiskey behind Jameson and that's because it's very friendly and approachable to newcomers. Also affordable at $20-ish, available in some bars but in most liquor stores.

3) Paddy is probably the smoothest, softest, friendliest Irish whiskey available. It's making a cameo appearance in the U.S. in time for St. Patrick's Day. It readily wins converts and serves as an Irish whiskey recruitment tool for me. Its limited availability means it's pricier -- $35-$40, and it's smoothness (from it's low pot-still content) doesn't impress experienced whiskey drinkers. But it's eminently drinkable and a good door opener to the Irish whiskey world.

4) Jameson 12-year-old and Black Bush ($35-$40) are great steps up from the standard Jameson and Bushmills, especially for those who previously only tried those two. Really good.

5) Red Breast 12-year-old to me is the best all-around, quintessentially Irish whiskey. It's a pure pot still whiskey with a full body and rich flavor. Always a favorite. About $40.

6) Bushmills 16 year-old and Jameson Special Gold Reserve. Stepping up in price to around $80, these are two wonderful whiskeys.  You'll like them.

7) Midleton Very Rare and Bushmills 21-year-old. Another step up to about $120, but absolutely delicious whiskeys and great gifts to yourself or others. A real treat.

I've focused a lot on Jameson and Bushmills offerings not out of favoritism, as the other major Irish distiller, Cooley, makes some of my all-time favorite whiskeys that you would like also. I pick them partly because of availabilty and awareness. They are, at several levels, introductory whiskeys that pave the way for further exploration of other offerings from all three distilleries. The point is, it's really hard to go wrong with picking a good, very good or excellent Irish whiskey for sipping on St. Paddy's Day -- or ANY day.

So go get a bottle. Ask your retailer for recommendations or post questions here. At minimum you'll have a good drink, and you'll have some good fun -- the "craic" is what it's all about after all -- along the way.

Sláinte, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!
 

A recent story in The Wall Street Journal covered an emerging trend in the wine world toward amateur tasting panels.  Instead of groups of experts gargling, swirling and spitting, everyday Joe and Jane wine enthusiasts are rating wines simply by sipping and then telling whether and how much they liked a particular bottling. That story struck a chord with me and touched on points made in one or two of my earlier entries about the dubious value of many tasting notes in the whisk(e)y world.

Um, I Don't Get It
Some tasting notes just make we nuts. I mean, I sincerely appreciate the effort to describe highly subjective tastes and sensations. It's hard. And tasters who do that are hanging it out there just by making that effort, so I don't want to impugn their intent. And, frankly, it's fun to try to pick out and describe the flavors and feel of different whisk(e)ys. Some folks I know just have a knack for it -- much more than I -- and are more often on or near target.  But many other descriptions rely excessively on metaphors and comparisons to things like bubble gum, pomegranates, cotton candy, toasted wheat bread, saddle leather, tobacco, bananas, butter, glue and just about anything else. When I read them I can only say, "you've got to be shittin' me." Who writes this stuff? It reminds me of people who stir instead of shake martinis because they "don't want to bruise the gin."  Huh??!!

Those types of descriptions don't work for me. And I don't think that they work for many whisk(e)y drinkers. Most casual drinkers rate liquor by one benchmark -- "smoothness." But in the context of a tasting they are looking to be educated and given some basis for comparing and describing their experiences with different whiskeys. First, they want to know, "Will I like it and what can I relate it to in my drinking experience?"Second, "Is it worth the money?"

What Are You Drinking?
The first part can be accomplished by informing the drinker about the origin and composition of the whiskey: distillery, water source, malting, vatting, blending selections, aging, added coloring, and so forth. Those are the elements that give each whisk(e)y its unique qualities, including different vintages of the same whiskey brand. Those qualities establish the context for understanding the color, nose, taste or palate, and finish. It also helps potential buyers understand the relative prices, i.e., the work that went into a particular bottling.

Descriptions need not follow the nose, taste, color-finish model. They can be simpler. For example, the Irish Whiskey Society uses a house style which, used at it's recent Scotch tasting, described whiskys as "peated, peppery spice, quite a filling whisky,"  "light and fruity, a touch of coastal salt with faint peat," or "creamy, light smoke, a great all-rounder." That works well.

Ratings
The question of value -- not just price -- can be addressed through a rating system. Whisk(e)y experts such as Jim Murray and John Hansell are widely known for their out-of-100 numerical ratings. Sláinte reader and Paddy's Pubs blogger Paddy the Publican recently posted a nicely common sense A-to-F rating system that ranges from an "ineffable masterpiece" to "absolute swill." And Irish Whiskey Notes author, Irish Whiskey Society co-founder and my good friend David Havelin uses a very practical 1-to-10 (worst to best) rating system where, for example, an 8 or higher means that he'd buy it if money were no object. David's also considering adjusting or expanding his system to account for price and value.

Although maybe not a widely applicable example, here's an instance of a tasting metaphor that worked well: At the recent Irish Whiskey Society "Islands of Scotland" tasting, host Michael Foggarty said the nose of one Scotch reminded him of a particular brand of condom. (That meant he didn't like it, in case you were wondering.) His metaphor instantly connected with the other tasters who understood his allusion to the odd rubbery odor from that one whisky.  As a marketing guy I instantly thought of bundled package promotions for those two products (only kidding). The point is, the comparison worked because it instantly resonated with the audience.

Weigh In
How do you describe or rate whiskeys, not just for yourself, but for those who are looking to learn more? Or should it be not much complicated then, "whayyda like?"

Of all of the Irish natives that I had the pleasure of meeting during my Dublin trip -- and in this case I mean the liquid kind -- 12 of them I met only briefly and in passing. But I invited those dozen to join me for an extended stay in the States.

That's a convoluted way of saying that 12 Irish whiskeys have joined my collection and will soon undergo a proper tasting. It would be rude of me to have them come all this way and not get to know them a bit better. Though I've had a dram of the Jameson-produced Crested Ten, the others remain sealed until I have an official quorum for a tasting. That would consist of at least one other friend or family member, so soon enough.  I'll report our impressions after.

Here are the recent immigrants:


Three cask strength entries in the Connemara Sherry Finish, the Connemara Single Cask and the Irishman Cask Strength, plus the Tullamore Dew Single Malt.

I tried the Powers 12 in Dublin. It is head and shoulders above the regular Powers. The Crested Ten is an enjoyable and reasonably priced everyday whiskey.

Though I've tried its 15-year-old brandmate, I've not yet sampled the Tyrconnell 17. By all reports it Is an exceptional whiskey. I've tried the Port Finish and am looking forward to trying the Tyrconnell Madeira and Sherry Cask finishes.

Three real treats: The Green Spot 10, the Locke's Grand Crew Cask 696 (I've tried the 700. Excellent.) and the Midleton Single Cask.

Life is good!

I was slightly hasty in calling "a wrap" of Dublin at the end of the last entry. I left out a Sunday afternoon tasting graciously served up by my friend David Havelin of the Irish Whiskey Notes blog and the Irish Whiskey Society. David and I sampled 8 whiskeys from his personal collection, plus a few bonus beverages, at his place a few miles outside of Dublin City Centre. He has many more than 8, of course, but we focused on bottlings which I had had not tried, could not get in the U.S., or just felt like having.

We tasted:

Crested Ten
A pleasant Jameson blend common in Ireland and uncommon elsehwere. Decent pot still content. A good everyday whiskey.

 
Jameson Signature Reserve
Another blend for the Duty Free market.  It's good, as in OK.




Bushmills 12yo Distillery Reserve
A decent malt available only at the distillery. Don't have an image.


Greenore 15
Very nice for a grain-based whiskey, though it also has that signature grain "sweetness."


Tyrconnell 15yo
I really like this. I had it a few evenings earlier at Bowe's and wanted another go. Not fair to compare it to the regular Tyrconnell which I can take or leave.  Rich, malty and very, very likable. An excellent whiskey worth getting if you can find it.



Lockes Grand Crew (Cask 700)
This was a special issue from the Locke's distillery issued in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the closing of Ireland's Grand Canal.  It's a great story that you should read on David's blog. And it's a wonderful whiskey. A real treat.



Dundalgan
Had to try this one as David had flagged it as a candidate for the worst Irish whiskey. It's a Cooley blend issued for the German discounting chain Lidl. Imagine Wal-Mart, Target, BJs or Costco. etc. in the States having a store brand whiskey. This is what it might be like.  It's nearly undrinkable.  But it is highly mixable with ginger ale, cola, etc., or so we believe. I'd buy this if I were in college, and/or broke.  Reminds me -- in the cheap booze way --  of $5 cases of Schmidt's or Hamm's or even Billy Beer that we'd get on sale back in the day. And not that the label is a knock-off of the Jameson label or anything but...


Kellan
Another Cooley blend.  Not bad, not great but generically pretty tolerable. Just not much to distinguish it though.



We then branched out from whiskeys to check out a couple of whiskey novelties.  First was the interesting Spirit of Kilbeggan three-vial set of 1-month, 1-year and 2-year distillates (probably not right to call them whiskeys). They are taken from among the first production runs of the old Kilbeggan pot stills which Cooley resurrected and rejuvenated in 2007 after a 50-year hiatus. It gives you a sense of what a raw whiskey product is like and what it may become.  Interesting stuff and available only at the distillery or at the Celtic Whiskey Shop in Dublin.



We decided then to compare the 1-month Kilbeggan to the Knockeen Hills poteen.  They are different animals, of course, and on balance I prefer the whiskey-to-be. Poteen just tastes musty to me. Hard to describe.

Finally, we sampled some lovely Hildalgo Olorso sherry recommended to me by the gents at the Celtic Whiskey shop. It's nice to drink and fun to see if you can relate the sherry flavors to the sherry cask influences in some whiskeys. I hope to try the same thing with some madeira and port soon also.

And counting those whiskeys above, that's a total of 13 new-to-me Irish whiskeys that I sampled while in Dublin. Plus there were some that I already knew.  And there were 7 Scotches.

To cap off an afternoon of Irish beverages, and this being Ireland, we went down the street for, what else? -- cheeseburgers and fries. We paid a visit to Eddie Rocket's. He apparently is Johnny Rocket's Irish cousin with similar tastes in cuisine and decor.  It was tasty.

 

Now that's a wrap.

I'm back in the States after a great week in Dublin. While I had hoped to add a few more blog updates while there, it usually came down to a choice of sleep or writing after midnight, and believe me, I need as much beauty rest as I can get. So this is a wrap of a terrific visit in which I:

1) met great people and made new friends
2) witnessed what a quality group the Irish Whiskey Society is
3) tasted many new-to-me Irish whiskeys
4) expanded my Scotch palate and knowledge
5) enjoyed some good pubs where you can drink and talk without having to SHOUT over the music or the crowd
6) saw one of the true greats of Irish trad perform live
7) singlehandedly provided a major boost to the flagging Irish economy through my whiskey purchases.

Also, the flights, hotel, food and sights were good, and it didn't rain (sprinkles maybe) the entire week. Other than that the trip was terrible. I'm kidding of course, though the family history research part of the trip was somewhat less productive. It looks as if I may be compelled to return for additional research later. 'Tis a pity, I know.

Wednesday evening was the previously reported meeting at Bowe's. I went back there later in the week for an afternoon pint. Go there if you're looking for whisk(e)y, for a respite from the Temple Bar scene or for a traditional pub where you can actually hear each other in normal conversation and/or the game on TV.  Good place.

  The Whisk(e)y Lineup At Bowe's

Thursday evening was the IWS tasting at the Brooks Hotel featuring whiskys from the Islands of Scotland.  Yes, it may seem odd that my first attendance at an IWS meeting involved Scotch. But it only reinforced my oft-stated point that the drinking isn't about the liquor, it's about the company and the craic. Both were great. As was the liquor.

Well-organized and well-run, the IWS is operates like an outfit that's been around far longer than the year or so that it's been in existence. The venue, the preparation, the tasting selection and procurement, the logistics and even the online booking are exemplary and part of a strong foundation for growth. They are serious about it with taking it too seriously.

I arrived early to watch the preparations. We poured the whiskys into sample glasses which were then placed on numbered spots on a place card at each seat. The place cards also showed a color-coded map of Scotland's primary distilling areas. Each of the approximately 30 participants also had a Glencairn tasting glass and a water glass to be filled from the pitcher of filtered water on each table.

The Whisk(e)ys Are Poured Into Sample Cups...

...And Set Onto Place cards. Three Of the Usual Sample Set of Six Are Shown, Though This Tasting Included Seven. This Also Shows The Color-Coded Map Of the Distillery Areas.

The presenter was Michael Foggarty, "Scottish Michael" formerly of Dublin's Celtic Whiskey Shop. A native Scot, he recently left the CWS and launched his own venture called Whiskey Island, conducting tastings professionally for businesses and other groups.  He does a great job.

Michael Foggarty Giving Background On Each Whisky And Its Distillery
 
The tasting line-up in order was:

Arran 1997 Single Cask
Bunnahabhain Darach Ùr
Jura Superstition
Ledaig 15yo
Talisker 10yo
Scapa 16yo
Highland Park 18yo

Three Down, Four To Go

At the end of the tasting, participants are polled to determine favorites, then everybody can return to the bottles for a proper pour of their preference.

The Line-Up At The End Of The Tasting

David Havelin gives a great and concise account of that evening's whiskys at his Irish Whiskey Notes blog. He also applies his eminently practical ratings system. I concur with his rankings with exception of the Bunnahabhain (buhn-ah-HA-vin) which I rather enjoyed.

The cask-strength Arran cauterized the tongue without water but was marvelous with a fair splash of water. The Bunnahabhain intrigued me with how it manifested terroir, or the expression of its immediate environment. The floral and salty tastes to me just seemed to reflect vibrantly the distillery's seaside location. Michael gave an example of that type of influence, noting that some whiskys that you'd swear are peated are not, and only give that impression because the distillery's water source flows from a peat bog. The Jura was strangely rubbery, the Ledaig (le-CHIG) was a robustly peated whisky, the Talisker 10 is an assertive malt with strong but balanced peatiness, and the Scapa was mild and pleasant. The Highland Park 18 is really one of the best and most complete Scotches available. Marvelous stuff.

The evening concluded with an adjournment to the bar upstairs for a few pints. A great event all around. If you're planning to be in Dublin, the tastings are held on the last Thursday of each month at the Brooks Hotel. Check out the IWS events listing. You can even book your place online. Highly recommended.

Otherwise And Elsewhere...
A couple of days after the tasting I popped into the CWS to purchase a few Irish whiskeys that are hard or not possible to get in the U.S.  I'll be writing about those in the next couple of weeks. I also grabbed several others at Duty Free on the way home. For some strange reason I decided not to get a couple of others that I had intended to. Aside from the financial impact I was starting to feel like a whiskey glutton (must be some latent Catholic guilt. Go figure.) In hindsight, it made absolutely no sense for me to leave those few on the shelves. It would be like having a huge 12-course meal but passing up the after-dinner mint so you could feel as if you were practicing moderation. Whatever. I'll get them next visit.

Finally, I managed to get one of the last 10 tickets to the final concert of this year's Temple Bar TradFest. While I had heard his music many times before, I had never seen the legendary Finbar Furey perform. What a consummate performer and a master musician. Staggeringly good. At one point while singing the famous "Green Fields of France" he and the band stopped playing, he put down the mike, stood up and simply sang it unaccompanied and unamplified. The entire 600 or so people in the audience at the Button Factory immediately became raptly silent until he reached the chorus again, when the entire place sang along. It was a moment. Pretty cool, if you like that sort of thing.

That's a wrap. Can't wait to go back.

After a day of gripping (read "tedious") research at the National Library of Ireland, I gratefully connected in the evening for a few drinks with my Irish Whiskey Society friends David, Leo and Leo's lovely wife Joyce at Bowe's on Fleet Street.

Bowe's is an excellent little pub with a whiskey/whisky menu featuring more than 100 Irish, Scotch, American and other offerings ranging in price from 5 to 12 Euros per glass. It's great to be able to glance at the menu or at the bottles arrayed in line on a brass rail above the bar and say, "Hmmm, what do I feel like having now?"



And that we did several times. I started with a Paddy, then tried the Tyrconnell Port Finish, the Tyrconnell 15, and the Powers 12, then finished the evening with a Green Spot.  Paddy is friendly and familiar. The Tyrconnell Port Finish has a nice complexity and an interesting finish. It's one of a trio of special finish Tyrconnells, the others being Sherry and Madeira which I have yet to sample. The Tyrconnell 15 is lovely and sets the stage for acquiring its 17-year-old sibling strongly recommended by David and Leo. The Powers 12 is very much a step up from the standard Powers and I'm looking forward to getting it in the States this year. And it's just hard to go wrong with Green Spot.

The four of us talked a bit about IWS' success, growth and plans to date, Leo's impressive (between about 350 and 600 bottles depending on how you count) whiskey/whisky collection, and this, that and the other thing. A fun night out with very nice folks.

Thursday evening is the January IWS tasting at the Brooks Hotel featuring Scotch from the northern islands.  Will give a report with pix after.

Appropriately enough, my whiskey-focused excursion to Dublin began with whiskey. After checking-in and doing the TSA Shuffle at Boston's Logan Airport, I sauntered toward the gate and decided to see what Scotches and Irish whiskeys they had at Duty Free. There were reasonable if small selections of both, including Jameson, Jameson 12, Midleton, Powers, Tullamore Dew (out of stock) and Paddy.

As I turned away from the shelves to exit the store, a friendly chap standing next to a Jack Daniels display asked if I'd like to sample either the standard Jack (nah, no thanks) or the Gentleman Jack.  I've only dabbled in about a half-dozen bourbons so far, so the Gentleman Jack seemed worth a shot (literally, 'cause that's about what he oops-poured for me).

He explained that it was charcoal filtered twice vs. once for Jack and spent another three weeks or three months or whatever (I can't remember. Seemed short though.) in the cask. I figured that another round of filtering for standard Jack sure couldn't hurt. And it did help. It was a more drinkable version of Jack that I'll try again.

Soon enough, I was on the overnight flight to DUB. Once on the ground at Dublin International, I went through Customs and hopped into a taxi heading into the City Centre.

"A Madman's Drink!"
I brought up the subject of whiskey, of course, with the taxi driver. He had a reaction to the subject similar to what I've seen with other Irishmen.

"Whiskey. That's a madman's drink! I know people who are fine after a few pints, but give them a whiskey and they SNAP, just like that," he said, lightly snapping the fingers of his left hand for emphasis. "Happens in a second.

"A madman's drink," he said for a second time.

I gamely related how we -- we being my American drinking companions and my colleagues at the Irish Whiskey Society (IWS) -- had a different approach to the drink. Still lots of fun mind you, (the craic, so) but with less mindless and legless intoxication. He seemed unconvinced.

"My Da' was the only person I knew who could drink whiskey and still come out of the pub the same way he went in," he said with a great deal of admiration in his voice.  "Everyone else, just mad."

His father preferred Jameson, he thought. Himself, well, he didn't touch the stuff.  Too risky.

Reboot and Reconnoiter
An early hotel check-in, a bit of shuteye and a cup of coffee later, I headed toward the south side of the Liffey and the Old Stand, a familiar pub with decent food and coffee. I skipped having a lunchtime whiskey to preserve my meager brainpower for some afternoon activities.  However, I did take a couple of reconnaissance photographs of their whiskey selection to give you an idea of what you might typically see in a Dublin pub.


The Handy Economy-Sized Wall Dispenser Version Tullamore Dew. I Think It's A Two-Litre Bottle

Jameson, Jameson Gold, Jameson 18, Powers 12, Midleton, The Irishman 70 and Single Malt, Crested Ten And A Few Others

I spent the rest of the afternoon and the remainder of the day's quota of semi-coherent mental functioning at the National Library of Ireland looking into my family history. On the way back to the hotel, I made a stop at that whiskey wonderland, that spirituous sanctum, that excellent expression of distilled products, the Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson Street. OK, that's a wee bit bloviated. Suffice it to say that they have an awesome selection of Irish whiskey and Scotch whisky.

"Irish Michael" Lawlor at the Celtic Whiskey Shop

I spent a few minutes chatting with the genial and very informative Michael Lawlor about the selection there and in the U.S., prices, marketing, the planned Porterhouse distillery in Co. Kerry, the Irish Whiskey Society, the upcoming IWS tasting, and so on.  He also offered me samples of the terrific Kilbeggan 15 -year-old and the Bushmills-distilled Brogans, neither of which I had tried previously.

He's not only a central figure in the Irish whiskey world, he's a great retailer who would seamlessly shift from chatting with me to helping customers with queries about which whiskeys to buy. It was nice to see both first-time and repeat customers come in and ask for whiskey recommendations just as they would fine wines. Call Michael if you have any questions about shipping whiskeys to the U.S. or elsewhere.


That's plenty for today. More tomorrow perhaps after connecting with the gents at the IWS.

My first entry of the New Year is three weeks in as I've been busy with work (good problem, but a problem nonetheless). I've also been preparing for a week-long trip to Dublin starting next Monday, Jan. 25. While the main impetus for the trip is family history research, a large part of my visit will be to explore more Irish whiskeys and to connect with the fine folks at the Irish Whiskey Society (IWS).

I timed my trip to coincide with the monthly IWS tasting on Thursday, Jan. 28. The tasting at the Brooks Hotel will focus on whiskys from the Arran, Jura, Mull, Orkney and Skye islands in the north of Scotland. Though we won't be exploring Irish whiskey, I'm keen to expand my Scotch palate with some kindred spirits (pun completely intended). Some IWS committee members and I may engage in an ad hoc planning and discussion session (more like having a few jars with the boys) the night before.



In any case, I will post items of note and pictures during my trip as my brain and internet connection allow. Likely topics will be a visit to the Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson Street (this will be my second stop there), the tasting, news from the whiskey world, pubs, the Temple Bar TradFest happening that weekend and various and sundry things that seem blog worthy.

I've been in Dublin a couple of times before and have covered a bunch of the usual sites and about a dozen pubs before. But do any of you have any suggestions or requests that I may be able to accommodate during the trip? Lemme know.

Stay tuned, and check the blog during the week next week.

Sláinte!
      

Word of new and newly available Irish whiskeys in the U.S. in 2010 will warm the hearts (and other body parts) of American whiskey drinkers.

Malt Advocate Editor John Hansell's blog states that there will be a new release of Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve, that a much-admired Powers 12-year-old will come ashore, that Paddy will stumble in around St. Patrick's Day and that the wonderful Red Breast 15-year-old will debut in the fall of 2010.  This is great news that you should certainly raise a glass to.

I must give a big thanks to David Havelin and his excellent, well-informed and informative Irish Whiskey Notes website for calling this out. And yes, David, I am happier than a muc in cac, as it were.

The RVR will be changing in composition. I'll be intrigued to see how its already marvelous complexity will evolve.  It will also be great to taste the 12-year-old expression of Powers.  The "regular" Powers is a pot still standard and the whiskey equivalent of a comfortable old friend to me and others, though it can be challenging to some. If the differences between the standard Jameson and Jameson 12 are any measure then the Powers 12 promises to be a winner.

And Paddy, Paddy, Paddy. More folks than I can count here have longingly watched Paddy from afar, wistfully seeking its presence in U.S. liquor stores. Now granted, it's not what everybody considers a robust whiskey. But it is an eminently drinkable casual beverage. Accordingly, it appears as if limited amounts will be available around March 17. (Maybe they don't want it to overstay a visa or something.) I'll be looking for the promos early next year and will be curious to see how they position and price it, and how and where they market it. Let me know if you see something.

And while I've found a couple of bottles of Red Breast 15 here in the U.S., it will be exported to America starting next fall. It's lovely stuff, lovelier even than its younger, 12-year-old sibling that's widely available here already.

What great news heading into the holidays.

In an earlier entry I wrote about the "art of drinking well." It was an attempt to explain my approach both to drinking and to this blog. In short form, it's about how drinking is simultaneously about the alcohol and not about the alcohol. Yes, it's about all of the nose-taste-color-finish aspects of a good whiskey -- or whatever libation you're hoisting.  And it's about the buzz of the booze (amen for that!). But ultimately and more importantly, drinking, and enjoying Irish whiskey, is more about the sharing of time and tipple with friends, family and other kindred spirits. It's about the fun, the craic.

I bring this up again because it highlights a sometimes hidden barrier to wider enjoyment of Irish whiskey in the US, and elsewhere. There is a common perception that liquor -- and Irish whiskey in particular -- is less about the enjoyment of fine drink, and more about a shortcut to domestic trouble, moral turpitude, cirrhosis of the liver and early death. Or at least a nasty hangover.

I get this perception whenever I discuss Irish whiskey as "a hobby" with acquaintances. If I mention past or planned Irish whiskey tastings the reaction is usually something like "Wow! Are you going to have people sleep on the floor?!" It is assumed that we're going to kill a few bottles of something, start talking or singing loudly and badly, piss in the sink, then stagger off to sleep somewhere. And while I can get reasonably locked and loaded if I want, drinking has morphed into an activity more like eating -- something to be done more pleasurably than prodigiously.

You can drink well with many types of alcohol -- vodka, gin, rum, scotch, port, brandy, wine, beer and others. And any of those can be associated with overindulgence. But I can enjoy a glass or two of those and not get the same, almost reflexively negative reaction I get if I say I'm drinking Irish whiskey. Indeed, the others -- scotch and port in particular -- seem to convey some level of sophistication. But Irish? Nope. The reaction is far more likely to be either that I like throat-ripping rotgut, or, that I'm drinking to get drunk.

Ironically, some of the hardest negative attitudes about Irish whiskey are in Ireland itself.  That stems from the country's tumultuous history with alcohol. There's national pride in the product, but many of the bartenders and other natives I spoke with in Ireland didn't know much about Irish whiskey, and some didn't drink at all. One evening in Galway, I committed a minor social faux pas by suggesting to my new-best-friend-for-a-night -- a local named Dominic -- that we switch to a whiskey after a few pints. He scowled faintly, shook his head as if I had proposed that we snort heroin, thought for a moment, then compromised on a hot whiskey (aka, hot toddy). Already into his fourth or fifth cider by the time he and I met, Dominic was no teetotaler. But whiskey to him was baaaaaad stuff.

Irish-Americans too have a rocky relationship with alcohol in fact, in anecdotes and by reputation. But having problems with alcohol is hardly unique either to the Irish or Irish-Americans, nor is Irish whiskey uniquely abused. Even so, it's that combination of fact and fiction that underlies the perception that "Irish = Drunk," and by association "Irish Whiskey = Drunk."

Part of the fun of introducing folks to the enjoyment of Irish whiskey is challenging that perception by opening their eyes and mouths to the range of good, really good and excellent brands available. Their perceptions begin to shift, from Irish whiskey being a get-hammered "drunk drink" to being a really good drinker's drink. I like to hear after a tasting that someone went out and bought a bottle of Jameson 12, Red Breast 12, Midleton or something else that tickled their fancy. The relative lack of awareness of Irish whiskey lends it a certain best-kept-secret status to those "in the know."

But don't get me wrong: I don't mean to imply that we start to portray Irish whiskey drinking as an exclusive, pinkie-in-the-air, ascot-or-pearls-wearing activity where we sit around talking about how our ponies did at the track and my-what-a-lovely-job-your-gardeners-did-on-the-front-promenade. Instead, I think that a natural perception of Irish whiskey is a midpoint between having your nose in the gutter and your nose in the air.  It's about enjoying the whiskey, the talk, the banter, the music, the camaraderie and the company. I use the Irish  "craic" (you could also just say "fun") because it captures those elements in a single word, and, of course, it's in context of the subject at hand.

So, keep spreading the good word and sharing the good dram. You'll be adding to the ranks of people who appreciate Irish whiskey, and maybe even find a new drinking companion or two. And, of course, the craic'll be mighty.