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.