Dublin Day One: "A Madman's Drink!"
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.
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
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.
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.
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