The Irish Blog (revisited)

Faith and begorrah, 'tis The Irish Blog.

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The countdown to St. Patrick's Day begins.

Long an excuse (as if they needed one) for college students, dock workers and newly divorced men to get rip-roaring hammered, this year will be very likely be extra stupid due to it's unfortunate occurrence on a Saturday. No need to skip work/school this year AND a built-in day to recover.

Please leave your keys at home and take a cab.

But for those of you who are into more responsible consumption of adult beverages, we will spend the days leading to and following St. Patrick's day taking a look at Irish whiskies.

That's right, for the entire month of March, we'll concentrate on whiskies from across the North Channel. It's unfortunate that the Irish stuff only gets media attention during the month of March, and obviously I'm adding to the problem, but if we can get people to try the Irish whiskies during March, maybe people will see that these whiskies are good all year long.

And though my surname is Scottish, I have a good volume of Irish blood flowing through my veins - so it's great to promote the home team.

I'll have profiles of a number of Irish whiskies; a primer on Irish whiskey; visits to distilleries; product reviews and maybe a couple of stories from some very special guests.

Also for the month of March, we have a new sponsor - Connemara whiskey from Cooley Distillery. Showing typical Irish hospitality, my friend Jack Teeling has provided me with a 100 Connemara mini key chain flasks - and we'll be giving them all away for just the price of postage.

Oh yes - anyone who buys a copy of The Instant Expert's Guide to Single Malt Scotch from Doceon Press during the month of March gets one for free.

So, enjoy the month; Enjoy the stories; Enjoy St. Patrick's Day (responsibly). And I expect you all to be enjoying some great Irish Whiskey in April. And May. And June...

Comments

[Brendan Hickey]

I come at this from the other direction, as an Irishman who honeymooned in Scotland and found it a very comfortable place, resonating with something akin to "home." Of course, Scotland was settled by the Irish and the peoples are close in many respects.

I just finished a bottle of Red Breast and have moved on to Black Bush. The quasi-pornographic names are good for a laugh and the whiskey is smooth and tasty, a bit different but comparable to that made by the Scots.