There are different kinds of Irish Whiskey. Jameson’s is a blended whiskey. The Bushmill’s is a single malt. If you don’t like either of those, maybe you should try a pure pot still whiskey like Green Spot or Midleton.
I don’t like Bushmill, Jameson’s is my favorite that’s easily available, but I’ll always have room on my shelf for Paddy. One crazy night in Killarney preparing for a mad dash across the island to catch a flight out of Dublin (Aer Lingus strike screwed up our travel plans) and the only thing that kept us sane was Paddy, some hot water, a little lemon and some sugar.
I like Jameson’s just find (and I’m not Catholic). But whenever I voice a liquor preference, some alcohol snob always comes along to assure me what a cretin I am, so I think I must have poor taste.
Paddy - and I’ve been told it’s not “Paddy’s”, it’s “Paddy”
“Light and fresh, being one of the softest of all Irish Whiskeys due to the low percentage of pot still content” - Should give a hint what my tastes are.
Hmm. I’ll have to try it. Regrettably, I don’t recognize the bottle and I don’t think I’ve seen it any local liquor stores (I live in Northern Virginia and frequent Northern Maryland as well). I’ll keep an eye out for it.
I’ve always wanted to try Connemara. I hear it’s a bit on the rough side, though. And it’s a touch expensive. I think a large part of the problem is the relative lack of abundance of Irish whiskey (at least in my area) when compared to the ridiculous variety of Scotch whiskey I see in any and all liquor stores.
My Anglican father will drink only Bushmills. Of course, he also wears an orange tie on St. Patrick’s Day (the only day of the year he ever wears a tie.)
“We may be Scots-Irish, but we’rrrre by God Scots firrrrst!”
“Well then why don’t ya’ drink Scotch?”
“It’s overrr-prrriced, ya’ damn fool!”
I would guess that Jameson is more popular in the Republic of Ireland than Bushmill’s or at the very least Jameson is more promoted. Jameson is prominently advertised in many places and has more telly ads than other whiskeys. Jameson has lately been pitching itself at a younger market than is traditional for whiskeys. As far as sectarian whiskey divide if that was the case in the past it either has largely died out or is more specific to Northern Ireland.
I’m an ecumenical whiskey drinker.
The original recipe I knew called for cloves as well, but I was told “No, you don’t need no cloves… don’t really need the hot water”
Cup of hot water, large shot of Paddy, squeeze of lemon, spoon of sugar, drink, repeat. I’ faith, there’s nothing wrong in a world after a couple.
I think Badkittypriestess put in two spoons of sugar. She doesn’t drink and she liked them.
Black Bush (Bushmill’s Black Label Blend, almost a single malt) is my standard drinking Irish whiskey, and I actually prefer it over the Bushmill’s 10 and 12 year single malts. I also keep the Jameson 1780 on hand, but the Black Bush gets more play. Jameson (plain label) is more readily available, though, and much smoother than Bushmill’s bottom tier whiskey. I have to agree with Gary T that Redbreast (a 12 year old pure pot still which comes in a fat, round bottle which looks like a cognac bottle) is the standard, exceeded only by Middleton Very Rare. I just picked up a bottle of Tyrconnell a few weeks ago and have had a couple of drinks from it; it’s different, but not going to be a favorite, I think.
One that you should check out, though it is hard to find, is Knappogue Castle. (What are the odds that I spelled that right? Hey, what do you know; I did.) It’s a much lighter and sweeter than most Irish whiskeys (the tasting notes refer to it as floral and vanilla), and makes a nice post-prandial drink on a warm summer night after a light meal.
One of the nice things about Irish whiskeys is that there are only a few and you can conceivably try all of them without breaking the bank or becoming secretary of your local AA chapter. Compared to the incredible profusion of Scotch whiskys–many of which, even expensive single malts, I find to be undrinkable–one can easily decide which one is preferred for a given circumstance and keep a modest, yet representative selection on hand. With Scotches, I pretty much stick with Glenmorangie Cask series (heavenly nectar) and leave the rest to true afficinados.
