Irish Hard-Drinking Favorites

As crazy as it may seem, we can thank the Irish monks of the 6th century for inventing whiskey. Upon viewing the apparatus used for distilling perfume in the Middle East they created their own pot still to produce the "water of life"--in Gaelic, Uisce Beatha.

Better known to all the lushes out there as whiskey (or whisky as its spelled in Scotland and Canada), Irish liquor lends itself to many customs and traditions. Irish Whiskey has been the reigning champion in the spirit industry for quite some time.

Ingredients such as malted barley or a mix of unmalted barley with other cereals are ground, then mixed with the fantastically clear spring water of the Irish countryside in a large container called a mash bin. Unmalted barley is dried in closed kilns, guaranteeing a smoother flavor and the absence of a smoky taste. Maturing whiskey is stored for many years in oak casks, previously used for sherry.

You can check out exactly how it's made the next time you visit Ireland by touring one of the following:

Old Jameson's Distillery (Dublin)

Multi lingual tours are run daily from 9:30-5:30, 363 days a year.

Jameson Heritage Centre (County Cork)

Tours daily between noon and 3:00. See the 150 year-old watermill and the world's largest pot still. Obtain an official diploma as an Irish whiskey taster, hmmm....

Old Bushmills Distillery (County Antrim)

Guided tours are available daily year round but from November through March there's a shortened schedule from 10:30-4:00. This is the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery, dating back over 400 years:

For those of you who don't wish to stagger too far from home, try visiting WhiskyFest 2000 at New York's Maniott Marquis in Times Square, NYC at the beginning of November. The Festival features two hundred of the world's finest and most expensive whiskies, dozens of respected distillery managers, master blenders, and whiskey authors--including Jim Murray of Knappogue Castle in Ireland.

For information call 1-800-610-Malt (or order on-line www.whiskey pages.com.

Check out the following websites as well:

http://www.irish-whiskey-trail.com/
http://www.techpress.com/whiskey
http://eirhost.com/whiskey/

For delicious Irish whiskey cake try:

http://www.virtualcities.com/ons/ny/

And for mixed whiskey drinks try:
http://www.epact.se/acats/whiskey.html

And there's Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur

One of the most exciting things to wrap your tongue around is a Bailey 's Irish Cream. The smooth creamy flavor is incomparable for taste and texture. Bailey's was launched in 1974, and is a combination of 50% fresh dairy cream, Irish whiskey, which is triple distilled Irish pot still whiskey, other fine spirits and natural flavors. 45% of the milk manufactured in Ireland is used in production of Bailey's. (Hmm, healthy too.) The fabulous creamy taste is only 117 calories for a 371" ml, contains no preservatives or additives. It is the only cream liqueur guaranteed to deliver its unique taste for two years after it has been made. So don't have a Hemorrhage, unless it's a Baileys.

-Peggy Verhagen

Bailey's Recipies

Hemorrhage 1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream 1 oz. peach schnapps 1 oz. Kahlua 1/8 oz. grenadine Place a layer of Kahlua, a layer of schnapps, and Bailey's in an ice filled glass. Add grenadine drops to taste.

Mudslide 1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream 1 oz. vodka 1 oz. kahlua Place ice, vodka, Kahlua and Bailey's in mixing glass, shake, rattle and roll. Strain into cool cocktail glass.

A Newcomer Joins The Ranks

High-quality Irish whiskey may be a part of the traditional image of Ireland but if you ask Cork-men and liquor connoisseurs Pat Rigney and partner Dave Phelan they will convince you that there is a new spirit on the block and not a traditionally Irish one at that. It's vodka. Boru Vodka. And it recently turned two-years old.

No strangers to the spirits market, (Rigney worked for Bailey's for many years) both Rigney and Phelan decided to take advantage of the lack of new spirits in the Irish world of hard liquor. As a result, these two created a unique distillery in West Cork where Boru is produced with natural spring water and grain. These ingredients mellow through "homemade" charcoal made from oak. "We are an innovative new company," says Rigney. "We chose to first add vodka to our line because it is a big market item with a lot of opportunities in the global market."

According to Rigney, current trends in the spirits market are towards more consolidation. Larger companies are giving less focus to innovation and development of new brands. "That is our niche," says Rigney. "We want to develop new brands as well as look after our other brands. We do not want to be small fish in a small pond but rather small fish in a large pond."

In order to fulfill that goal, the company has also created unique bourbon named Clontar3'distilled in Ireland using pure spring water and the finest grain filtered through Atlantic Irish oak charcoal---and the recently launched O'Shea's Cream Liquor. As the second addition to their portfolio, Clonta~ is also packaged with their innovative trinity bottle--which, like the vodka bring together three variations together in a sleek three-bottle unfied presentation.

The company plans to promote Boru and the other brands at liquor stores and bars letting consumers taste the product first-hand. Says Rigney, "We want people to have a straightforward relationship with Boru which creates immediate product recognition. However packaging and product recognition is not enough of a reason for the consumer to buy--the product needs to have a great taste too."

Boru will be promoted in the U.S. through special events and via high-quality television ads similar to those in Europe with the tag, "The Purest Expression in Vodka." The vodka's image will also be developed through its packaging. Adds the young entrepreneur, "We want to have something to get people talking about our product and the trinity packaging really works," adds Rigney, "There is a major Irish revival going on right now with a lot of interest in all things Irish. Boru is here at the right time and people will recognize its superior quality and taste."

--Nicole Potenza