Hot Whiskey In Dublin.

[kurtbenoit]

Hi all, as I've said before I work in a bar in town and since the cold snap set in I can barely keep up with orders for hot whiskeys. In moments when it is a little bit quieter I'd like to go the extra distance for some of my regulars. Does anyone know any special additions I can make to the bog standard recipe to make it extra special or extra festive. Also I had a bottle of Tyrconnell in the bar on Friday and when I attempted to make a hot whiskey using that there was a commotion at the bar that "you can't be using that in a hot whiskey, you'll ruin it." Is that an accurate statement or a preference thing.

[jcskinner]

IMO, it depends on the Tyrconnell. I wouldn't use a 10 yo Tyrconnell for a hot one, but I wouldn't have too much of a problem with the basic malt.

But you're diluting (with water and heat) the flavour as well as changing it (with lemon and spices), so I reckon the best whiskeys for hot ones are the blandest Irish blends - Paddys, White Bush, etc. Though some do like a bit of potstill spiciness in their hot ones, which is where basic Powers plays a role. I don't think a potstill-based hot one needs the cloves though.

As for jazzing it up, I dunno. It's a classic recipe, I reckon. One option I've considered would be to dust the lemon with ground nutmeg rather than stud it with cloves. You need to have a light hand, though. Too much will ruin it.

Making it more seasonal? Tinsel around the glass, of course!

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Yes not sure it matters to most people on the whiskey but from a seeing prespective I would imagine people would object as it's all about what people preceive and that preception has always been Jameson, Paddy or Powers ... I'm sure there are differences with the 3 regular Irish but whether people would notice the difference if you used Tyrconnell I have my doubts.

On recipie I'd be with JC ... the hot whiskey is a classic and I think the clove and lemon are integral to a hot whiskey.

ALways include the clove but possibly experiment with adding nut meg as suggested by JC or Cinamon.

[kurtbenoit]

Thanks lad, picked up some cinnamon sticks and ground nutmeg today. I might rim the glass with nutmeg, it does seem a little overbearing where as the cinnamon sticks seem ........ underbearing? Anyway not in work til Wednesday I'll try it then.