Whiskey menu @ Lanigan's Bar on Eden Quay, Dublin.

[kurtbenoit]

Hi everyone, just wanted to let you know that we at Lanigan's have a proper whiskey menu as of tonight. For anyone who doesn't know Lanigan's, it's number 11 on Eden Quay, just beside O'Connell bridge in Dublin's city centre.

It took longer than I expected (I'm only working there part time and the rest of the staff seemed uninterested) but it's done now and I hope you'll all call in.

It's not the most extensive menu and as I said I'm the only bartender in there who has an interest in it, so don't expect to learn anything new as you might in Mulligan's. But I focused on offering as fair a price as I could (for a city centre pub) and fully intend to have promotions most months. On that topic, our opening offers are as follows.

Redbreast 15 Year Old 7.50
Jameson 18 Year Old 8.50
Midleton Very Rare 2011 10.00

This opening offer will run until November 1st at the very earliest and possibly beyond. November's promotion will see the standard Cooley range, Kilbeggan, Tyrconnell, Connemara and Greenore available for just 4 euro a shot and that will run for the whole of November.

Here is our full list at the moment

BUSHMILLS DISTILLERY
Bushmills Original 4.00
Blackbush 4.50
Bushmills 10 Year Old Single Malt 6.20
Bushmills 12 Year Old Distillery Reserve 7.50
Bushmills 16 Year Old Single Malt 8.00
Bushmills 1608 8.50

MIDLETON DISTILLERY
Jameson 4.00
Paddy 4.00
Powers 4.00
Power’s John’s Lane 12 Year Old 5.50
Redbreast 15 Year Old 7.50
Jameson 18 Year Old 8.50
Midleton Very Rare 2011 10.00

COOLEY DISTILLERY
Kilbeggan 4.20
Tyrconnell 4.30
Connemara 4.70
Greenore 8 Year Old 4.90
Locke’s 10 Year Old Premier Crew 8.50
Connemara 17 Year Old Single Cask 10.00
Kilbeggan 15 Year Old 15.00

KILBEGGAN DISTILLERY
Kilbeggan Distillery Reserve 6.50

P.S. if anyone from the society could drop in with business cards or a couple of posters promoting the society I'd be happy to put them up, just leave them in the bar for the attention of Martin, that's me.

P.P.S Lanigan's Facebook page is getting done up at the minute and when it's finished I'll put a link here so you can stay up to date with any new arrivals to our menu and any new promotions.

And thanks to evryone who has helped educate me on whiskey through the powers of this forum. I bought my first bottle of whiskey one year ago today.

[JohnM]

Looks good, Martin. Hopefully I'll drop in sometime.

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

there excellent prices for any pub ,let alone a Dublin one.
you'd expect to pay €6.50 for the 12 year old RedBreast. And the Midleton for A €10.Bargain.
I remember it was nearly that in £'s when i started working in a Whites in Wexford back in the late 80's. I can only imagine what a 4 star hotel would charge today

[kurtbenoit]

I was in the Gibson Hotel for dinner on thursday night and they had Midleton on their menu for 18 euro a shot. We'll keep it at those prices for as long as possible but if we do have to increase I can't see it being a drastic one. Sold a lot of Midleton after the game yesterday and depending on the result today could do the same.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Well done Martin you finally got your way

Would love to drop in there too if I ever get up to Dublin

[kurtbenoit]

Cheers Adrian, yes it was quite odd going to my manager with a business plan, profit margins and an already existing demand for whiskey only to be turned down over and over again with my idea of a "whiskey menu". Still I got there in the end, it'll give me a nice trial run for when I, hopefully one day, have a bar to run myself.

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

I'm trying to convince my boss to go the same route with a good reasonable Whiskey menu.
What sort of feed back are you getting?

[kurtbenoit]

Really good, anytime someone comes to the bar and asks for a whiskey or a Jameson, I hand them the menu and say try a real whiskey. After a few moments studying it they always try something new. Kilbeggan is flying out. Started the menu 3 weeks ago and already we've sold 10 bottles of standard Kilbeggan, half a bottle of distillery reserve, and half a bottle of Kilbeggan 15 year old which is 15 euro a shot and our most expensive whiskey. Connemara, Greenore, Bushmills 10 year old, Powers John Lane and Redreast 15 year old are all selling well too. Surprised at the Midleton though. Haven't opened the bottle yet and at 10 euro a shot I thought we'd have more interest.

[Michael Foggarty]

Good stuff Martin, i hope you said "I told you so!"

Good Whiskey Hunting, How many whiskeys does your bar have at present? you dont need lots to have a whiskey menu. My first menu started out with 10 whiskies on it that had been gathering dust in the bar, the owner asked me to "get rid of them" i.e. sell them out. So i printed a little A6 sheet with them priced up and shifted them in one weekend, needless to say the owner changed his tune. I started the the whisky menu in Brooks along the same lines and that grew and grew and grew! L Mulligan Grocer has been the same, well we started with 50ish and now have 200+.
Why not approach your employer and ask if you can put together a little price list of the whiskies( im assuming you have the Jameson and Bushmills ranges and probably a bottle or 2 off scotch?) Once theres a price list sales go up as people are often scared to ask the barman the price of a whisky or order it without the price, it a catch 22 for the customer. If the whisky is priced up the customer can then ordered a whisky that suits their budget.
Ive helped several bars in Ireland start out this way and would be willing to help you if you need it, i also have a rake of glencairn glasses that im willing to sell to any bar at cost price.

[Good Whiskey Hunting]

Cheers Michael,
It's Willie here.i'll be up in Dublin in the next few weeks and i'll drop in to see Martin and his menu.
I'll give you a shout for some glasses as soon as i get something rolling.If i can't manage to sell them i'll can always have fun drinking them..