In need of great Irish Whiskey Cocktails

[DavidS]

I have a blog that features a set list of bottles, around which I make classic cocktails. One of my bottles is Redbreast. I have been told by many cocktail experts that I should replace it because there just aren't that many drinks in which it can be used. I love Redbreast too much to replace it, so I'm diligently looking for great cocktails which (here's the caveat) can be made within the confines of the blog's ingredient list, plus mixers. The site is http://12bottlebar.com if you want to see the list.

Outside of the sours, fixes, daisies, smashes, toddies, etc., we've done the Crow and the Paddy. I would appreciate any and all suggestions.

Best,

David

[JohnM]

Hi David

Michael Fogarty is your man for this. Maybe he'll look in soon.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

... I love Redbreast too much to replace it, so I'm diligently looking for great cocktails which (here's the caveat) can be made within the confines of the blog's ingredient list, plus mixers. The site is http://12bottlebar.com if you want to see the list.

I love Redbreast too ... so much so that I'm afraid I'd not contaiminate it with cocktail ingredients to ruin a great whiskey

Luckily there are pleanty of people here who would not neccessairly agree with me

But best of luck in your quest ...

[DavidS]

I've certainly heard the "not in cocktails" before, but my thought is if I'm going to drink, it might as well taste as good as possible. I have to admit a whiskey sour with Redbreast is absolutely divine.

[bredman]

I love Redbreast too ... so much so that I'm afraid I'd not contaiminate it with cocktail ingredients to ruin a great whiskey

I'm inclined to agree. But... i have a old book here with the recipe for a Shillelagh.

1 1/2 msr Irish Whiskey ( in this case Redbreast )
1/2 msr sloe gin
1 tsp overproof white rum
1 tsp peach schnapps
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar syrup

Shake with a glassful of broken ice and serve in a Rocks glass - pour unstrained.

[bredman]

A Colonial Boy.

3/4 msr Irish whiskey
1 dash Angostura
5 msr hot black tea ( sweetened to taste )

Stir in glass.

[bredman]

Hot Irish. Popular in Dublin apparently.

1 1/2 msr Irish whiskey
4 msr boiling water
1/2 slice of lemon studded with cloves
small pinch ground cinnamon

sweeten with brown sugar to taste.

[bredman]

Wild Irish Rose.

2 msr Irish Whiskey
3/4 msr lemon juice
1/2 msr grenadine
2 msr soda water

Add to rocks glass 3/4 filled with broken ice.

[bredman]

How about a Blarney Stone.

2 msr Irish whiskey
1 tsp Triple Sec
1/2 tsp Pernod
1/2 tsp maraschino
1 dash Angostura

Add to rocks glass filled with broken ice.
Add orange twist and a mint sprig.

[bredman]

And finally a Tipperary.

1 3/4 msr Irish whiskey
1 1/2 msr apricot brandy
1 msr double cream
1/2 msr strawberry liqueur
1 tsp armagnac

Shake and strain into glass.
Garnish: Half a strawberry

Serve in Champagne saucer.

[bredman]

DavidS, these are the classic standard, not a modern twist. Let us know if any of these are a hit or miss.

Pete

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Now that you mention that Bredman I have a book from 1945 with a load of old Cocktail recipes ... hhmmm will I won't I ...

I pull it out later and have a read.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Okay had a quick flick through that book I had on my lunch.
It is basically a bartenders guide from the 1940's so an interesting slant on cocktails, possibly.
There were over 1000 cocktail described in the book which was pretty impressive.
Whiskey as a vague ingredient was mentioned fairly regular but some were specific by saying Scotch, Irish Whiskey or Rye Whiskey.
I'll list some of the ones where Irish was specifically mentioned. No idea what some of the ingredients are .. Kummel anyone??? and what the difference between French and Italian Vermouth is????

Eventhough I'm not into cocktails but I like the website by the way.

How about a Blarney Stone.

I found one Just called "Blarny"

2/3 Irish
1/3 Italian Vermouth
Serve in Old Fashioned Glass
Dress with Fruit


Brianstorm

1/2 Jigger Irish
2 Dashes Benedictine
2 Dashes French Vermouth
Squeeze Orange Peel on top
Stir well
Strain into cocktail glass.

Cameron's Kick

1/3 Scotch
1/3 Irish
1/6 Lemon
1/6 Orgeat Syrup
Shake well
Strain into cocktail glass.


Gloom Lifter

Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/2 Teaspoon of Brandy
1 Jigger Irish
White of one eegg
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 dash Raspberry Syurp
1 dash Grenadine
Shake well
Strain into cocktail glass.


John Holts

2 parts Irish
2 parts Italian Vermouth
2 parts lemon
1 part Kummel
1 dash angosture
Shake well
Strain into cocktail glass.

Rory O'More

1 dash Angostura
1/2 Irish
I/2 Italian Vermouth
Shake well
Strain into cocktail glass.

[bredman]

No idea what some of the ingredients are .. Kummel anyone??? and what the difference between French and Italian Vermouth is????

I had a bottle of Wolfschmidt Kummel once during my cocktail period, the nicest kummel imo. It's an old style liqueur flavoured with caraway seeds. Goldwasser is a popular variant.



Iirc Italian vermouth is sweet and French vermouth is dry, both countries make both styles but these monikers are still in use.

[DavidS]

Wow, gentlemen -- I don't know what to say. Thank you! That's a great list.

My only constraint is the self-imposed one of fixed ingredients. Otherwise, many of these such as the Brainstorm, etc. would have been immediately on my list. The Wild Irish Rose, Colonial Boy, Hot Irish, Gloom Lifter, and Blarny all fit. Nice Gloom Lifter -- it's a little more involved than I've seen before, which is a good thing.

So far, this week, I've done (named bottles are just due to copying recipes from my site):

The Paddy (the same as your Rory O'More version)
1.5 oz Redbreast Whiskey
1.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
1 Dash Angostura Bitters

James Joyce (a variation on the Oriental)
1.5 oz Redbreast Whiskey
0.75 oz Sweet Vermouth
0.75 oz Orange Liqueur
0.50 oz Lime Juice

And tomorrow, I'm doing a Stone Fence -- jigger of whiskey topped with cider (probably Strongbow, as I can't get Bulmer's here. Open to suggestions.)

Another wonderful one I've run across, which I will share for your pleasure, is:

The Crow
1.5 oz Redbreast Whiskey
1.5 oz Lemon Juice
1.5 tsp Grenadine

Essentially your Wild Irish Rose sans water. I really like the equal parts spirit and lemon. The original "Here's How" recipe calls for Scotch, but Irish is great here.

With all the esoteric spirits and cocktails coming back to life, I still have my fingers crossed for a proper Irish push.

[Ace]

I despise gin but mixing it with Irish whiskey may change things. I will have to try the Shillelagh.

N.B. I wonder if drinking one makes you feel like you've been hit with one ....

[brettie vedder]

mixed drinks usually lead to me waking up in a ditch on the side of the road

[bredman]

mixed drinks usually lead to me waking up in a ditch on the side of the road

Yes indeed. Fond memories, good times.

[DavidS]

mixed drinks usually lead to me waking up in a ditch on the side of the road

As long as you wake up.

[IrishWhiskeyChaser]

Don't know why I'm encouraging you

A fwe more I've come across ...

Ballylickey Belt

1 1/2oz of Irish
1/2 teaspoot of (heather) honey
club soda
lemon peel

muddle honey with some of the club soda till disolved.
Add whiskey then some ice cubes and fill with club soda.
Twist lemon peel over glass and drop in.


Black and Tan

1 1/2oz of Irish
1 oz of Dark Rum
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz orange juice
1/2 teaspoon fine sugar
4 oz ginger ale

Put all ingredients bar ginger ale in a shaker wioth 3-4 ice cubes, shake vigourously
Strain into cocktaly glass over 3-4 ice cubes. Top with ginger ale.


Blackthorn

1oz of Irish
1/4 oz of dry vermouth
dash annisette

Stir well with ice cubes, strain into cocktail glass
Garnish with a twist of lemon

Bloody Molly

Bloody mary with Irish Whiskey instead

Bow Street Special

1 1/2 oz Irish
3/4 oz tripple sec
1 oz lemon juice

Mix with crushed ice in a shaker, strain into a cocktail glass.

[TheWhiskeyBro]

Have to join in also, from a William Jameson, Marrowbone Lane Distillery (long since closed) from a US promotional booklet dated 1935

Where it reads William Jameson replace with Irish Pot Still whiskey such as Redbreast or Greenspot

Irish Fusilier

1 jigger William Jameson Irish Whiskey
Ginger Ale
Piece of Lemon Peel

Hot Irish

1 jigger William Jameson Irish Whiskey
Piece of Lemon Peel, plus a squeeze of [Lemon] juice
Pinch of cinnamon
Boiling water

Hot Old Irish Whiskey Punch

12 lumps sugar
2 lemons
1 bottle (fifth) William Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 level teaspoon of cloves
1 stick cinnamon
Boiling water

Old-Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail (Ould Sod Edition)

1.5 jiggers William Jameson Irish Whiskey
0.5 lump of sugar
2 dashes Curacao
2 or 3 dashes Angostura Bitters
Slice of lemon
(some devotees demand also slice of orange and slice of pineapple)

Old Father William

4 parts William Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 part Italian Vermouth
1 part French Vermouth
1 part Peach Brandy

Shillelagh

2 parts William Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 part French Vermouth
2 dashes Benedictine

Jaunting Car

3 parts William Jameson Irish Whiskey
1 part Green Chartreuse
Small dash Green Creme de Menthe

These are all original 1935 recipes, faithfully reproduced here, If your really interested in particular ones I can add a couple descriptions of how they were made.

[bredman]

A couple of those are variants of a couple i posted. Cocktail aficionados are really into understanding the development of the cocktails over the decades, where recipes have been fine tuned and improved ( due mainly to a wider understanding of what is available, and availability itself ), and those cocktails that were spot on from the start, and remain unchanged.

i dug out my more modern recipe book ( some in it are classics ).

Rattlesnake
2 msr Your favourite whiskey
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar syrup
1/2 the white of 1 egg
several dashes of Pernod

Shake with crushed ice - shake vigorously to froth up the egg white. Strain into a rocks glass.

You wont be served a cocktail containing an egg in a bar because of H&S. But as this picture shows it's inclusion is quite striking ( i can personally assure you that they can't be tasted ).

the "rattlesnake"

[brettie vedder]

ah sure i toss raw eggs into raw milk and cream all the time for a meal. salmonella, pshttttt

[DavidS]

Thanks, guys, for all the the input. I thin I'm well stocked for sometime to come. Our drinks through the end of the year of pretty much set (we're doing Gary Regan drinks, then David Wondrich, then Christmas), but there'll be one or two more Irish in there (probably a Hot Irish Punch for the Christmas list).

I'm going to post as many of your suggestions as the constraints of the site allow. Of course, if anything new comes to mind, please add it, as I check back regularly. Have a great Thanksgiving (those in the States).

[Mothrae]

In the USA, I find this recipe is called "Hot Powers"

Sometimes, I use a splash of ginger ale or lemon-lime soda over Irish whiskey instead of water to release the angels. I don't have a name for it.

Hot Irish. Popular in Dublin apparently.

1 1/2 msr Irish whiskey
4 msr boiling water
1/2 slice of lemon studded with cloves
small pinch ground cinnamon

sweeten with brown sugar to taste.