Irish Whiskey Cocktails

[Chris Amirault]

There's Cameron's Kick and The Tipperary. What else? Andy, you say you love you some Irish whiskey cocktails: what are they?

[Chris Amirault]

OK, I'll start. I present the Gloom Lifter, sort of a Pisco Sour with Irish whiskey. This recipe doesn't list bitters, but I dashed in some Angostura to good effect. Very nice; might benefit from a bit of grated nutmeg atop.

[Alchemist]

This is going on the summer menu at The Violet Hour. It resembles the shelf stable Irish Cream in name only.

Maloney’s Irish Cream

2.0 Powers Irish whiskey

1.0 oz Fresh cream

1.0 oz Demerra Syrup

.10 oz Ardberg Scotch

3 drops orange flower water

Shake, strain.

Glass: Rocks

Garnish: None

Ice: Chunk.

Toby

[bradleybolt]

Here's a simple Sidecar variation that I put on the menu at Angels & Kings, 710 N. Clark, Chicago

Trainwreck

1.5 Jameson

0.75 Fresh Lemon Juice

0.75 Cointreau

1 dash Fee's Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

And another cocktail that is making its way onto the cocktail menu at Bar DeVille, 701 N. Damen, Chicago. We are opening mid-July.

Smith Park Swizzle

1.5 Bombay Dry

0.5 Jameson

0.75 Fresh Lemon

0.75 Orange Curacao

0.25 Simple Syrup 1:1

Fresh Mint Sprigs

Angostura Bitters

In a collins glass, muddle mint leaves and rub essential oils up and down glass leaving mint to rest at the bottom of it. Add ingredients. Fill glass with crushed ice and swizzle until ice forms on the outside of the glass. Add more crushed ice and stain red with Angostura bitters. Garnish with mint spring.

Toby- I'll try and stop in tonight to try your Irish Cream! See you soon.

[KatieLoeb]

I'm fond of a Manhattan made with Redbreast 12 Year old Irish Whiskey. It's a subtle and less sweet variant of one made with bourbon or rye. Even better perfect with a twist.

[thirtyoneknots]

The top two for me offhand are probably the James Joyce, Mr. Regan's Oriental variation made with the obvious spirit substitution, and the Emerald/Paddy/etc or whatever other names an Irish Whiskey manhattan might go under, though definitely this one needs orange bitters. It's not bad when made with Angostura, but it becomes much more exciting with a dash of The Bitter Truth (or whatever your favorite is). I do like the Tipperary noted above, though like many Chartreuse drinks it can be a bit rich at times. I nearly forgot to mention Mr. Wondrich's Weeski, which should have gone on the top line as one of my top faves.

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I do not have any blockbuster original Irish Whiskey cocktails. As much as I love the stuff, and enjoy the above mentioned drinks, I've not experimented with it as much as I ought to. I'm off the rest of this week but I now am on a mission to find or create something to contribute. Irish Whiskey goes so nice with orangey flavors, that should create a good place to start.

[KatieLoeb]

...I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I do not have any blockbuster original Irish Whiskey cocktails. As much as I love the stuff, and enjoy the above mentioned drinks, I've not experimented with it as much as I ought to. I'm off the rest of this week but I now am on a mission to find or create something to contribute. Irish Whiskey goes so nice with orangey flavors, that should create a good place to start.

←

My first thought when you mention the orangey flavors and bitters is howzabout a Crusta variant, with the obvious substitution? Sounds like it has potential to me...

[thirtyoneknots]

...I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I do not have any blockbuster original Irish Whiskey cocktails. As much as I love the stuff, and enjoy the above mentioned drinks, I've not experimented with it as much as I ought to. I'm off the rest of this week but I now am on a mission to find or create something to contribute. Irish Whiskey goes so nice with orangey flavors, that should create a good place to start.

←

My first thought when you mention the orangey flavors and bitters is howzabout a Crusta variant, with the obvious substitution? Sounds like it has potential to me...

←

I think the idea definitely has merit, although my latest kick has been to try to make flavored vodka interesting by combining it with more charactered spirits as the base of a cocktail. I've had a few successes, perhaps most notably with mixing Skyy Passion [Fruit] and Sazerac Rye in a sour with grenadine. I was pretty pleased with it and it made the Skyy reps happy, but more importantly, made the Passion Fruit vodka not taste like Skittles. In this vein, I wonder what might happen if Bushmills and Hangar One Mandarin Blossom were combined in the right preportions...or maybe even (a stretch here) Campari? Of course those Hangar One flavors are kind of tricky.

Edited June 24, 2008 by thirtyoneknots (log)

[thirtyoneknots]

...I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I do not have any blockbuster original Irish Whiskey cocktails. As much as I love the stuff, and enjoy the above mentioned drinks, I've not experimented with it as much as I ought to. I'm off the rest of this week but I now am on a mission to find or create something to contribute. Irish Whiskey goes so nice with orangey flavors, that should create a good place to start.

←

My first thought when you mention the orangey flavors and bitters is howzabout a Crusta variant, with the obvious substitution? Sounds like it has potential to me...

←

Your idea is making me think...I think once you get outside of obvious (and delicious) things like Manhattan variants, Irish Whiskey starts to mix a lot more like a brandy than like American Whiskey...Imbibe has shown us that the Brandy Cocktails of old are legion...should be ripe for experimentation.

[slkinsey]

My favorite Irish whiskey cocktail is Dave Wondrich's Weeski.:

2 oz : Irish whiskey

1 oz : Lillet blonde

1 tsp : Coinreau

2 dashes orange bitters

Stir/strain/lemon twist.

This drink really brings out the peachy qualities of Irish whiskey, which I sometimes highlight even further with an additional dash of peach bitters.

[Chris Amirault]

That looks like a drink wherein the floral nose of the Fee's orange bitters might work very well.

[Alchemist]

Also on the summer Menu

Maloney’s Irish Cream

2.0 Powers Irish whiskey

1.0 oz Fresh cream

1.0 oz Demerra Syrup

7 drops Ardberg Scotch

7 drops orange flower water

Shake, Roll into rocks glass

Glass: Rocks

Garnish: None

Ice: Kold-Draft

Toby

[Alcuin]

My favorite Irish whiskey cocktail is Dave Wondrich's Weeski.:

2 oz : Irish whiskey

1 oz : Lillet blonde

1 tsp : Coinreau

2 dashes orange bitters

Stir/strain/lemon twist.

This drink really brings out the peachy qualities of Irish whiskey, which I sometimes highlight even further with an additional dash of peach bitters.

←

I made this the other night and it was extraordinary. I was a bit apprehensive about the Lillet and whiskey combo, but they were both supported by the cointreau and bitters which brought out the best qualities of both. A really great drink.

I also made a James Joyce and a Gloom Lifter (with bitters added) and both were also both very good.

[slkinsey]

The Weeski is one of my favorites among the Wondrich original cocktails in my repertoire. Especially nice with Red Breast.

[thirtyoneknots]

My favorite Irish whiskey cocktail is Dave Wondrich's Weeski.:

2 oz : Irish whiskey

1 oz : Lillet blonde

1 tsp : Coinreau

2 dashes orange bitters

Stir/strain/lemon twist.

This drink really brings out the peachy qualities of Irish whiskey, which I sometimes highlight even further with an additional dash of peach bitters.

←

I made this the other night and it was extraordinary. I was a bit apprehensive about the Lillet and whiskey combo, but they were both supported by the cointreau and bitters which brought out the best qualities of both. A really great drink.

I also made a James Joyce and a Gloom Lifter (with bitters added) and both were also both very good.

←

Slightly off the Irish Whiskey topic, but another great whiskey/lillet combo is the Bourbon Dynasty, also a Wondrich original:

2 oz Bourbon (I think he specifies Maker's Mark)

1 oz Lillet

1 tsp Creme de Cassis

2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

up with a twist.

[Alcuin]

That looks good--I'll have to try that when I get a hold of some creme de cassis.

[thirtyoneknots]

Make sure to get an imported one, Marie Brizzard is good as usual.

[samuraibartender]

I've found that a good Irish Whiskey can be grand for highball-styled drinks, especially when combined with another spirit/modifier. Imbibe magazine just published one of these - page 14 in the letters section.

For those of you who don't read Imbibe (why not?) give it a try:

Rookie Highball

1 1/8 oz. Pimm's No. 1

1 oz. Jameson's Irish Whiskey

2 dashes fresh Lemon juice

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Ginger Ale

Combine first four ingredients in a highball glass filled with ice & stir briefly. Fill with Ginger Ale & garnish with a long spiral-cut (think Horse's Neck) lemon peel.

Cheers & Enjoy!

Chris

[Chris Amirault]

The Weeski Cocktail is one of the greatest cocktails on our fine little planet. Thanks, Dave.

[samuraibartender]

Just did a post on these two cocktails, one of my own devising, another created & served seasonally (i.e. right now) at Catherine Lombardi's & Stage Left restaurants in New Brunswick, NJ:

Just a Pear-flavored riff on the Stone Fence, but quite delicious.

Perry's Mason

1¼ oz. Eau de Vie de Poire (Pear William)

¾ oz. Irish Whiskey (Redbreast or another full-flavored variety)

Perry cider (home-fermented or commercially-available)

2-3 slices: Poached Pear

Combine spirits & poached Pear slices in a Highball glass half-filled with ice. Fill up with Perry, stir briefly and enjoy un-garnished & un-varnished.

This one's courtesy of Francis Schott:

The Irish Twin

1½ oz. Jameson's Irish Whiskey

2 oz. organic Pear nectar

½ oz. Honey syrup (1:1 - Honey:Water)

1 dash: ground Cinnamon

1 slice: fresh Pear

Combine liquid ingredients and dash of Cinnamon in a mixing glass with lots of ice & shake well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass & garnish with the slice of fresh Pear (dusted on one side with a little cinnamon).

Cheers!

[brinza]

Found this in Difford's. Quite good and a fun combination of ingredients.

CAUSEWAY

2 shots Irish Whiskey

1 shot Drambuie

4 dashes Angostura bitters

2 dashes orange bitters

1/4 shot lemon juice

top up with ginger ale

[KatieLoeb]

Just reacquainted myself with the Weeski cocktail earlier this week. A fine beverage it is. Thanks Dave. I might have to put this one on my fall cocktail menu (with all due credit of course), just because it's such a fine way to introduce folks to a more elegant employment of the Irish spirit. Most people (around here at least) drink Irish whiskey in celebratory shots, but never bother to sip it and really enjoy it. This might be the way to expand their horizons in a painless fashion.

[Chris Amirault]

More crowing about the Weeski Cocktail. Made it with Power's and the new Angostura orange bitters -- and I tossed in a few drops of Fee's Whiskey-barrel aged bitters. Lemon horse's neck rind to boot. This is a great drink to show off the Angostura bitters, to get non-whiskey drinkers to drink whiskey, to teach about flavor layering, and to crack wise about smart-ass drink names.

Seriously, it's poifeck.

[Chris Amirault]

Two quick notes. Irish whiskey makes a fine, subtle base for Improved Whiskey Cocktails. The bar where I work had its public opening on St. Paddy's, and we decided against green beer and for those.

Speaking of Paddy, it is finally available stateside, and it makes the best Weeski Cocktail imaginable. The mouthfeel in particular is luscious.

[Yajna Patni]

Since when can you find paddy here? I stuff my luggage with bottles of it when ever I go home!