Irish whiskey connoisseurs

I think there may be a slight miscommunication here.

When me and Shaldna and all the other Irish and Irish-Brits talk about Irish pubs, we means the ones that Irish people drink in. As opposed to the Irish theme pubs which are mostly for tourists. The latter are the ones that do cocktails and strange green drinks. I'm not sure what kind you would have in South Florida.

Over here, you don't drop anything in a Guinness without special dispensation from the the Pope. Especially not a good whiskey. That goes down your throat first and then you sup your Guinness.

Some things to keep in mind.

Jamesons vs Bushmils is practically a religious / socio-political choice. Bushmills is distilled in a predominantly Protestant region, and some in Ireland will tell you emphatically that it's English, despite the fact that it's the oldest extant distillery in Ireland. The motto is in English.

Jamesons is distilled just outside of Cork (Midleton) and bottled in Dublin. They have a Gaelic motto on their bottle.

The two look and taste very differently. (I like both, frankly, but prefer Jamesons for most things).

Neither is Irish owned; Pernod Ricard used to own both companies (they're a French conglomerate) but sold Bushmills to another conglomerate, Diageo.

Both have aged blended versions; the Jameson 18 is kind of the traditional example, as is the Bushmills 16.

Really, truly, you don't do shots of Irish. Think of it as on a par with single malt Scotch, because it is.

Other Irish I like: Knappogue Castle 12, Redbreast 12 Cask Strength (they have a 21 year one too, though it's out of my league entirely), and probably my very favorite which I used to get only at Celtic conferences, brought by my Irish colleagues: Connemara 12, which I haven't had in years, so it might have changed.

Another colleague did an M.A. anthro thesis on Irish pub culture: J. Cucchiara. Pubs, Punters, and Pints: Anthropological Reflections on Pub Life in Ireland.

http://digitalcollections.net.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/4278

I know that there are several pubs around Trinity College in Dublin where you can get flights, samples, of Irish, that are about an ounce and a half in U.S. terms. They're meant to be sipped and compared. And they'll be arranged in terms of distillery, or age, or region. So they might have a flight of 3 12 year olds from different distilleries, or 3 ages from a single distillery, or 3 that have been aged in different kinds of barrels, say, sherry, cognac and port.

I could see a tasting contest around that: i.e. three samples, you identify the region or distillery or age.

sdevonh wrote: I have a character who works as a bartender at an Irish pub. His specialty offering is three mystery shots of Irish whiskey, one premium and two well or cheaper brands. If the buyer guesses which shot is the premium, he/she gets a shot on the house. I don't drink anymore and knew NOTHING about whiskey, much less the Irish type when I did. So pour me some names, people!

Late to this party, but I was a Publican for years. Grew up in Belfast opened a pub in the states.
(Side note: That abomination drink "Car Bomb" is as insulting as it can get....I did not allow it in my pub nor do I condone it -- even in cheek.)
Certainly some Whisky (whiskey) is better for sipping rather than shooting, but it is not heresy to shoot a fine whisky nor would I berate you for doing so.
Yes, Jameson is distilled in Cork now, but it started in Dublin in 1780. The motto is the family motto: Sine Metu (without fear).

You can taste the difference in whisky -- there are blends, single malts, single pot and single grain styles of the uische beatha.

In the states your whisky brand would depend on the distributor for that region. But the most common four are going to be Jameson, Powers, Bushmills, Tulamore Dew.
Those are all blends.
Higher end would be: Midleton Very Rare (still a blend), Jameson Gold or Jameson 12 yr (Single Malt), Black Bush (medium high end -- blend), Red Breast (Jameson -- single pot still 12, 15, 21 year), Tullamore Dew Single Malt (10 year), Jameson Black Barrel (a nice mid range priced tasty whisky).

If in your novel your pub will be inhabited by expats, depending on their native area, they'll harbor loyalty to a certain brand of beer or whisky. You'll get pint drinkers who prefer Beamish or Murphy's to Guinness and will want Powers whisky as a back as opposed to say Jameson or Paddy's or bush.

Kit pubs in the states feed the stereotype with Guinness signs everywhere and daidle-dee-daidle-dee tunes playing on the stereo. But Expat pubs still have Irish tunes playing and will have Guinness signs all over -- it's just the delivery that makes it authentic.
And for the love of feck DO NOT have your bartender scribing shamrocks in the settling Guinness foam.

But Back to your question: You could have three shots -- one bushmills, one Tullamore (easy to spot because of the peppery sweet finish) and a high end Red Breast -- all three have distinct flavors.

If you want more info just ask or IM me.
Slan.

ETA: I do have 1780 tattooed on the outside of my right hand so I toast John Jameson with every shot. Full disclosure. Cha cha cha!

I used to inscribe the Guinness with the initials of the person drinking it so there would be no confusion over whose was whose.

The Guinness with a whiskey chaser is also known as a boilermaker in the States (although it's not necessarily Guinness nor necessarily whiskey). I believe Dylan Thomas was very fond of them...