Attempted bribery

Well, it finally happened. I received cash in the mail the other day from a liquor company. It's about time! I've been waiting for a bribe for years here at Alcademics, with my fingers hovering over the "Best Product Evar!!" keys. There's a reason you don't see an ethics policy listed on this website, and that's because I don't have any ethics. Wine me, dine me, send me flowers- I'm easy. I just wish they had made it easier to get at the money. They put the five-pound note behind glass. I think it's glued on a piece of cardboard, so that's going to be hard to get off. And if I can remove it without ripping it all up then I have to take it to the bank to get it converted into useful American money. Someone needs to teach the Bushmills people better bribery skills. But seriously folks, this is pretty cool. The Bank of Ireland put the Bushmills distillery on the five pound note to celebrate the 400th anniversary of their license to distill whiskey. The Bushmills people are like "Irish money is free advertising!" and are undoubtedly psyched. They framed the note and sent it to me to join my wall art, perfectly in keeping with my entirely booze-related decorating scheme. The thing is, they're also putting the distillery on the ten and 20 pound notes. If they really wanted to bribe me couldn't they have sent more money?

Irish landscape

This Newsday story is about the new popularity of Irish whiskey, and includes good information about the various types of whiskey now being produced and the changing landscape of the market. When I met with one of the Jameson's masters last week they indicated that Irish whiskey, though a fast-growing category especially in the US, doesn't have the same pressure from Asian markets as does single-malt scotch. In coming years, that may be good news for bargain-hunting consumers when scotch prices go through the roof.

Drink me I'm Irish

On Monday morning I met up with the people from Jameson to try out their Special Reserve line. (I love having a reason to get out of bed in the morning.) Jameson has four masters- a distiller, a scientist, a blender, and the Master of Maturation Brendan Monks who came to San Francisco. Monks had a funny way of saying that their whiskey doesn't use peat smoke to dry the barley: "They're not contaminated with turf or anything else." Okay, it's contamination, not flavor. Sure. The Special Reserve line had the 12 and 18 year-old releases available in the US previously, and just added the Gold Reserve bottling (formerly only available at duty-free shops) and the new Rarest Reserve. The Gold Reserve has a touch of virgin white American oak barrels, plus their usual sherry casks from Iberian oak and used Wild Turkey bourbon barrels, and the Rarest Reserve has some used port barrels in the mix. The Rarest Reserve was delicious with both tropical fruits and toffee-fudge notes with a lingering tawny port finish- and it sure should be tasty for the $250 price point. (It's made up of 20-23 year-old whiskies, will likely change in formula in future editions, and there are only 1,000 bottles available in the US.) They gave me a small sample bottle I'm nipping at to inspire this blog post, and I have to say it just keeps getting better with each sip. Good stuff.

Video Bartender: On the Irish Whiskey Trail (2006)

This is part of an ongoing project reviewing every booze DVD on Netflix. Wow! Who knew whiskey could be so boring? On the Irish Whiskey Trail leads us through Irish and Irish whiskey history and production, and takes us to visit the Jameson, Bushmills, Middleton, and Locke's whiskey distilleries. On the way there are three full musical interludes during which we're treated to a traditional Irish song at a much higher volume than the rest of the video, while being shown countryside slides. While the Scotch Whisky Trail DVD was pretty entertaining and got me psyched for my upcoming visit to Scotland, this one was painful to watch and got my psyched for the ending. Going with the theme, I next watched Great Irish Drinks (2003), a DVD that purported to visit the same distilleries as On the Irish Whiskey Trail. As it turns out, it not only visited the same distilleries, it used the same footage, and in some places the same voice-over narration. But either it was a better and more lively edit or I was just in a better mood, because I enjoyed this one more than the first.

Liquid Gold

The Bank of Ireland is to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the iconic Bushmills whiskey brand by printing an image of the company's distillery on its new bank notes.

Wow- that wouldn't happen in the States. I'm still surprised they were able to get the distillery at Mount Vernon reopened.

Irish Whiskey Fun Fact

There are only three distilleries in Ireland, producing all the different brands of Irish whiskey made. The Scotch Blog explains that many of the brands have business relationships with other brands, so it's really one big mushy family over there.

That's the (Irish) spirit!

In today's Chronicle I list some bars with good Irish whiskey selections:

Green parties

Ireland is the birthplace of more beverages than Guinness. Whiskey was likely invented there, and they still make it a little bit differently than the Scots. Most brands triple-distill the spirit and almost none use peated malt, so the end products are often smoother and less smoky than the average scotch. Though there are only a handful of Irish whiskeys on the market, the following bars have good-size selections from which to start your investigation into the Emerald Isle firewater.

Beckett's Irish Pub & Restaurant. This playwright-named Berkeley fave features 12 Irish whiskies (including classy Midleton at $20 a shot) along with food from the Emerald Isle. 2271 Shattuck Ave. (between Bancroft and Kittridge), Berkeley, (510) 647-1790 or www.beckettsirishpub.com.

The Gold Dust Lounge. For a non-Irish bar, the historic Gold Dust Lounge sure has a good selection (10-plus) of Irish whiskies. Also, a lot of really good scotch. 247 Powell St. (between O'Farrell and Geary), San Francisco; (415) 397-1695.

O'Neill's Irish Pub. The ballpark-adjacent bar opens at 6 a.m. on Friday, allowing you ample time to sample the 12 Irish whiskies offered. (You may want to start with one of the three Irish coffee drinks.) 747 Third St., (near King), San Francisco; (415) 777-1177 or tisoneills.com.

O'Reilly's. These bar/restaurants serve up 21 Irish whiskies at the Polk Street location and just a few less over in North Beach (including bartender-recommended Knappogue Castle), plus hearty food to help you sober up between samples. 622 Green St. (at Columbus), San Francisco; (415) 989-6222 or oreillysirish.com. Also at 1233 Polk St. (near Bush), San Francisco; (415) 928-1233 or oreillysholygrail.com.

-- Camper English

Irish Bars in San Francisco

I was doing some research on Irish bars in San Francisco for a short bit in the SF Chronicle, and contacted Steve Gardner from the Irish band Culann's Hounds. They're playing at several venues this St. Patrick's Day. Though I was focusing my piece on where to sample Irish whiskey, Steve gave me a rundown on his view of the Irish bar scene in the city.

Ive been a musician playing Irish music in SF for 7 years. Here is my breakdown of the Irish Pub Scene. 1. The Plough and Stars - the best venue for Irish music on the west coast. Totally authentic. The best Guinness I can think of. Rock solid. 2. O'Neills - Get used to the name, you'll be seeing it all over SF soon, and there is a reason. Great food, great drinks, great management, and live music. 3. The Dogs Bollix - Gaelic speaking football fans having a pint o' the brown before the game starts on the tele. No plastic Paddys here. Great music. 4. O'Reilly's - a legendary North Beach drinking hall. Some music, good food, real Irishmen, excellent decor. 4. Irelands 32 - as old school an SF Irish bar as you can ask for. Decent music. Excellent place. 5. The Blackthorn Tavern - like an old pair of slippers. This place just feels good. And there is awesome public transportation in case you drink too much. (you will) 6. The Irish Bank - no music to speak of, but what an awesome space, and you can get drunk in a confessional. Pure drop. Johnny Foley's Irish House, The Chieftain, the Goal Post, The Four Deuces, The Dubliner all get honorable mention.