🎃 A Halloween Check in here on Substack
Irish Whiskey for Halloween, The Witches' Brew Cocktail, New Podcast Episode, and Irish Whiskey News...
Happy Halloween. And for the day after that we toast the arrival of Samhain, the Celtic/Gaelic celebration of the end of harvest and the beginning of “the darker half” of the year.
Keeping with the Halloween theme I’m sharing my thoughts on The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey (made by the folks at Bushmills) which I think is a great value in the Irish Whiskey category. If you do pick up a bottle my advice to you is to make sure that you use a pourer after you’ve popped the cork otherwise you’re likely to spill some while pouring!
For those of you who are looking for a Halloween themed cocktail to sip on this week I’m sharing my version (because there are dozens of versions out there) of the Witches’ Brew cocktail. Surprise, surprise I use The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey in this recipe but for those of you who’d prefer yours made with white spirit, I highly recommended this cocktail made with Irish Poitín, and my go-to is Mad March Hare.
I was hono(u)red to host another Chocolate and Irish Whiskey Pairing Event at Dandelion Chocolate recently. While in San Francisco I took the opportunity to sit and record a Podcast Episode at the famed Casements Bar with owner Gillian Fitzgerald. And we had a grand ole chin wag as we sat in the outdoor snug with a dram in hand!
Sláinte ☘️🥃
Andrew
👀👃👅🥃✅ Tasting Time with The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey
There are a couple of reasons why I think The Sexton Single Malt Irish Whiskey is the perfect Irish Whiskey for the Halloween Season. Firstly, there’s a top hat wearing human skeleton on the label in reference to a Sexton. A Sexton was a person who worked at a Church and amongst their tasks, they would have been responsible for everything from bell ringing to grave digging! Secondly I think it’s a fantastic value at $25 to $30 +tax, for a bottle of Irish Single Malt.
Full Tasting Note here and video below.
🍸🕔 Cocktail Hour - Witches’ Brew
If you’re looking for a cocktail to get you through all of those “trick or treaters” banging on your door tomorrow evening look no further than the Witches Brew. There are no end of recipes for this online so I decided to create my own recipe using The Sexton Single Malt or Mad March Hare Irish Poitín. Tip: if you’d like some extra red colo(u)r in your cocktail add 5 drops of Grenadine Syrup.
Full Recipe here and video below.
🎧 New Podcast Episode
In Episode 17 I got to spend some time a couple of weeks back with Gillian Fitzgerald, owner, of Casements Bar in the Mission District of San Francisco.
We talked about Gillian’s journey to Casements, growing up in Co. Meath, her first dram, the Irish Whiskey renaissance, San Francisco, her trials and tribulations with the Great Recession and more recently the COVID pandemic. We chatted about their focus on Irish hospitality at Casements and how she spent a number of weeks this past summer with her team traveling Ireland doing pop up collabs with other great cocktail bars.
More Podcast listening options on AudioBoom here where you can listen to more “My Favo(u)rite Irish…” podcasts.
📰 Irish Whiskey News
A selection of news about Irish Whiskey from the past few weeks;
Amber Beverage Group lines up €35 million Irish whiskey investment - Drinks Retailing
Echlinville Distillery plans £5m malting site - The Spirits Business
The Last Drop Distillers Unveil An Exceptional 32-Year-Old Irish Single Malt Whiskey From J.J. Corry - Forbes
Jameson launches whiskey aged 21 years in rum casks - Drinks International
Bushmills Irish Whiskey launches collaboration with Irish chocolatier Gráinne Mullins - Belfast Live
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