Alcademics.com

Ask an Irish Whiskey Distiller!

Have questions, big or small, about distillation? Whether you're going to Portland Cocktail Week or not you might be able to get some of them answered. 

We're fortunate to have Barry Crockett, Master Distiller for Jameson Irish Whiskey with us at Drink.Write for one seminar. He'll be on hand to answer questions about Jameson, Irish whiskey, and/or distillation in general. I'll be happy to ask any respectful questions that people leave in the comments and report back on them. 

So, anything you want to know? 

I'm curious, for example, to know about the flavor of salt and distillation. I asked a question on Facebook and some distillers answered but I want to know more. Since it appears NaCl doesn't pass through during distillation, why do some unaged spirits have a salty taste? And how about other 'mineraly' flavors? 

I'm also hoping for an update on the Irish whiskey landscape since Jim Beam purchased Kilbeggan. How will that affect other brands? 

What else? Information about the seminar is below. Ask away...

Tuesday October 23
10:30 – 11:30 AM
The Kennedy School Gymnasium 
Ask a Master Distiller
Have questions about distillation or Irish whiskey? We’ve got the guy with the answers. Barry Crockett, Master Distiller at Jameson, knows a thing or two about distilling, having grown up in The Distiller’s Cottage at the Old Midleton Distillery in Cork before taking on the role himself. Crockett will explain how Jameson is made, using both pot- and column-distilled spirit before aging, and we’ll open up the floor to questions about the product, Irish whiskey in general, and questions about distillation. Get as nerdy as you want! 
Speaker: Barry Crockett, Master Distiller of Jameson Irish Whiskey
Sponsor: Jameson Irish Whiskey

When Pot Distilled Whiskey Is Not Pot Still Whiskey

What is pot still whiskey?

The obvious answer is "whiskey that's made in a pot still," but apparently that's not true if you're in Ireland.

I was on a trip recently with whiskey writer/expert/class clown/author Dominic Roskrow and was showing off my sexy Irish whiskey distillery diagram, when he called me out on it. He said that the Cooley distillery makes no pot still whiskey.

"But they have pot stills in which they make whiskey, so obviously they make pot still whiskey," I said. It went back and forth for a few days, but the argument comes down to this:

In Ireland, "pure pot still" whiskey has long meant whiskey distilled from a combination of malted and unmalted barley. Thus "pot still Irish whiskey" doesn't tell us the type of still used to make it; it tells us the barley blend used. They claim if you distill another type of whiskey in a pot still (such as all-malted barley) in Ireland it is not pot still Irish whiskey.

That's like a basketball player arguing that an soccer ball is not a ball because it's not a basketball.

But apparently there is no use arguing logic in Ireland... so let's look at the law. 

In his efforts to prove me wrong, Roskrow turned to someone with even more expertise in Irish whiskey, Peter Mulryan. Mulryan filled us in on how they've changed the legal definition to fit their local definition of pot still Irish whiskey. Mulryan wrote in an email:

Until very recently there was no legal definition of what constituted a Pot Still Irish whiskey, this allowed John Teeling [of Cooley distillery] to say that his single malt was a pot still whiskey, as it was distilled in a pot still. This was of course nonsense, as the traditional industry definition of a pot still whiskey has nothing to do with the distillation process itself; it was and is, all about the mash. A pot still whiskey is made from a COMBINATION of both malted and unmalted barley. Simple.
 
The industry and the Irish Government have recently clarified this new definition and it is now certified by the EU, John Teeling has backed down and he too now endorses this new legal status. At the same time the word 'Pure' was dropped from packaging, as the word had no standing in law, it was replaced by the word 'Single', this now appears on all Irish Distillers bottlings and literature.

So from the start of 2012 a single pot still Irish whiskey is one made on the island of Ireland, from a mash of malted and unmalted barely, which has been matured for at least three years in oak. However that was always accepted as the norm, the law simply enforces best practice.

But here's the thing: in order to conform to international standards, they had to drop the word "pure" from "pure pot still Irish whiskey." So apparently you can't just completely make things up in Ireland after all!

It's just too bad their also-historically-accurate-but-logically-nonsensical definition of "pot still" made it through legislation.

 

Where Irish Whiskey Really Is Really Made

In my story last week in the San Francisco Chronicle, I didn't get the chance to be as nerdy as I wanted to with the specifics of the three (and a half) distilleries in Ireland and which whiskies they make. So here are more details from an earlier draft of the story. 

Jameson, which accounts for seventy percent of Irish whiskey sales in the US, is made at the Midleton distillery in Cork, in the south of Ireland, from a blend of column-distilled grain whiskey and triple distilled “pure pot still” whiskey.

“Pure pot still” in this case refers to distilling a blend of malted and unmalted barely. This came into practice in Ireland as a way to avoid taxes- malted barley was taxed but unmalted was not. Distillers often describe spirit from unmalted barley as “oilier” and “more citrus-spicy” than the spirit from malted barley that has more apples-and-pears fruity notes.

The Midleton distillery also produces brands John Powers, Midleton, Paddy, and Redbreast, the latter of which is a pure pot still whiskey rather than a blend. Pernod-Ricard, owner of Midleton, clearly sees a future in pure pot still Irish whiskies, as they have just released a cask-strength Red Breast twelve-year-old, and plan to release pure pot still versions of Midleton and Powers later this year.

On the opposite end of the island in Northern Ireland is the Bushmills distillery, where the number-two selling brand in the US, Bushmills, is made. The company produces two blended whiskies, Bushmills Original and Black Bush, plus single-malt whiskies Bushmills 10, 16, and 21 year-olds.

The single-malt whiskey is pot-distilled from only malted barley (as is done in Scotland), as opposed to the malted/unmalted mixture found at Midleton. The column-distilled grain spirit used in Bushmills’ blends is actually purchased from Midleton.

The third best-selling Irish whiskey in the US is Tullamore Dew, which is a blend of column-distilled grain whiskey and pure pot still whiskey from Midleton with single-malt whiskey from Bushmills. In addition to this blend, Tullamore Dew sells 10 and 12 year-old blended whiskies, plus a ten-year-old single-malt that is made at Ireland’s third distillery, Cooley.

Cooley, located north of Dublin, has boasted of being Ireland’s only independent distillery, but it was recently purchased by the Jim Beam company. Cooley operates both column and pot stills, plus the small nearby distillery Kilbeggan. Kilbeggan is also a whiskey brand that is largely produced at Cooley, though they also have a single-malt Kilbeggan Distillery Reserve produced entirely on-site.

At Cooley, pot still whiskey is distilled twice rather than the three times distillation of Bushmills and Jameson. Whiskies from Cooley include the peated (smoky) single-malt Connemara, Tyrconnell single-malt that is aged in a variety of casks, and Greenore, Ireland’s only single-grain whiskey, which is column-distilled from corn and aged in ex-bourbon casks.

Cooley has distilled both single-malt and pure pot still whisky, though there are no pure pot still products on the market from Cooley yet. 

Cooley also produces Concannon Irish Whiskey, launched this January, in partnership with Livermore Valley’s Concannon Vineyard. It is a blend of column distilled grain whiskey, pot-distilled single-malt whiskey aged for four years in ex-bourbon barrels, and some of that same malt aged for an additional four months in Concannon’s Petit Syrah casks.

Michael Collins whiskey offers both blended and single-malt bottlings, also made at Cooley. 

Here's a handy diagram I just scribbled. Click to enlarge. 

 

Irish Whiskey Distillate Origins by Alcademics.com

Now, this doesn't take into account how specifically these spirits are distilled, where they are aged, in what, and how they might be blended and finished, so the final flavor profile of Irish whiskey isn't as simple as all this. But I do think it's interesting to see how much Irish whiskey is born in so few places. 

 

Irish Whiskey Cocktail Recipes

A few weeks ago I put out a call for Irish whiskey cocktail recipes for my Fine Cooking column. I received too many responses to use, so I thought I'd gather them here for all to enjoy. 


King’s Sour
By Michael Lay of Restaurant 1833  in Monterey, CA

1.5 oz Redbreast Irish Whisky
.5 oz St George Kirsch
Juice from ¾ of a lemon
.5 oz simple syrup
1 dash angostura bitters

Shake and fine strain into a chilled coup glass with a lemon twist

The Dubliner
Jonathan Pogash of The Cocktail Guru 

1 1/2 oz. Celtic Honey liqueur (irish whiskey honey liqueur)
3/4 oz. Oxley gin
1 oz. fresh lemon juice
handful of mint leaves

Shake and strain over ice. Garnish with a mint sprig. 

Wild-Eyed Rose
From Hugo R. Ensslin's 1917 "Recipes for Mixed Drinks"
Thanks to Dave Stolte of Home Bar Basics

2 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz lime juice
1/2 oz grenadine

Shake, strain, up. Lime & cherry garnish.

 
Academic Review
Hal Wolin of  A Muddled Thought

1 1/2 Redbreast 12 Year
1/2 oz Laird's Bonded Applejack
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Rittenhouse
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup
2 Dashes Bittermen's Mole Bitters
1 Dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir, Pour over a big cube in a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange peel.


Europass
Hal Wolin of  A Muddled Thought

1 1/2 Redbreast
1/2 oz Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1/2 Lemon Juice
1/2 Benedictine
2 Dash Whisky Barrel Bitters

Shake and serve up in Coupe.

Bastardizing Aaron
Judy Bronson of Cocktations

2 oz Paddy's Irish Whiskey
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz egg white
1/4 oz simple syrup
2 dashes Fee Bros Whiskey Barrel Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

 
Éireannach Ròsachd
Andrew Friedman of Liberty

2oz Redbreast 12yr
.5oz Apricot Liqueur
Fernet wash & Lemon Bitters

Mix, stir over ice & pour in some trippy up'ish glassware.
"You may want to try it with .25 Apricot, depending on which one you use. The Fernet & the apricot work really well together, and obviously the rest folds in. Tasty. I garnish it with a small cookie cutter, from a lemon peel in the shape of a 'lucky charm'."


Dodgeball
Drew Record of Playground

2 oz Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey
.75 oz Benedictine
.5 oz Cherry Herring
3 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters

Build in rocks glass with ice, stir, garnish with a brandied cherry. 

Kim Haasarud of Liquid Architecture
Irish Coffee Cocktail
1 oz Jamesons
1.5 oz Patron XO Cafe Liqueur
1 oz strong chilled coffee

Shake moderately and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Shake some heavy cream separately and layer across the drink. Top with 3 coffee beans.

Safety Word
Chris Bostick of The Varnish

2 Finians whiskey
.5 Yellow Chartreuse
2 dash Angostura bitters

Make like an Old Fashioned and garnish with a lemon peel.

Carl Essert of Clubhouse 66
Old Emerald 66 (variation of the Old Fashion & Emerald)
2 oz.Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey
1 bar spoon Campari
2 bar spoons simple syrup
1/2 oz Carpano Sweet Vermouth

Flamed Orange Zest, served on the Rock

A Very Simple Potion 
Oron Lerner of Barchaelogy

2 oz Jameson
3/4 oz organic litchi liqueur
Lemon Zest


mil maolaigh
Forrest Cokely of A Drink with Forrest

Build in Old Fashion Glass
2 oz Powers Irish Whiskey (or substitute)
3/4 oz Irish Mist
3, or 4 Gooseberries (or any tart berry) crushed
Splash of Soda
Ice to the top

Irish Mermaid
By Max La Rocca

35 ml Quality Irish Whiskey
10 ml Cherry Heering
10 ml Aperol
5 ml Orgeat
3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Orange twist

Throwing Technique
Garnish: Brandied Black Cherries cooked and reduced into Cherry Heering.

"The Mermaid refers to the statue of the little Mermaid in Copenhagen which is where this great cherry liqueur comes from. When I created this drink, the bar I was working at, was very famous for afternoon tea, so I wanted to start selling cocktail during those hours too and decided to throw this drink right at the customer's table with a Crystal teapot so that people would get curious about cocktails. After a few months, that's what happened! Today you can enjoy this beautiful drink at Ohla Hotel's "Boutique Bar" in Barcelona."

 Boondock Saint
Pete Gowdy of Bottlecap 

1.5 parts Michael Collins Blended Irish Whiskey
1 part Leopold Bros. New York Apple
.5 parts fresh lemon juice
.5 parts egg whites
Dash of Rhubarb Bitters

Irish Whiskey History

I recently read the book Irish Whiskey: A 1000 Year Tradition, which is no longer in print but still available. It was originally published in 1980 and most recently reprinted in 1998. A lot has happened since then, but this book has some good historical information. 

Here are some facts and assertions from the book.

As in Scotland, oppressive laws and taxation drove many people into illicit distilling. "In 1806, out of 11,400,000 gallons of spirits made in Ireland, 3,800,000 of these were produced by illicit manufacturers. In the years 1811 to 1813 almost 20,000 ilegal stills were destroyed by the revenue authorities and the military."

In the earlier 1800s, scotch whisky was heavy in flavor profile and the English didn't prefer it. Irish whiskey, which used malted and unmalted barley, was both lighter and more consistent.

When column distillation was invented, Irish whiskey makers were very reluctant to use it to water down their whiskey. They argued against it and refused to use it, while the Scots took to it to dilute their strongly flavored spirit. The lighter flavor profile was more popular both in England and America.

The Irish whiskey industry was further harmed by world war rationing, independence from England, and American Prohibition.

The last remaining Irish whiskey distillers banded together in the 1960s to form Irish Distillers. They were the sole producers of Irish whiskey, which was made both at the Old Bushmills distillery and down at Cooley.

I'll have some of the more modern history and production of Irish whiskey in a forthcoming story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Irish Coffee: It's All in the Cream

In Ireland a few weeks ago, I had Irish Coffee three times in as many days. Irish Coffee was invented in Ireland and is credited to a bar at the Shannon airport. Then it was recreated in San Francisco at the Buena Vista. Its popularity in the US helped it travel back to Ireland where became popular around the country. 

At the Chapter One restaurant in Dublin, they have the most elaborate preparation of the Irish Coffee in town. They add Jameson Irish Whiskey and 2 tablespoons brown sugar to a pan and caramelize it for 10 minutes and grate fresh nutmeg on top. They add half the amount of coffee, then light the pan on fire for just a second and blow it out. They add the other half the coffee then pour it into the glass.

Then they add the cream on top. Unlike the other Irish Coffees I've had, the cream was fairly warm as opposed to refrigerator-cold. Most of the fuss of an Irish Coffee seems to be about the cream. I address this in last week's post on FineCooking.com.

It turns out different countries have conflicting definitions for cream, and even in the US you have to know the difference between "whipped" and "whipping" cream to get it right. 

The good news is, once you buy the right cream you don't have to whip it very much yourself- just don't stir the coffee first, and pour it over the back of a spoon. More info is in the post here.

Recommended Dublin Bars and Pubs

It turns out I went to a lot of pubs and cocktail bars in Dublin. Here were my favorites, should you ever find yourself there.

Pubs

• The Long Hall- gorgeous
• Bruxelles - fun
• Kehoe's - classic

Cocktails

• Exchequer - more of a restaurant though
• Bar with No Name - hipster party
• Harry's on the Green - high-volume American bar
• SABA - possibilities

Just to See It

• Cafe En Seine - ornate
• Mercantile Hotel - indoor plaza
• Shelbourne - fancy

To read some specifics about the bar, visit these blog pages:

• Drinking in Dublin, Part I
• Drinking in Dublin, Part II
• Dublin Cocktail Menus

Drinking in Dublin, Part II

Continued from yesterday's post, here are more bars I visited on my recent trip to Dublin with Jameson Irish Whiskey.

The Doheny & Nesbitt is a traditional pub dating back to 1867. When I was coming in from the airport, my driver told me that there was a recent change in government in Ireland, and that would be the spot to go if you wanted to see politicians crying into their beers. Sounded good to me! We visited a couple of days after that and did not see any crying politicians; mostly people on dates, but the bar was nice.

Next we went to O'Donoghue's, a pub with traditional Irish musicians playing. I suppose if you like that sort of thing it would be good.

We also went to Cafe En Sein, locally known as "Cafe Insane." The website does a pretty good job of describing it:

A series of bars spanning 3 floors, the soaring interior of Café en Seine is amazing with a 3-storey atrium culminating in beautiful glass-panelled ceilings, 40 foot trees, enormous art nouveau glass lanterns, and statues among its many amazing features.

It's a massive space crammed with statues, Tiffany-esque lamps, and lots of iron work and tile. I should probably think it's tacky but I loved it. While we were there dance music was playing so it's probably clubby when it's crowded. 

 We also stopped by the Horseshoe Bar in the Shelbourne Hotel. In one of the fanciest hotels in town is the famous Horseshoe Bar. We thought that we were in it, but looking at pictures online I think we were actually in the main restuarant/lounge- maybe I should have guessed because the bar wasn't shaped like a horseshoe. It was closing time so we didn't have time for more than a beer anyway. Next time...

We had dinner at the Michelin-starred Chapter One restaurant. The cocktail menu isn't online but to my recollection it was a short list of classics. Nice bar area though.

Another night I met Paul Lambert at the Mercantile Hotel Bar. I seem to recall a cocktail menu but I had a beer as I was hungry. The menu isn't online. Anyway, the bar area is two or three floors of an old wooden hotel lobby, with live performances somewhere inside. I loved the look of the place and would like the see the rooms on day.

Next we stopped into Peadar Kearney's, a traditional pub where there was a sports match on the television that everyone was watching so we were mostly quiet.

After that, we visited Shebeen Chic, a pub named after ilegal country bars people would have in their sheds. The place had a look of a quirky coffee house with mismatched tables and chairs and lots of stuff on the walls. It was too early in the day to get a feel for the vibe of the place at night.

Moving on we hit up Exchequer, a hip restaurant with high-end pub fare. The drink menu had some more tempting flavor combinations to me - clove/lime syrup, rhubarb bitters, and black tea liqueur. I had drink with rum, lime, clove syrup, bitters, and amaretto.

After this, we stopped into a pub called International Bar for a quick bite to eat. It was unremarkable except for the very nice bartender who managed to feed a vegetarian despite having to make the sandwich himself.

Then it was on to Long Hall, a gorgeous old but fancy bar with red carpet, dark woods, and antiques about. I really liked the place and that it was mostly full with older people on Saturday night. Many of the bars were, actually. That's one of the things I liked best about Dublin - there's not an age limit to drinking in bars.

And finally, my last stop on my trip was one of my favorites: The Bar with No Name. In this big wooden hotel building that seems like it takes up a block, there is a large downstairs bar, but that's not where the party's at. You walk down the street and enter at the sign of the snail. (Some people call this place the Snail Bar. The bartenders call it Raf's Bar for Rafael the bartender.)

Upstairs, it's like a Victorian apartment where you planned a party so you pushed most the furniture up against the walls. It looked like a hipster party in there, with people hanging out lazily on the couches next to each other or standing and talking. Except for the two bars, it could have been someone's house party. The cocktail menu, which is not online as far as I can tell, was full of simple, classic, appealing cocktails- I seem to recall a Southside, for example. Raf said he's trying to help train the local palate to be more adventurous.

We didn't hang out in the main rooms, but walked through the hotel hallway to another smaller and quieter bar supposedly for hotel guests where we ran into more bartenders. There we had a Fish House Punch made by Aaron wall, poured from a tea pot into teacups. 

In my next post, I'll try to sum up some of this into a shorter post of my favorites.