Best Irish Booze?

November 8, 2009 8:02 PM

Heading to a themed dinner event. We each represent a country and bring food / drink from the country. I am Ireland. I'm going to bring booze. What whiskey or other hard alcohol should I bring?
posted by mtstover to Food & Drink (29 answers total)

Baileys
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 8:05 PM on November 8, 2009

Bushmills or Jameson would probably be good bets. The most famous Irish booze, though, is almost certainly Guinness.
posted by box at 8:08 PM on November 8, 2009

Tullamore Dew
posted by cali59 at 8:08 PM on November 8, 2009

The most popular whiskey in Ireland is supposedly Powers.
posted by axiom at 8:10 PM on November 8, 2009

Irish Car Bomb cupcakes
posted by youcancallmeal at 8:11 PM on November 8, 2009 [6 favorites]

Tongue-in-cheek: Wild Irish Rose
posted by banannafish at 8:19 PM on November 8, 2009

Jameson and Guinness.
posted by nihraguk at 8:35 PM on November 8, 2009

this is how I see it: someone who isn't Irish but knows good booze would bring Jameson, Guinness and/or Bailey's.

Someone who IS Irish would bring bushmills. Without hesitation.
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:53 PM on November 8, 2009 [3 favorites]

Bushmills black.
posted by pompomtom at 9:38 PM on November 8, 2009

Redbreast Irish whiskey.
posted by nicwolff at 10:09 PM on November 8, 2009

Seconding Guinness, and Bushmills.
posted by The otter lady at 11:37 PM on November 8, 2009

Bushmills black. As above. End of story.
You give the Jamesons to the tourists, the Guinness to the young folk, and you drink the Bushmills at home.
posted by strixus at 12:32 AM on November 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

While Bushmills (or even better, Red Breast) is a better whiskey, if you're not a whiskey drinker I'd probably go with Jameson. The Bushmills and Read Breast both have more of a peaty characteristic to them that may be a bit rough for non-whiskey drinkers to handle, Jameson is a bit smoother.
posted by Jawn at 1:04 AM on November 9, 2009

Lutoslawski is six shades of correct on this one. Faved to high heaven.
posted by rokusan at 1:18 AM on November 9, 2009

I am Irish. Lutoslawski is correct. Bring Bushmills.

Black Bush is a great blend, but if you want to splash out get the 10 Year Single Malt. It's only just gone 11:00 here and now I'm craving some. Damn you.
posted by knapah at 3:04 AM on November 9, 2009

'Irish car bomb' cupcakes? How hilarious.

But yeah, Black Bush.
posted by ComfySofa at 3:14 AM on November 9, 2009

Bushmill's? That's Protestant whiskey!
posted by mkultra at 5:31 AM on November 9, 2009 [4 favorites]

If you're Ireland and you don't bring Guinness you deserve a beating. Tossers can argue night and day about the correct "hard" alcohol to bring, but for everything else (where everything equals the entire liquid spectrum from water, through tea, up-to-but-not-including hard alcohol) the answer is Guinness.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:51 AM on November 9, 2009

Yes despite my username I agree with C_D. A lot of people don't like whiskey and aren't going to care less if it's jemmie or black bush (or will just be watering it down with coke or something anyway) but surely most people would have a sup of guinness which "is" Ireland.

Also - you should try to bring tayto crisps!
posted by jamesonandwater at 6:03 AM on November 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

Potato bread. Guinness. Cheese. Bushmills. And don't forget to bring some Irish Viagra from Cork for recreational drug users who may want to take the party further*.

* I keed.
posted by MuffinMan at 6:19 AM on November 9, 2009

Whatever it is, you need to serve it in a tall glass with a potato whacked on the side as a garnish.
posted by Jilder at 6:35 AM on November 9, 2009

Bushmill's? That's Protestant whiskey!

That's not a distinction made in Ireland.

As for bringing Guinness, the problem with that is that most bottled or canned Guinness is woefully inadequate. Maybe if you can get your hands on someGuinness Foreign Extra Stout that would be a better choice than good whiskey. I guess it depends on what you think your friends would prefer.
posted by knapah at 6:40 AM on November 9, 2009 [1 favorite]

Everyone expects Guinness. Bring a crate of Murphy's.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:50 AM on November 9, 2009

seconding the Murphy's as it is slightly sweeter than Guiness and whenever I had non-Irish friends "come home" to Cork, they almost always preferred it (now that was some blind taste test!)
posted by Wilder at 6:54 AM on November 9, 2009

Someone has mentioned Powers already, so I'll throw in Paddy too. It is the classic Old Man's drink up and down the country. I'm not recommending it though - pure rotgut. Middleton Very Rare is without doubt the best Irish whiskey I've ever had. I've just looked at the box (yes the bottle comes in a little box) and noticed it is made by Jameson's, but is made in Middleton, Co. Cork. It's seriously expensive - I've had this bottle for years.
posted by Nick Verstayne at 7:32 AM on November 9, 2009

Soda bread.
posted by musofire at 8:07 AM on November 9, 2009

And don't forget the Baby Guinness - a shot glass, 3/4 filled with Kahlua, topped off with Baileys.
posted by essexjan at 12:51 PM on November 9, 2009

Put green food coloring in a bottle of Vodka or Gin anything clear.
We always drank green beer for St. Patty's Day...
posted by LindaLou21356 at 3:23 AM on November 10, 2009

Also Absinthe, it's green. http://www.originalabsinthe.com/
posted by LindaLou21356 at 3:29 AM on November 10, 2009