The Friday Tipple: Tall, Dark, and Handsome

Faith and begorrah, Boozers — St. Patrick’s Day is looming large. Ireland has brought us some lovely things: Guinness, Bono, Enya, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Guinness, Baileys… did we mention Guinness? The good people of Ireland will tell you that St. Patrick’s Day is not a day to spend in drinking and carousing, but rather in attending religious services and communing with family. We’re not buying it.

Normally, we’d sink ourselves into a pint or two of creamy Beamish, perhaps accompanied by a dram of whiskey, but the groundhog seems to have made a mighty mistake this year on his weather predictions. Spring sprang some weeks back and we have moved onto summer at a pretty fast clip. Which made us long for a classic Dark & Stormy, that harbinger of warm weather fun.

Today’s Tipple is the best of all worlds, we think — a bit of a Shandy crossed with a Stormy, perfect for an unseasonably warm St. Patrick’s Day. Go ahead, get your green on. Beannachtam na Femle Padraig!

Tall, Dark, and Handsome

We tend to think of the Irish as being magically beautiful with lilting accents that will charm the socks off us. Of course, that could just be the alcohol talking, but why quibble? You could substitute a shot of Irish whiskey for the black rum, but we think it adds a splash of warm sunshine to the richness of the stout.

3 ounces chilled ginger beer (we prefer a Bermuda-style like Barritts)

3 ounces chilled stout (we do love the aforementioned Irish brands, but also enjoy local varieties, such as Dogfish Head Chicory Stout)

1 ounce Gosling’s Black Seal Rum (150 proof)

Pour the ginger beer into a tall glass. Layer the stout over the top to maintain a little golden glow at the bottom of the glass. Pour rum over the top. Take a cab when you go out to hit the pubs.

 

The Friday Tipple: Hair o’ the Dog

We’re in a bit of a pickle, Boozers. Last weekend, we noticed droves of you already filling up the pubs to get your Irish on, even though it was still a full fortnight until that most hallowed holiday for boozers, St. Patrick’s Day. At first we turned up our noses at the premature shamrocks and green beer and the endless shots of whiskey, but eventually we succumbed. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

Which is why Thirsty Thursday left us with a bit of an aching head this fine morning. Recognizing that we still have another week of Celtic carousing to go, a sure-fire hangover cure was a necessity. Pickle juice has long been touted as a perfect remedy for alcoholic excesses, chock full of the salt and minerals that your body craves after a night of debauchery. We were inspired to create our own Hair o’ the Dog by a jar of spicy Whiskey Sour Pickles from Brooklyn Brine Co. — with Finger Lakes Distilling McKenzie Rye Whiskey incorporated into the brine, it seemed a shame to waste a drop.

Try slamming this with the greasy eggs and bacon that you hope will coat your stomach before you stumble off to the morning staff meeting. Then you might want to lay low in the cubicle for the rest of the day.

And you’re not even Irish, are you? Sláinte, you drunk poseur.

Hair o’ the Dog

Love Potion Number Brine is a local hangover cure popular in our ‘hood at Peregrine Espresso, featuring seriously strong coffee and pickle juice from our local pickle purveyor, Gordy’s Pickle Jar. We’ve taken that notion to the next level by adding a smidge of Catoctin Creek’s Roundstone Rye and our own Wicked Pickled Ginger Syrup, which, we believe, helps soothe a queasy tum.

2 ounces really strong black coffee, cooled to room temperature

3/4 ounce whiskey (we like to go local, but go Irish if you prefer)

1 ounce sour pickle juice

1/2 teaspoon Wicked Pickled Ginger Syrup (or simple syrup will do)

A few drops of hot sauce (we like Uncle Brutha’s No. 9)

pickle wedge, for garnish

Mix pickle juice, ginger syrup, and hot sauce together and pour into the bottom of a lowball glass. Pour coffee and whiskey in a cocktail shaker, add an ice cube, and shake well. Strain over the pickle juice and down it in one shot, then eat the pickle wedge.