EMBURY COCKTAILS

Jack McGarry is the Diana Nyad of Bartending

Shot this little video during Tales of the Cocktail 2013 at the Irish Whiskey House, a bustling Dead Rabbit pop-up. Jack McGarry was behind the stick banging out some pretty complex cocktails at not only an impressive clip, but for an almost super-human length of time. From noon until 8:00 p.m, in a crowded room with no AC and considerable body heat on top of mid-July New Orleans swelter, and with no break, McGarry cranked out cocktail after cocktail, checking them all and serving with a smile.  Just imagine him repeating everything he does in this 1:30 video another 360 or so times. 

IRISH WHISKEY HOUSE TOTC 2013 COCKTAIL MENU

BATTLE ANNIE: Jameson Irish Whiskey,  Redbreast 12 year, ginger ale, Dead Rabbit Orinoco Bitters, lemon oils

PUNCH A LA TAYLOR: Jameson Irish Whiskey, blood orange & lemon sherbet, Framboise Eau De Vie, Byrrh Grand Quinquina, Amaro Ciociaro, Angelica Tincture, Orange pekoe tea

BANKERS: (Shaken, Sour style) Jameson Black Barrel, Dead Rabbit Jamaican Rum mix, Graham's LBV Port Wine, fresh lime juice, raspberry cordial, Dead Rabbit Orinoco Bitters

EVENING DAISY: (Shaken, Collin's style) Jameson Irish Whiskey, Elderflower Liquer, Pernod Absinthe, Cucumber cordial, fresh lime juice, Fennel Tincture, Siphon Carbonic 

IRISH WHISKEY COCKTAIL: (Stirred, Old Fashioned style) Jameson Black Barrel, Benedictine, Royal Combier, Dead Rabbit Orinoco Bitters, Bitterman'sorange cream citrate, Pernod Absinthe

 TIPPERARY: (Stirred, Manhattan style) -Jameson Redbreast 12, Dolin Rouge, Chartreuse Verte, Bitterman'sorange cream citrate, Pernod Absinthe

 DEAD RABBIT

Jameson Laborers' Nicknames Provide A Wealth Of Cocktail Name Possibilities

Above, an illuminated cutaway of a whiskey barrel at Bow Street.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I thought I'd dust off this little gold mine of brilliant nickames I came across while visiting Jameson's Bow Street Distillery in Dublin, a facility dating back to 1780. (The modern distillery is across the Isle, in County Cork). As the coopers, distilllers and other laborers were historically positions passed on from father to son, the preponderance of Joyces, Keanes & McCarthys led the crew to make nicknames universal and compulsory. You got one shortly after starting work, after you'd been properly sized up, and aftwewards you were never referred to by any other name. The cheekiness of these nicknames reveal a pretty wicked  collective sense of humor; "Gorgeous Gus", "Gamebird", "Philosopher" "Jellybelly"  and "Snow White"* are some of my personal favorites. But I think these names could serve another purpose--as great monikers for cocktails--ideally featuring the Irish whiskey, obviously. Naming cocktails is a realm where some find a fun challenge, and others find only dread and creative stalemate. Let the smartasses of history do some naming legwork for you. I've typed a partial list below, and by clicking on this blow-up of the nickname manifest you should be able to see them all. Sláinte!

 

Partial list:

The Laughing Cavalier

Lump

Manchester

Duckegg

Ducky Woman

Looney

Ya Ya

Chinstrap

Cock

General 

Nizzler

Snow White

Greenskin

Daddy

Shaky

Scrapper

Gew Gaw

Harpo

Little Rowdy

Jibber 

Flop 

Hump

Banjo

Lippy

Swank 

Fourty Ten

Forty Elleve

Misere

and, of course:

 

Twitterdick.

 

 

A Civilized Alternative To Countless Pints On St. Patrick's Day: Jameson Black Barrel Select Reserve

(Note: This post was originally published on newnownext.com, the online side on the Logo network. When I first tasted the Black Barrel my instant reaction was: gateway Irish whiskey for the unitiated and the second thought was: I could see this bracing iteration of Jameson landing with the gays. Thus, the open shirt come-on of the photo (below) I shot for the piece. But rest assured: all are welcome to enjoy this fine spirit. J.R.)

Irish Whiskey has fallen off in popularity in the last couple generations in the U.S. but as drinkers' palates get more sophisticated and complex subtleties are starting to come back into the forefront of sprits (see: mezcal, pisco) the category is swiftly coming back into vogue. One bold new expression of a classic should further hasten that return. From the gold standard of Irish whiskies, Jameson, comes a subtle, restrained new iteration that falls well below the aged versions in terms of price, but holds up beautifully on flavor profile.  Jameson Black Barrel Select Reserve is made from a combination of rare grain whiskies and pot still malted and unmalted whiskies, and aged in sherry & bourbon casks for an average of 12 years (as opposed to standard Jameson's 7), Then a team of distillers blends them in a wickedly tasty ratio that has the sock in the jaw you expect from Irish whiskies, but without the more maltly, almost syrup-y quality of Jameson. Where Jameson has a green apple sweetness the Black Barrel goes more autumnal, with notes of vanilla, toasted oak and stone fruit, set off by a touch of welcome spice and heat that gives each sip a complex and evolving arc. Bracing and supple, this sipper may just be the gateway Irish whiskey that seduces you.

Jameson Black Barrel Select Reserve is only available in New York right now but will be rolling out to other markets in the months to come. It clocks in at about $44, and it can be ordered from Astor Wine & Spirits. J.R.

Shot Of The Week

Not that kind of shot, for once. Out inaugural SOTW comes from Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Portland's Clyde Common, who tweeted this photo with the caption "This is what your Irish whiskey shelf looks like after the Pogues drop by the restaurant for dinner".

Mad Men Watch: Dublin House

On a recent episode of "Mad Men" (# 306), Joan's surgeon husband Greg stays out late after he's passed over for Chief Resident and unceremonioulsly informed that he has "no brains in his hands." After stumbling into the apartment he shamefacedly tells Joan the bad news. The winning candidate and his colleagues had gone out for drinks to celebrate.  Greg says "I couldn't bring myself to go--I spent all night at the Dublin House." I flashed immediately on a mental image of the bar's sign on West 79th Street, a neon sign, with a green harp and the bar's name in red. I'd logged a few hours in the dark, friendly-but-not-too-friendly joint back in the 80s and in my memory of the place it was a perfect spot to spend a few morose hours mourning your dashed dreams over some scotch on the rocks.

I jumped  on the 1 train and headed up to the Upper West Side to see how the bar looked today. Remarkably unchanged from the 80s, and I'd guess from 1963 when the episode takes place. An gracious, attractive woman who runs the bar's Facebook page introduced herself (79 people are fans of  I'd rather be at the Dublin House]. She knew the bar had been mentioned on the show but not in what context--when I explained she laughed. "There are a few television personalities who live in the neighborhood who've gotten in big trouble with their wives after staying here very late when they had to be up really early the next morning." It's nice to see that some things don't change, and a friendly neighborhood bar that's there for some unrepentant drinking is always welcome. It's clearly a neighborhood spot with no pretensions on either side of the bar, which is refreshing in contrast to the ever- increasingly slick, overly polished  York bar scene. J.R.

 

St. Patrick's Day Special Pt. 2: Whiskey Flight with Paula Reynolds

It's all Irish, all day, here at Embury. We sat down with Paula at the  PR firm The Thomas Collective, where she led a tasting of 4 distinct Jamesons. Cameraman Chad Mumm and I got to sample all the varieties, and we were rather cheerful when we left that afternoon.

Jameson Whiskey Flight from Embury Cocktails on Vimeo.

St. Patrick's Day Special: 4 Questions for Paula Reynolds

Check out our clip of Paula making a Jameson Whiskey Sour here.
Jameson Irish Whiskey
The Thomas Collective

Friday Night Cocktail: The Jameson Whiskey Sour.

Paula Reynolds, brand ambassador for Jameson, demonstrates how to make the perfect Jameson Whiskey Sour.  More Paula to come on the 17th as we celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Jameson Whiskey Sour

2 Parts Jameson Irish Whiskey
1/2 Part Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1/3 Part Simple Syrup
Dash Egg White
Dash Bitters
Orange Twist for Garnish
Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake over ice. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with an orange
twist.