There's Whiskey In The Jar - A Guest Post By Colleen Lacey

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Saint Patrick's Day is just around the corner.  Being no expert on Irish consumables, I approached my good friend, Ireland enthusiast, and former member of the LAOH Brigid McCrory Division 25, Colleen Lacey, who makes a variety of recommendations on her blog, Colleen Recommends.  She kindly agreed to recommend a selection of Irish ciders, whiskey, and even a few Irish tunes to my readers.

So, without further ado, here's what Colleen Recommends  for Saint Patrick's Day.
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Tis the season to be IRISH! I am only 25% Irish, but it is my favorite part. Don’t tell my German or Polish side though. I love Irish heritage all year round, but I tend to go all out during this month. During the entire Month of March I tend to drink a bit more than usual and I listen to tons of Irish/Celtic folk music. Here are some recommendations for all you Irish American and Non-Irish American folk. I underlined the recommendations.

Bevvys (beverages):

Every good Saint Patrick’s Day starts with the anticipation of getting “langered” with friends (as they’d say in the Ireland...so I am told). Now most Americans will go with the typical American beers, lagers, and any cheap drink to get them hammered. BUT most Irish Americans will go with a classic Guinness  or Smithwicks (Irish Red Ale, product of Guinness Ltd.). If none of those tickle your fancy, then try a Killians Irish Red Ale or another Irish Stout.

Title:  A pint of Magners cider | Date: 08/20/2011 | Photographer: PierreSelim | This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Now if you are like me and not a huge fan of beer, but want to keep to the theme of Irish/Ireland, I would recommend Magners Irish Apple Cider and Magners Irish Pear Cider, (http://usa.magners.com). Both are simple, tasteful and go well with pub food. Also, don’t let the alcohol content of 4.5% fool you. Both are so light and simple, that you can barely tell you are drinking alcohol before it hits you. I recommend 6 at max and 4 if you are accompanying it with shots in between. 

Fun facts: Magners is the only Irish Cider served in the US and it is Gluten Free for all you hard core gluten watchers like myself. Both ciders contain 125 cals each 12oz and have the same number of antioxidants as wine.

Title:  Tullamore Dew, an Irish Whiskey. | Date: 07/22/2006 | Photographer: Dom0803 at en.wikipedia |Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

For those of you that like to drink shots of whiskey, or mix it with soda or have it on the rocks, I have a two recommendations. Every typical Irish American will tell you to get Jameson Irish Whiskey, http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/. Jameson the most commonly used Irish whiskey in bars and restaurants. For those of us who like a smoother and slightly more richer taste, I recommend Tullamore Dew, http://www.tullamoredew.com. Tullamore Dew, or Tully as they say in Ireland, is also great to mix with a Hard Cider or regular apple cider. It is 1 part Tully and 3 parts hard cider/apple cider.  

Finally, my favorite recommended shot is an “Irish Car Bomb”. I am not sure who trademarked this specialty shot, but its basically one pint glass full of a Guinness can, to which you drop a shot glass full of Irish Whiskey and Bailey’s Irish Cream into the Guinness glass and then chug until finished. I personally do not like these, as I do not like Guinness, but if you like shots mixed with beer than it is an“experience” to say the least. It is a favorite of the East Coast Americans.

Irish Folk Music & Bands:

Now every good drink and bar needs some good music to dance to. Saint Patrick’s Day is probably the only time you will hear a DJ play Irish rock and folk music at the bars here in the US.. Every city may have its own special song they play several times a day during this Irish festive season, but in Philadelphia for example, we like to over play “Celtic Symphony” by Blackthorn, a local/semi-national band. The song is originally sung/inspired by The Wolftones, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6emGGwGqhI.  

East Coasters like myself are no strangers to national, international and local Irish bands. We have tons of Irish immigrants! Music like this plays nearly all year round in some parts, as much as it does in Ireland! For those of you who are not familiar, here is a list of bands, old and new, that I personally love and recommend (with links to their web sites). So hit up your MP3, YouTube, downloader or Spotify and get listening.

Gaelic Storm: http://www.gaelicstorm.com/

Dropkick Murphys: http://www.dropkickmurphys.com/

The Wolftones: http://www.wolfetonesofficialsite.com/

The Dubliners: http://www.thedubliners.org/

Young Dubliners: http://youngdubliners.com/

Shamrock: http://www.capitalceltic.com/sham-rock.shtml

Annemarie O’Riordan: http://www.annmarie.ie/

The Pogues: http://www.pogues.com/

Celtic Woman: http://celticwoman.com/

Flogging Molly: http://www.floggingmolly.com/

Celtic Thunder: http://www.celticthunder.ie/

The Chieftains: http://www.thechieftains.com/

Birmingham Six: http://www.birminghamsix.com/

Jamison Celtic Rock: http://www.jamisoncelticrock.com/

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Saint Patrick’s Day!  Sláinte! 

(Cheers/Cheers to Your Health),
Colleen Lacey
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