Oh, come on. You don't really want to drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day, do you? Of course not. You want something more interesting, something more Irish to celebrate the patron saint of the Emerald Isle.
Why not dust off your shillelagh and start off your St. Patrick's Day celebration with Jameson Irish Whiskey? Jameson, in its iconic green bottle, is smooth and easy to drink and is the pride of County Cork.
Because it's triple-distilled, Jameson, a traditional Irish pot-still whiskey, is clean and fragrant with hints of sweet fruit and spice. The reason I like it is there's no burn or after-bite. The creamy texture and balance of flavor make it great in cocktails.
If you have the pluck of the Irish, you might enjoy Jameson in the ubiquitous pickle-back, a two-fisted drink that's been popping up everywhere for the past few years. The pickle-back, a shot of Jameson followed by a shot of dill pickle juice, is for the more courageous drinker and odds are you'll either love it or hate it. But it makes a fine, if not unconventional, conversation piece for your St. Pat's party.
Jameson has been around since 1780, so it's not really a new spirit. But in the past year or two the iconic whiskey-maker has introduced two new entries into the market for those keen on Irish whiskey.
The first is Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy. Named after Midleton's master distiller, the whiskey, aged in American oak, tastes of sweetness, vanilla and fruit, particularly pear and apple. If you're a sniffer and swirler, the nose is pepper and oak so the taste is completely different from what you would expect after taking a whiff. Still, it's a perfectly harmonious union of aroma and flavor.
And Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel, introduced in 2011 but made more widely available in 2012, has a deeper, richer flavor than the classic Jameson. In sampling this new kid on the block, I tasted spicy toasted molasses and vanilla, the toast resulting from being matured in charred bourbon barrels and sherry casks. It's definitely a special occasion whiskey.
To appreciate the full, complex flavor and characteristics of the Barry Crockett and Black Barrel, it's best to drink these neat or with a touch of water. Sorry, cocktail aficionada, they're not recommended for cocktails. It's an Irish thing.
Jig up your classic Jameson with this Irish coffee recipe - use either espresso or a dark roast - straight from Jameson's mixology expert Nick Strangeway: "Firstly start with very cold double cream and whisk it until it is stiff but still pours. Never sweeten the cream. Sweeten the coffee using sugar syrup. The sweeter the coffee the more easily the cream will float. Do not use too much coffee, as the correct ratio is twice as much coffee as the Jameson used. Pour the cream slowly onto the top of the drink, preferably over the back of a teaspoon."
If you're not a fan of Irish coffee, as luck would have it, a few leprechauns from Jameson, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, and Basil Hayden's Bourbon have been busy stirring up a veritable pot of gold of creative cocktails to honor the saint who drove all the snakes out of Ireland. Go ahead. Paint the town green with a few of these recipes.
JAMESON MINT MARTINI
8 fresh mint leaves
60 ml of Jameson
25 ml cloudy apple juice
10 ml sugar syrup
10 ml chilled mineral water
Mint leaf for garnish
Lightly muddle mint in base of shaker (just to bruise). Add other ingredients. Shake with ice and fine strain into chilled martini glass.
JAMESON APPLE CRUSH
35 ml Jameson Irish Whiskey
10 ml apple schnapps
25 ml cloudy apple juice
10 ml lime juice
Pinch of cinnamon
Float 10 ml Dom Benedictine
Pour all ingredients except Dom Benedictine into a shaker with ice. Shake. Fill rocks glass with crushed ice. Strain the drink into the rocks glass. Float with Dom Benedictine. Garnish with apple slices.
BASIL HAYDEN'S IRISH JULEP
2 parts Basil Hayden's Bourbon
1/2 part DeKuyper Green Creme de Menthe
1 part half-and-half
Shake all ingredients well with ice. Strain over crushed ice into a highball glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.
BASIL HAYDEN'S SHAMROCK SOUR
Recipe by Julie Reiner � New York, NY
2 parts Basil Hayden's Bourbon
1/2 part Green Chartreuse
1/2 part lemon juice
1/2 part grapefruit juice
1/2 part agave syrup (combine equal parts water with agave syrup)
1/4 part egg white
Combine all ingredients in a mixing tin and shake without ice to blend. Add ice and shake. Strain over fresh ice in a double rocks glass and garnish with a mint sprig and a lemon wheel.
KILBEGGAN SHAMROCK SPRITZER
1 part Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
4 parts Apple Juice
Lemon-Lime Soda
Pour Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey and apple juice over ice in a tall glass. Top with lemon-lime soda. Garnish with a lemon.
KILBEGGAN DUBLINER
3 parts Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
2 parts sweet vermouth
1 1/2 parts cherry syrup
1 1/2 parts cranberry juice
Dash simple syrup (optional)
Combine all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake for 60 seconds. Strain neat into a martini glass. Garnish with a black cherry.
KILBEGGAN IRISH STORM
1 1/2 parts Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey
3 parts ginger beer
1 part fresh lemon sour
Build all ingredients over ice in a tall highball glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge.
Mary Ann Anderson is a Georgia-based writer whose columns include On the Rocks, Spa-La-La and The Earth Wilder for McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. She can be reached via email: MaryAnnAnderson@outlook.com
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