Comments on: Ask Your Bartender: Protestant vs. Catholic Whiskey (Repost)

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:54:33 +0000

I believe that Germany is the largest market for Tullamore Dew, followed by many of the Eastern European countries. Though Bushmills is the #2 Irish whiskey in the U.S., Tullamore Dew is #2 Irish whiskey (after Jameson) worldwide, so not too surprising that you would see it most places. You may see the Co. Offaly whiskey grow even more now that William Grant & Sons owns it, and will be building the new distillery soon. Though it is good to remember that Bushmills & Jameson were selling about even worldwide up until the mid/late 1990s, before Pernod decided to put all of its eggs in the Jameson basket. Still enjoy the Black Bush and the Bushmills 16yr.

By: Joe Lochte

Joe Lochte — Wed, 01 May 2013 05:28:04 +0000

Several years ago, I worked in Bulgaria and a couple of other Balkan republics; and found to my surprise that Irish Whiskey is somewhat popular there, though far outpaced by the ubiquitous Balkan hard liquors Rakija and Mastika. However, the only brand of Irish I ever saw in the Balkans was Tullamore Dew. And it was always welcomed as a special Balkan business bestowal, to grease whatever wheels needed turning.

By: Thomas O'Brien

Thomas O'Brien — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 00:35:40 +0000

I am not surprised that this thread is 6 years old and still going strong. I’ve worked my way through nearly all the brands mentioned here and yet consistently return to my beloved Jameson 12 neat. Powers is for shooting, some of the swill mentioned here is OK for mixing and when I want a little variety, I go for a double Connemara 12 — never get tired of the peated smoothness and wonderful finish. A friend of mine hooked me on “Jerry’s Drink” which is 1 part Jameson 12, 1 part Irish Mist and a quick splash of 7-up or Sprite. Delicious!

By: I_Fortuna

I_Fortuna — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 01:53:54 +0000

I completely understand what Matt is saying regarding religious intolerence. (Ref. post number 66). I live in a small town in Texas, I am Catholic and I am treated as if I am a leper. There is only one Catholic church in my town the rest are Baptist or other protestant. My mother, an Irish protestant spoke hatred against the Catholics. These ideas still run deep and there are still a lot of untrue things people believe about Catholics. Mostly only Catholics or the nonreligious drink here. Period. There are many places in the States where old ideas hold fast including the brand of Ouisge Beatha you drink. Just setting the record straight. I am for Bushmills especially sprinkled over banana bread. : )

By: Theo macConnell Jr.

Theo macConnell Jr. — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 15:12:13 +0000

William Riley, well said, man. Contrary and challenging to the end- does this not sum up the Celtic spirit, whatever its origin or leaning?

An Italian friend, when introduced to the term ‘Uiske Beatha’ thought the word was ‘bad water’ and now refers to it as Aqua Sporca or ‘dirty water’. I’ve tried to correct his misinterpretation but he thinks his name is funnier. What can one expect from people who prefer grappa to the true ‘Water of Life’?

By: William Riley

William Riley — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 20:16:19 +0000

Although I prefer my BUSHMILLS
neat, I take Jameson if Bushmills is not available.
I ‘rag on” about “political whisky” to those who are “green ” only on the 17th and 18th of March….Hell, I even
wear my orange on St. Patrick’s
and my green on July 12th. The fun is is teasing those who do not know/care to understand.
I have even concocted a drink for St. Patrick’s day,. It is calles an ORANGEMAN…has nothing to do with Syracuse University….

In a TALL glass….one shot of
TRIPLE SEC, 2 shots of BUSHMILLS,
top off with chilled pulpy orange juice, AND stir lightly ..

you may add crushed ice if you desire

William Riley

By: Martin

Martin — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 08:54:26 +0000

In 1998 Bushmills was part of IDL, which owned all the whiskies coming out of Ireland with the excpetion of the few from Cooley. To this day, even though IDL sold the Bushmills distillery to Diageo a number of years ago, the bottling facility at Bushmills still handles some of the bottling of Jameson, Powers & Paddy’s. This is part of a long standing agreement from the old IDL days. Bushmills also provides single malt for Powers, while Midleton (where many of teh Irish whiskies are produced) provides grain whiskey for the Bushmills blends. It is all quite harmonious between the distilleries.

By: Regis Martin

Regis Martin — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 00:51:16 +0000

Good evening All,
Not sure this is the right spot, but an Irish colleague and I, had this debate last week around Bushmills v Jameson in an Irish pub, here in New York.
I am definitively a black bush person but I was mentioning that while spending a lot of time in Ireland back in 1998, I saw, while visiting the Bushmills’ distillery, cartons of Jameson bottles on the bottling chain.
And I was not drunk !!! as the visit was ending up with only 3 tiny plastic glasses – half full.
Does anyone know why these bottles were over there ?
Any particular reason why in 1998-1999 Bushmills would have distilled of at least bottle up for Jameson ?????

By: Joshua

Joshua — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:21:21 +0000

I’ve enjoyed most Irish whiskey I’ve sampled, including Power’s, Tully, and Bushmill’s. But I must say my absolute preference is Jameson 18 yr old. Yes it is a bit heavier than most Irish whiskey, but I appreciate the depth and nuanced flavors. I’m a man who likes to know what he is drinking. And to those who don’t know, that hint of bourbon flavor comes from the fact that Jameson’s is aged in used American bourbon barrels as are most Irish whiskeys. Bourbon distillers only use barrels once, as the liquor gets its distinct flavor and color from the oak. Irish whiskeys obtain much of their flavor and color from the coating left inside the barrel from the bourbon aging process. As most Irish distillers use their barrels more than once, the color and bourbon flavor is thinned a bit once blended. As Jameson only uses the bourbon barrels once, the color and flavor is more reminiscent of American bourbon. Class dismissed.

By: Darragh

Darragh — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 21:39:04 +0000

1 pint of stout and a half’un of Jameson.. Argument ended..

By: Bob Zed

Bob Zed — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 07:21:08 +0000

Jameson is the Catholic whiskey, Bushmills is the Protestant one, despite the efforts of the Bushmills PR department to spin it otherwise. Bushmills, which refused to hire Catholics for many years has been actively trying to recruit Catholic employees of late, because the pay a wee tax penalty for lack of diversity in their workforce.

By: Jim O'Dhalaigh

Jim O'Dhalaigh — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 11:43:03 +0000

@Rob: my scotch comment was “tongue-in-cheek”. Prefer the Irish whiskey’s but never met a single malt I didn’t savor. Really liked Knockando but I haven’t seen it around in some time. Slainte’

By: Rob Lowrie

Rob Lowrie — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 06:19:50 +0000

I must say I enjoyed reading this thread, and I had no intention of posting until I reached #58.

** TONIGHT!! **
In side-by-side STEEL CAGES!!
CATHOLICISM vs PROTESTANTISM!! and IRELAND vs SCOTLAND!!

What scotches have you tried?

There are some amazing ones, FYI, I will leave it at that.

Oh, and as your average American that enjoys the brown, I contend that my enjoyment of scotch does not come at the expense of the Irish, Kentuckians, Tennesseeans or even Canadians!

As an American, am I being disloyal to Scotland when I drink Jameson’s? …I drink it often ;)

By: JZ Murdock

JZ Murdock — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 18:10:36 +0000

I’ve been a big fan of Jamesons for many years, first drinking it when I was younger. I tried Bushmills a couple of years ago and was surprised to find I liked it a lot, too. Redbreast was a recent taste and I liked that a lot.

This is an interesting thread and I have a few more now to try.

As for the religious differences, it’s always been easier for those not in the mess (in the US, England) to say and perpetuate things over that of those who have to suffer the views and manipulations of outsiders.

I was raised Catholic by my mother after the parents divorced when I was three. I grew up thinking I was half Czech and half Irish Catholic. I remember back in my younger days hearing of the Troubles and feeling for those involved and I felt mostly for the Catholics. I no longer consider myself Catholic, btw.

In later years I looked more into my family history and came to realize that my Father’s family were local Baptists and my Mother’s were Czech Catholics. So, I figured then maybe I was Protestant Irish?

Talk about confused. All in all meaning, were I to have gone to Ireland to visit, my relatives would probably have been more confused than was I.

By: G mac

G mac — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:44:20 +0000

I would wager that half the comments are from people that have never been to Ireland–if I drink vodka does this make me a communist -no! so stop bringing religion into alcohol–drink what you like and leave the bigotry at the door–if people spent a few hours getting to know each other over a drink we wouldn’t have half the discrimination we have today.

By: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Jeffrey Morgenthaler — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 18:55:52 +0000

Patrick – Irish whiskey tends to be a lighter style of whiskey than Scotch or American whiskies, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily lower in quality.

By: Patrick Collen

Patrick Collen — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:41:17 +0000

With regard to Powers Gold Label: I bought a bottle last week after reading about how decent a drink it was. In my opinion, it’s one of the blandest, albeit smoothest, whiskeys I’ve tasted. You’d be hard to convince me it is 40 proof, much less 80. The cheap Evan Williams Black Label at half the price (in the USA)has more taste and more of a ‘kick’. Granted, I don’t mix my whiskey with Coke or Ginger Ale, so perhaps I’m missing the best “presentation” of Powers Gold Label.

By: Colm McCullagh

Colm McCullagh — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:06:15 +0000

Foinah…You nailed it. The town of Bushmills is a black hole.

By: Foinah Jameson

Foinah Jameson — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 01:50:55 +0000

This is wayyyy late, and I apologize, but the record needed to be set straight.
Right.
But…
It was the anti-Catholic hiring practices that Bushmills employed in Northern Ireland that fueled the snub.

Catholics represented the “unstable Republican persona” and therefore the company hired few people from the catholic areas. Trust me on this.

While John Jameson was most likely a Protestant, his distillery in Dublin represented the “Free State” mentality and did not suffer from bigoted hiring practices.

It all comes down to politics in the grand scheme of things, be you Yank or Paddy. However, it’s all moot now as the French reap the profits in the end ;-)

Cheers.

By: The Highlander

The Highlander — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 13:11:46 +0000

Jameson, Bushmills, Tullemore, Red Breast, Powers…

Well, being of Scots-descent, I’ll take one of each.

By: Dave Clark

Dave Clark — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:38:40 +0000

I just brought some Tyrconnell 10-year port cask aged home from duty free – it is delicious.

By: Martin

Martin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 23:18:24 +0000

Michael Collins is a newcomer to the market place. About 5 or 6 years ago they flooeded Irish bars with it just before St. Paddy’s Day,almost forcing bars to sell off a lot of free stock they received. Produced at Cooley for Sidney Frank, it appears to have been geared mainly for the American market. Very sweet (like the inside of a burnt marshmellow). Have heard that Jim Beam (the new owners of the Cooley distillery) may discontinue production on contracted whiskies such as this in order to focus squarely on putting Kilbeggan up against Jameson, Bushmills & Tullamore Dew. However, this is just a rumor, but I did hear it from a pretty reliable source in the industry back in Ireland.

By: jay

jay — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:08:20 +0000

not one mention of Michael Collins?

sheesh….

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:58:58 +0000

I had the 15yr old Kilbeggan during a visit at the Cooley distillery a few years back, and it was damn tasty. Not sure if it is available outside of Ireland, but if you can, get a hold of a bottle.

By: Cyn

Cyn — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:00:48 +0000

Anyone try Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey? As of late, it’s been my favorite — it has rich barley notes that leave my palate craving more. Jameson is always a great go-to, easy and smooth. Redbreast IS great for sipping (especially for the price) and Powers Gold is fine too. If you guys can get your hands on Kilbeggan, it will not disappoint…I only recently discovered it and thought I’d share. Sweeter, rich with barley, and perfect with one ice cube. Cheers!