Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish Whiskey

Tullamore St. Paddy's Day Patty 2 Feature

March 10, 2022 — At last we can get back to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with friends, parades and parties. How great is that! And what could be more appropriate than raising a glass of Irish whiskey to toast our return to tradition. If you’ve never tried Irish whiskey, then March 17 is the day to do it (and a chance to win a trip to Dublin). Luckily there are quite a few to choose from as the category is enjoying a boom.

In no particular order, here are some of our favorites:

J.J. Corry

We admire the moxie of founder Louise McGuane who resuscitated the Bonding Business which had become virtually extinct when the Irish Whiskey industry collapsed about a century ago. And we’re happy to recommend The Gael, a name with an interesting history, that is J.J. Corry’s first release, made from whiskey sourced from County Louth. It is a complex blend of 60% Single Malt and 40% Single Grain Irish Whiskey. It is comprised of whiskey ranging in age from 9 to 28 years old SRP: $80

Another expression from J.J. Corry is The Hanson reflecting the matchmaking entailed in Irish Whiskey Bonding, showcasing the best of Ireland’s distilleries. It is a blend of Irish Grain Whiskeys carefully sourced from different distilleries. Bottled at 46% ABV without any coloring or chill-filtration, The Hanson is perfect by itself or with a soda for a delicious and refreshing highball SRP: $60

Glendalough Distillery

Located in County Wicklow, Glendalough belongs in your travel bucket. Besides amazing history and scenery, Glendalough can now boast that it is home to the winner of the World’s Best Irish Whiskey. It is the first Irish Whiskey to be finished in rare Mizunara oak which grows on the northerly Japanese island of Hokkaido. The trunks of these uniquely beautiful trees are prone to growing twisted, and they must grow to be twice the age of most oak trees before they can be felled. It then takes three years to dry, and even then, is notoriously difficult to cooper due to its porosity. However, that becomes its saving grace as whiskey can seep deeper into the wood, resulting in an alluring, exotic flavor — think dark chocolate orange, sandalwood and cinnamon.

For your most elevated St. Patrick’s Day ever, Glendalough 7-Year-Old Single Malt Mizunara Finish is rolling out now in limited quantities at select retailers nationwide at $99.99.

Roe & Co.

Another Irish distillery with a pedigree dating back to the 1700s that has been revived, this time by giant drinks company, Diageo. The first release in the US market was March 2019 and it is now one of the top five selling brands. It has a touch of sweetness and rather creamy and if you notice a whiff of bourbon, that’s because it is aged in bourbon casks. It is the perfect whiskey for cocktails.

Since we have so much to celebrate this St. Paddy’s Day, Roe & Co. has just released the ‘IrishQ Test’ sweepstakes available for entry ending at 11:59:59 pm ET on March 17, 2022. The sweepstakes winner and their guest have until July 15, 2024, to take their dream trip to Dublin, or the winner may choose a cash alternative. While winners won’t be announced until after the holiday, fans can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the brand’s delicious Roe & Co Irish Coffee Recipe. Here’s a hint: click here and read our story for most of the answers to the quiz.

Roe & Co Irish Coffee Recipe

1.5 oz Roe & Co Irish Whiskey
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 cup hot or cold brewed coffee
Whipped cream

HOT: Pout hot coffee over sugar, stir and mix well. Once combined, add the Roe & Co Irish Whiskey. Top with whipped cream.

COLD: Mix sugar and cold brew coffee well. Stir in Roe & Co. Irish Whiskey and pour over ice filled Irish Coffee mug. Top with whipped cream.

Tullamore D.E.W.

This is one of the distilleries that survived the collapse of Irish Whiskey to celebrate nearly 200 St. Patrick Days. One hundred and ninety-three to be exact. And like other, more recent whiskey producers, it acknowledges earlier whiskey innovators in its name. Tullamore is a small town in Ireland and D.E.W. are the initials of Daniel Edmund Williams, one of Ireland’s greatest distillers. Tullamore D.E.W., owned by William Grant & Sons, is the second largest selling brand of Irish Whiskey globally.

Now it seems that St. Patrick’s Day is sometimes referred to as “St. Patty’s Day” rather than “St. Paddy’s Day” on this side of The Pond and that bothers the Sons at William Grant. It’s perfectly reasonable to use double T instead of double D since we’re abbreviating PaTrick, but I digress. So to straighten us out and have some fun, Tullamore D.E.W. has teamed up with butcher extraordinaire, Pat LaFrieda to create the ultimate St. Paddy’s Day Patty and hopefully mind our Ds and Ts.

“Every March, we produce around 5 million burger patties so when Tullamore D.E.W. came to us to help teach Americans about the proper spelling between Patty and Paddy, we knew we could help” said Pat LaFrieda Owner & CEO of Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors. “There are four generations of Patrick’s in our family and it all started with my grandfather who was born on March 17th. St. Paddy’s Day is always a festive holiday for us and with whiskey and burgers being the perfect pairing, we’re thrilled to release our first St. Paddy’s Day Patty alongside Tullamore D.E.W.,” he continued.

Right now you can order online a St. Paddy’s Day Patty kit , Each kit includes two Tullamore D.E.W. ceramic shot glasses, one beanie, drink recipe card, and the Drizly code to order a bottle of Tullamore D.E.W. to your door and 12 x 8 oz. meat patties. To mark the 193 St. Patrick Days that Tullamore D.E.W. has celebrated, 193 kits will be made available on LaFrieda.com for a price of $84.00 plus shipping. Or, SRP $24 for a 750 ml Tullamore D.E.W. Kits are sure to go fast.

O’Shaughnessy Distillery

Keeper’s Heart Irish-American Whiskey. You can buy American and enjoy a whiskey crafted by one of Ireland’s celebrated Master Distillers, Brian Nation, from O’Shaughnessy’s of Minneapolis. To accomplish their vision of producing world-class whiskey, O’Shaughnessy Distilling owners cousins Patrick and Michael O’Shaughnessy, persuaded Master Distiller Brian Nation, a legend in the world of whiskey distilling, to join the company. He and his family have relocated from Ireland to Minneapolis. Brian Nation has been responsible for making some of the most renowned and high-quality whiskies at Irish Distillers including Redbreast, Powers, Midleton Very Rare and Jameson. Watch his video here.

The Distillery will be celebrating its first Irish holiday in the US with a brand-new cocktail made especially for the occasion, The Keeper’s Mule. Developed by famed food and beverage director, Pip Hanson, this spin on the classic cocktail combines the freshness of ginger and mint with the richness of Keeper’s Heart’s unique blend of Irish and American Whiskey. This cocktail is simple to replicate at home and is the perfect drink of choice for all St. Paddy’s festivities! Keeper’s Heart is available from Reserve Bar SRP: $39 for 700 ml bottle.

Keeper’s Mule