Q: How will you be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?A: Everybody’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, so it’s one of our busiest nights of the year. I’ll be busy working, but if I get a chance I’ll probably enjoy a little bit of Guinness and an Irish whiskey or two.
Q: No green beer for you?A: Well, no. For us, the night is about celebrating the Irish culture, getting together with friends and having a good time. We’ve got lots of authentic Irish options.
Q: What Irish drinks do you offer other than Guinness?A: We offer 10 different Irish whiskies. We strive to offer a selection of different whiskies, representing different regions and distilleries. Whiskey is like wine in that different regions produce different tasting varieties. The local geography, weather, water all influence the taste, so a whiskey from the west coast of Ireland will taste different than a whiskey from the east coast.
Q: What would you recommend to a novice whiskey drinker?A: I would say that Jamieson’s is a good, tried-and-true option for someone who’s new to drinking whiskey. It’s smooth, light and approachable. After that, you can experiment with different whiskies to find ones you like; we have customers who go through our whiskey menu alphabetically, others ask for recommendations. It’s neat to watch people learn about whiskey, go outside of their comfort zone and expand their knowledge and enjoyment of the drink. This is beyond mass consumption, it’s about appreciation.
Q: Which whiskey do you appreciate most?A: I heard a master distiller in Scotland put it best; he said that he chooses his whiskey based on his mood, the weather—if it’s a cold, wet day, he’ll choose something that was more complex, like Conemarra; if it’s a clear, crisp day, he’ll pick something that was fresh, floral, lighter. That’s when the light bulb went off for me. Now my favourite depends on the day; there are different whiskies for different times.
Q: what about straight, soda or on the rocks? Do you have a preference?A: The best way to taste a whiskey is straight with a touch of water to release the oils. Your nose and tastebuds will do the rest; with practice you’ll be able to taste the different flavours imparted by different water, ingredients and aging processes. For example, Jamieson’s 12-year-old is simple and clean-tasting, but Conemarra has a distinct peaty flavour, because peat is used as a fuel to dry the barley.
Call Jamieson’s at 433-0500 for a list of St. Patrick’s day entertainment.
This article appears in Mar 16-22, 2006.