Paddy Irish

I was lucky enough to be in Ireland recently and tasted five different Irish whiskeys. The one that surprised me was Paddy. Michael Jackson does not like it at all. Since it seemed to be available in most pubs where I was in 4 towns I tried it and was pleasantly surprised. It has a nice flowery nose and taste and goes down very smooth. As I understand it Paddy is a brand that is not exported. If you are in Ireland and like Irish whiskey I suggest it. It will cost you about the same, or sometimes less, than the cost of a pint of Irish beer.

Greg, did you try draught Guinness stout there? Some people tell me Guinness in Ireland is completely different from draught Guinness here, others tell me it is the same. I had a pint once at Shannon airport (as close as I got to Dublin) and it seemed the same as here but maybe that was not a good test.

Gary

Although Paddy is not available in stores here (that I've ever found, anyway), lots of serious Irish bars seem to have it, in Chicago anyway.

And, in a bizarre turn of events, they have Paddy at the Duty Free shop at O'Hare. This means that, although it is not sold here, someone shipped it all the way here to sell to people flying overseas. ?!?!?!?

Of course Gary, if you listen to what they say there, Guinness isn't Guinness if it crosses over water.

Thanks -- the information about export came from an Irish liquor shop and clearly is not accurate. At least I found Paddy in Irish pubs in the Netherlands as well.

Though I wrote about whiskey to be on topic you asked about beer.

I was first told by a high level product development person at Diagio that Guiness would not be the same in Ireland. While we had not tasted U.S. Guiness in quite awhile I can say that it in NO way matched my memory of U.S. Guiness. However, having just tried Guiness on the European continent last night -- I'd say what is available on the continent is either the same or very close.

As an example, my wife truly loves most stouts while I like some but not others. In the U.S. she prefers Murphy's to Guiness. In Ireland we tried them back-to-back and she clearly prefers the Guiness.

A dram of Paddy with Guiness went down very smoothly with no ill effects, by the way http://www.straightbourbon.com/forum...mlins/wink.gif

Re Guinness - it usually tastes better in Ireland because it doesn't rest in the pipes for very long as it is being served all the time.

Also, I believe that there might be different gasses used to give it its head in different countries, although I am not sure if this is true.

They don't tell you this, but in Ireland they pour about 75 percent of it and leave it rest for a minute or two before topping it up and serving it. This is really now just a tradition as it no longers affects the pint. It was originally done because the head and the body came from different taps. One was cooler and one was warmer.

Re Paddy - I personally don't like it, but it is very popular in Ireland. It is mainly grain and is best served over ice or with a mixer, I think.

Do you know how Guinness draught was served before the nitro system was invented? I have heard different things about this. One person told me there was very little draught, it was mostly bottled beer. Other people say the beer was cask-conditioned (like real ale) but do not seem clear whether hand pumps were used. Some people also note the service from two casks, apparently one contained flat beer (to form the 3/4 of the pint first poured), the second cask contained more lively beer to top it with the head. There must be people in Ireland who recall how Guinness was served then but I've never got the real lowdown on that. I wonder if traditions varied in different parts of the Republic and Ulster, maybe in some areas they used handpumps, in some two casks or only bottles, etc. I still enjoy Guinness and as you say when the turnover is high it seems to taste best.

Gary

Yes, one contained flatter beer and the other contained more lively beer. One was cooler than the other.

It was generally delivered to pubs in casks which were bottled and corked by the publican.

Dry Irish stout like Guinness was invented when the british started taxing malt, so unmalted barley was added to the mix to bring down the cost. This is very similar to traditional pure pot still Irish whiskey.

Thanks, but how did they dispense from the casks then, by thumb taps?

It sounds like the publicans sold stout in two forms: in bottles they put up themselves and in draft in pint glasses.
From which cask did they do the bottling? The flat one presumably else they would encounter a foaming problem.

I wonder if draught Guinness today bears any relation in taste to the one drawn from the high and low casks..

The double cask draw sounds like the idea of porter doesn't it (idea of drawing from multiple casks)..?

Speaking of which, how did Guinness porter differ from stout service?

Gary