Jocktails – Whisky Sour

The IrishWhiskey360° initiative which aims to make this country the world’s No.1 tourist destination for our favourite drink has got me thinking…

And drinking.

Now there are those for whom putting anything in their whisky is anathema (and that’s not a brand).

My esteemed Travel colleague and fellow Scottishy fellow Tom Sweeney www.tomsweeneytrabels.blogspot.com said he was apoplectic at a particular cultural difference when he lived in Spain.

A touch of Irish

That they took coke in their J&B. Which they still do, particularly as a gateway drink for youngsters.

As they reminded us in Tenerife recently while introducing us to something new Jocktails – Tenerife coffee liqueurs.

Whisky purists will say only take a drop of water in your whisky to release the whisky.

Which I do. But I’ve grown fond too of making, shaking and partaking of whisky cocktails too.

And when it comes to whisky I’m an internationalist.

The English are coming

I’ve seen English whisky sold at the top of The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, and Japanese whisky,

I’ve drunk Swiss whisky at the top of the Alps.

And developed a taste for Bourbon thanks to my cousin Kath’s Kentucky husband Mark.

A story here about how whisky is for us all… and we should never assume. It makes an ass of U and ME.

Or him.

Smokin’ Laphroaig

I got into conversation with a charming ThirtySomething single lady at a wedding.

Don’t worry, the Scary One was at the same table.

Whisky woman

I asked her where she had been on holiday and when she told me ‘Islay’ it transpired she was a whisky taster.

And she proceeded to tell me of a cold wintry night (always the best stories) when she ventured into a spit and sawdust Edinburgh pub.

The narrow-minded barman suggested to her that whisky was rather strong for a lassie and asked if she might want something a little sweeter,

We get few open goals in life.

But my new friend relayed how she went across the whole top row of whiskies and gave him tasting notes for each of them.

I guess you could have caught flies in his open mouth.

And check out this website for all things Irish whiskey… www.IrishWhiskey360.ie, www.tourismireland.ie and www.visitscotland.com.

And now for a Whiskey Sour…

• You’ll need two parts of bourbon
• 1 part of lemon juice
• ½ part of sugar syrup
• ½ part of egg white
• Cubed ice
• Garnish with a cherry and orange slice

1. Put ice and the ingredients into a shaker and shake for 20 seconds to chill.
2. Strain into a glass of ice and garnish with the cherry and orange.

Further reading

And for some whisky-related trips here’s the home of whisky… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/brexit-aberdeen-a-light-in-the-north/

And drinking some whisky on the rocks… https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/swhisskey/

With your regular Thursday offering Hungry and Thursday… whiskies around the world which the sharp-eyed among you will have noticed…

I brought you a day early yesterday. I’m blaming too much lockdown and too much Laphroaig.