Bushmills for Saint Paddy's?

 "McNulty: Can I get a Jameson?
Bartender: Bushmills OK?
McNulty: That’s Protestant whiskey.
Bartender: Price is right, ain’t it?
McNulty: Make it neat."

Well, first thing first: happy Saint Patrick's Day to you all. I will make time to drink today and, at some point, I might even accompany my usual pint with a shot of some Irish spirit. It might be Bushmills, even though it would be ironic to drink a Protestant whiskey on the day of a Catholic saint. But when we went to Belfast, we visited their distillery briefly. Could be a nice way to remember the trip. Oh and for those who don't know where the exchange above is from, it's from The Wire. You can watch the scene here. I've been wanting to say the reply next time they offer me some in a pub. Haven't had the chance since the local Irish pub shut down, but maybe today is my lucky day. Luck of the Irish, as they say.

Une shot de Jameson

Parce que je suis sur les antibiotiques (lire mon dernier billet), je ne peux pas fêter la Saint-Patrick en buvant. C'est tragique. Enfin ça m'emmerde profondément: depuis l'âge de 21 ans je crois je célèbre la Saint-Patrick, enfin je la souligne avec au moins un verre. Je ne peux pas fêter autant la semaine, mais je compte quand même fêter un peu. Mais là, antibiotiques... Cela dit, je me demande si je ne devrais pas faire une exception et me permettre une shot de Jameson. Je ne suis pas très whiskey d'habitude, mais j'en bois parfois avec ma bière, pour accompagner, je trouve que ça rehausse le goût et l'expérience. Et puis pour le rhume, ça tuerait les microbes que j'ai au fond de la gorge. Alors je me demande si je ne devrais pas faire un saut au pub irlandais local...

Dublin wisdom

Maybe I am just a puppet here, easily and stupidly used, played if you will, by the dark and cynical forces of the Great Capital. Because I am shamelessly posting on social medias for free advertisement from a spirits company, but I saw a while ago in the local Irish pub this mat from Jameson and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. "In Dublin three is never a crowd, it's a start." It makes me want to go to Dublin. A visit is long overdue. Oh and have a shot of Jameson. I am that easily manipulated. I have been wanting to share this on Vraie Fiction and thought that since March is the month of Saint-Patrick's Day, it was a good time to finally upload the picture here.

That's Protestant Whiskey

"McNulty: Can I get a Jameson?
Bartender: Bushmills OK?
McNulty: That’s Protestant whiskey.
Bartender: Price is right, ain’t it?
McNulty: Make it neat."

I blogged before about the urban legend regarding Bushmills. I learned about it because of this scene in The Wire. This anecdotal exchange between McNulty and the barman is one of many scenes in the series, scenes that are seemingly unimportant, but give character to the show. One of many reasons why I love it so much. I took this picture in the duty free boutiques of Southampton Airport. Looking at the bottles, I could only think of the scene in my favorite TV drama. Next time I go out for a drink, I want to order a whiskey just for the sake of being offered Bushmills. So I can say the immortal line. Not that I know much about whiskey, to be honest. I enjoy it from time to time, but cannot make the difference between a decent one and a great one. Or even a bad one, come to think of it. But I do want to say this once in my lifetime.

The Bushmills controversy

I blogged about it before. I discovered this controversy in The Wire. My favorite TV series. Apparently, Bushmills is Protestant whiskey, according to Jimmy McNulty. Who, as a good Irish-American Catholic, has Jameson as his poison of choice. Apparently, the association between Jameson and Catholics and Bushmills and Protestants is more or less a urban legend. You can find out more about it here. For all its urbane legendary nature, it still makes for a great scene that reveals a lot about McNulty. He is outside his element, he stands out in this crowd, even when it comes to drinks.

Yesterday's St Patrick's Day

So although I promised I would blog more yesterday, I did not. I was too busy celebrating in the local Irish pub. It had been closed all day and opened in the evening. I had already started in another pub earlier on in the afternoon. So I enjoyed drinking Guinness, with a shot of Jameson to accompany it. Jameson may not be the most sophisticated or the most renown whiskey, but it goes beautifully with a beer, especially a stout. I am starting to think it is a sine qua non drink to go with the Guinness, although it does bring up my alcohol intake and increases the risk of hangover. I do have a bit of one today, although it is not the complete Irish flu.

So I drank, ate (more on this in another post) and got merry. I even sang a bit of Irish songs, as there was a band playing. Well, a man with a guitar and another one with a violin. The landlord and landlady couldn't just go with a playlist, not in a respectable Irish pub. I did not know all the lyrics, but I have heard all the songs. It is a great way to stay patient while you are waiting to be served. Because there was a lot of people and service was slow. My wife and I even met at random some of our neighbours. You see the drink of the man on the picture. It was Beck's with a green colouring. I say this partially as a disclaimer as I would never drink this, not even drunk. I always wear green on St Paddy's, but never ever drink green. The proper alcohols for the day have to be Irish and, when it comes to beer, very black.