I'm not much into St. Patrick's Day. The few kelly-green wardrobe items I own were free promotional items. I prefer bourbon over Irish whisky. And, I have a hard time getting down more than a pint and a half of beer in one sitting. But, when Mrs. O announced she was hosting the March Cocktail Club meeting on St. Patty's Day, I had no choice. I put on my kelly-green scarf and dreamed up an Irish cocktail.Mr.s O went green in more ways than one, launching the evening with bacon deviled eggs made from local ingredients. Half were topped with bacon and scallions and half were dolloped with Beet Caviar from the New York based Divine Brine Foods. The eggs were accompanied by a Bloody Mary cocktail that included Irish whisky and stout which was inspired by brunch at a Brooklyn restaurant.
We moved on to a table spread with cheeses, fruit, and Irish soda bread from two bakeries at the Grand Army greenmarket. I added a batch of homemade savory basil shortbread cookies, and a refreshing citrus cocktail I've decided to call the Bee's Buzz.
The Bee's Buzz was appropriately Irish because the base liquor was Kilbeggan Whiskey which I infused with lemons. I chose Kilbeggan following advice from the crew at Astor Wines and Spirits, and as they say, it's good for mixing but it's not much for drinking straight. The cocktail was deliciously tart. The one step I will do differently next time is to make honey syrup rather than using straight up honey, which is thick and doesn't quite dilute fully with the shaking.
At the bar and inspired by Mrs. O's selection of bottles, I also mixed up an Irish Manhattan with Michael Collins whiskey, Irish Mist (a whiskey-honey liqueur), Carpano Antica, and bitters. It was a nice precursor to the corned beef and cabbage sliders that were next on the menu. The cabbage was in the form of phenomenal coleslaw that Mrs. O made with a delicious dijon mustard whipped up by fellow clubette HA.
The dessert course was a truly local delight with artisanal ice cream in several flavors by Luca and Bosco, a start-up being driven by clubette CO and friend RL. A gin-and-grapefruit sorbet was the prefect palate cleanser before we dove into sampling flavors of rosemary, lemon and olive oil; cinnamon-ricotta, vanilla-chai, and chocolate-beer. We each made our own cup with some combination of ice cream, waffle cones or brownies, and a splash or float of stout or Bailey's.
Yep, it was pretty decadent.
Indeed, last night was not a shamrock-cookie affair. But Mrs. O does have quite a bit of Irish fire in her and an exuberance for partying. So, there were some of the typical moments that usually keep me out of bars on St. Pat's day, like throwing darts to see who has to down an Irish car bomb and drinking green beer.
I certainly had a fun time! And, although I might put away the kelly-green scarf until next March, I am keeping the Irish cocktail recipes on hand.
Bee's Buzz
2 oz. lemon-infused Kilbeggan whiskey
1 oz. Luxardo Triplum (or other orange liqueur)
.5 oz lemon juice
1-2 tsp honey (to taste)
Shake with ice
Strain and garnish with lemon
Irish Manhattan
1.5 oz. Michael Collins
1 oz. Carpano Antica
.5 oz. Irish Mist
2-3 dashes aromatic bitters
Garnish with lemon peel or a brandied cherry
Oh, and you can help out Luca and Bosco by contributing to their Kickstarter campaign. They need a professional ice cream machine to get their delicious and creative ice cream out to the people!
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