From Barley to Blarney A Whiskey Lover's Guide to Ireland

From medieval monks to recent renaissance, From Barley to Blarney: A Whiskey Lover's Guide to Ireland includes everything you need to understand, appreciate, and mix one of the world’s fastest-growing (and most delicious!) spirits.

An Irish whiskey guru, two bartender behemoths, and an adept writer combine forces to create this comprehensive guide to Irish whiskey. The book begins with an in-depth introduction to whiskey and its history in Ireland, including what makes the style of Irish whiskey unique. What follows is a detailed examination of 50 different Irish whiskeys and the distilleries that make them, as well as a discussion of the booming present and promising future for Irish whiskey producers. The fun really begins when the masterminds behind 2015’s “World’s Best Bar,” Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, share 15 original mixed-drink recipes tailor-made for Irish spirits. Lastly, Irish Whiskey showcases 30 of Ireland’s iconic bars and pubs, linking past to present and providing the ultimate whiskey tourist itinerary.

International barman Sean Muldoon is most renowned for the Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog in Lower Manhattan, which he opened and manages with his business partner, Jack McGarry (both proud sons of Belfast). The bar has won eight Spirited Awards from Tales of the Cocktail, including “World’s Best Bar” and “World’s Best Cocktail Menu.” In 2016, the Dead Rabbit garnered the top spot on the coveted World’s 50 Best Bars list. Sean developed its concept, service 6 of 35 hallmarks, adjusted its landmarked 1828 structure, and oversees its evolving, award-winning menu. Jack was honored in 2013 with the prestigious Tales of the Cocktail “International Bartender of the Year” award. He is its youngest ever recipient and only the second in America (after the legendary Audrey Saunders). To realize the Dead Rabbit project, Jack tested hundreds of recipes from scores of cocktail books from the mid-19th century from the likes of Jerry Thomas and others. Each recipe was adjusted to account for the contemporary palate, which sometimes involved making fifty to seventy versions of a single drink before one was deemed the best. The result was a voluminous cocktail menu with seventy-two libations, bottled and communal punches, and the largest selection of Irish whiskey in New York.

Tim Herlihy, drinks historian and U.S. ambassador for Tullamore Dew whiskey, was born and raised in County Louth, Ireland. Tim began his working career at his father’s family farm, Belview Eggs, where he helped manage the sales, marketing, and egg production of 80,000 hens. Tim’s start in whiskey began with the iconoclastic Cooley Distillery. Since then, he has traveled to numerous distilleries across Ireland, Scotland, the U.S., and beyond, studying the history of Irish whiskey and the entire production process from malting to maturation. In his role as Tullamore Dew Ambassador, Tim is a foremost presenter at whiskey shows and cocktail weeks, discussing Irish whiskey history, cocktails, and one of his favorite topics, the Irish pub. Preceding St. Patrick’s Day 2014, Tim completed a 28-day lecture tour of the best Irish pubs in all 50 U.S. states plus the District of Columbia. A natural raconteur and never at a loss for a toast, Tim has led television segments on Access Hollywood Live, Fox and Friends, and The Steve Harvey Show, among others. In 2016, Tim became Whisky Magazine’s Icons of Whisky award winner for Irish Whiskey Brand Ambassador of the Year.

Conor Kelly is from a talky Irish family where storytelling is a competitive and, occasionally, full-contact sport. Over the years, he has corralled words as a journalist, translator, copywriter, and book editor—shaping manuscripts on everything from instruction manuals and biographies to historical fiction and university textbooks. More importantly, however, he provides The Dead Rabbit’s tone of voice and gets to write the bar’s extraordinary story-menus and promotional materials. In the face of seemingly relentless peer pressure, Conor nonetheless retains an abiding love for the semicolon; like this one. What a lovely thing.