The Tipperary

The Ides of March and a cocktail for Ériu

The Tipperary Cocktail by the Author

Well, folks, we’ve reached the Ides of March. If you’re a would-be Roman Emperor, it’s not a great time of the year. If you’re Irish, or more to the point, an American celebrating the Irish, it’s pretty great. Saint Patrick’s Day is upon us, and I suspect a lot of us are trying to drive out our snakes, both real and figurative. Next week is also the Spring Equinox. At my house, that means a large dinner party for friends and friends of friends. It also means there’ll be punch. So, stay tuned for a special punch recipe next week.

The Tipperary is an old Pre-Prohibition cocktail that was developed in New York, though someone clearly had the Emerald Isle on their mind. One could also argue that the Northeast of the United States is very much a home away from home for the Irish. Tipperary is, of course, a county and a small town in Ireland. It is southwest of Dublin, sort of on the way to Cork. The area is famous for horse breeding and the Coolmore Stud — the largest thoroughbred breeding operation in the world, at least according to Wikipedia.

There aren’t a ton of cocktails centered on Irish Whiskey. To their credit, the Irish seem to drink their water of life, mostly, unadulterated. The recipe appears in Hugo R. Ensslin’s 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks. The drink is said to be a variation on the Bijou, which we covered here in November 2023. It trades the Bijou’s gin for Irish Whiskey. The original spec used Bushmill’s, but any good Irish Whiskey will do the trick.

I’ve been fortunate in life to know many great Irish folks. Seems fitting to mention a few of them here. Don Moynihan, who runs Can We Still Govern? on Substack, is a great read for all things governance and public policy, especially if you’re interested in how government programs can work better for the people they aim to serve. Early in my career, I had some great friends who were then at the DIT in Dublin. John Hogan and I have been pals for quite a while and always have a great time trading stories about Ireland and Appalachia. Sharon Feeney, also at TU Dublin, has also been a great friend over the years.

Finally, Morgantown is home to one of the all-time great bartenders, Lucy Morrison at Gene’s Beer Garden. If you find yourself in Morgantown, you must go see Lucy at Gene’s. You’ll find a sweeter person nowhere else on this earth. Your trip will be especially efficacious if you need some advice or to be put in your place in the way only an Irish woman can. Be judicious about what you choose on the jukebox. On to Tipperary…

Let’s tip one.

The Tipperary

Potion:

• 2 oz Irish Whiskey

• ¾ oz Sweet Vermouth

• ¼ oz Green Chartreuse

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• 2 drops 20% Saline

• Orange twist garnish

Procedure:

Chill your glass. This is a stirred cocktail. Load the mixing glass with the ingredients, sans garnish. Then, add ice and stir until the drink is well-chilled. Fine-strain into your glass, then express the orange oils over the drink. Garnish with the twist. Enjoy!

Worth noting, as I’ve said before, that when I say “fine-strain,” you can replace those with “double strain.” I always mean them equivalently, though for whatever literary reason, tend to gravitate to “fine-strain.”

Glass: Nick and Nora or Coupe

Options:

The two main levers for altering the ingredients here are the whiskey and the sweet vermouth. Any Irish whiskey will fit the bill here, so choose your favorite. Of the major brands, my favorite is Redbreast, and that’s what I used above. Could you substitute Bourbon or Rye in a pinch? Sure (though not really a Tipperary anymore), but remember the key characteristic of Irish whiskey is that smooth dram with vanilla undertones. I would not use a Scotch either, as its buttery, bread-dough quality makes too much noise for the botanicals in the supporting elements. Irish whiskey works great here because of that smoothness and underlying vanilla, which provides the backbone to the key botanical and flavor notes of the sweet vermouth and Green Chartreuse. I’ve increased the Irish Whiskey to 2 oz for a more spirit-forward drink. Many classic recipes are closer to the equal-parts formulation.

As for sweet vermouth, the three I use most are Dolin Rouge, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, and Carpano Antica. To my taste, these are ordered by flavor richness, with Dolin the driest of the lot. Choosing any one of these will alter the character of the drink along those lines. Any sweet vermouth you can access will, however, do the trick. Lillet Rouge is interesting and that’s what I used above. Lillet Rouge is not a sweet vermouth, but is an aromatized wine. It is deeply red and carries flavors of red raspberries, red plum, and red currants.

One might also alter the proportions of sweet vermouth to Green Chartreuse. Most recipes tend to have more of the former in ratio, but I’ve seen recipes that call for equal amounts. I’ve even seen those that reduce the whiskey in favor of more of each. You have to be cautious there, though, because the drink still needs a whiskey backbone. You could also convert this to a pretty good highball with some Italian Red Bitter soda. My own opinion is that Irish whiskey is a lot higher on the whiskey ladder than we normally admit. Let’s go green and make the world a more livable place.

Let me know your favorite Irish Whiskey below in the comments.

This blog is, as ever, an opinionated take on drinks.