Saturday Happy Hour — An Easy Irish Whiskey Old Fashioned

Jameson [hearts] Bénédictine.

How are your caraway-infused rye projects coming along? If you haven’t started yours yet, here’s an even easier way to make a St. Patty’s Day-friendly Old Fashioned. 

This cocktail, developed by bartender Jack McGarry of The Dead Rabbit in New York, is built on Jameson Black Barrel whiskey, which is aged for more than a decade in sherry and bourbon casks. 

In place of the usual sugar syrup, this drink relies on Benedictine. Originally made by monks hundreds of years ago, Bénédictine is a richly spiced herbal liqueur that you might recognize from the Vieux Carré. 

In addition to Angostura bitters, the drink also calls for an additional two dashes of orange bitters, which help tame and blend the medley of flavors. 

Structurally, this drink is probably closest to the Monte Carlo, another Old Fashioned style drink that uses Bénédictine as the sweetener. But on paper, at least, it also looks a little bit like a Manhattan variant — but served on the rocks and with Bénédictine in place of sweet vermouth. 

Although the original recipe makes a point of calling for the pricier, somewhat more complex Jameson Black Barrel, I find it works quite well with ordinary, no-frills Jameson, a smooth and pleasantly balanced, vanilla forward Irish whiskey that continues to be one of the better values in mass-market brown liquor. Either way, it produces a deeply flavored, spice-rich, slow-sipper of a cocktail that’s quite strong but also surprisingly approachable. This is an easy drink to make — and an easy drink to like. 

This cocktail goes by multiple names online. But because it combines both Irish whiskey and a liqueur created by monks, I sometimes serve it to friends as the Irish Catholic. 

Irish Catholic (Irish Whiskey Old Fashioned)

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• 2 dashes orange bitters

• ¾ ounce Bénédictine

• 2 ounces Jameson Black Barrel (or ordinary Jameson)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. 

2. Add ice, then stir until thoroughly chilled.

3. Strain into a rocks glass over a single piece of large ice.

4. Garnish with an orange peel.