Made An "Irish Blacksmith" (77/366)

“Between you and me, a few pints of Guinness and I can go even faster, you know,”
~ Michael Flatley, "Lord of the Dance"


Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, the corned beef I brined is cooking away in the crock pots, and it smells heavenly in the house. The only thing that even comes close to some delicious corned beef on St. Patrick's Day is a nice pint of Guinness. Today, I wanted to make a drink with Guinness (last year, Nick made me a "Shakin' Jesse"), so I thought of a "Black & Tan", but realized that's not an Irish concoction, but a British one. In Ireland, they combine Smithwick's Dark Ale and Guinness to produce an "Irish Blacksmith" - sounded delicious, so I made one tonight.

You start with half a pint glass of the Smithwick's, then slowly pour the Guinness in, over a spoon (I used a rice paddle) to layer. Since the Smithwick's is a dark ale, the result is darker than a "Black & Tan" so it might be hard to see the color difference there - it's pretty subtle - but the taste is rich and delicious.


In doing the research for drinks with Guinness, I found that there's also a "Black & Blue" which is Guinness with Pabst Blue Ribbon. I thought the combination (basically for the sake of the name) was pretty funny, and the Pabst reminds me of our friend Christy, so I had to make this one for her, too. It's made the same way, just starting with the Pabst. This one of course shows the layers better:


I also had a third themed beverage that I'd never had before - Irish Pear Cider. The neat and different thing about this one is that it's not an apple cider flavored with pear (which is more common), this cider is made completely with pears. Really cool. And it was delicious. Crisp and refreshing - and it came in a green bottle. How perfect could it get?


All of these drinks were very tasty, and perfect pours for St. Patrick's Day - speaking of which, I'll end this post with an Irish toast:
"May you always have a clean shirt, a clear conscience, and enough coins in your pocket to buy a pint!"

Sláinte!

Related Links:
Smithwicks.com
Smithwicks Irish Ale 6pk Btls
Guinness.com
Guinness Draught 4pk Cans
PBR.com
Pabst Blue Ribbon 12pk Cans
Magners.com (USA)