I love St Patrick's Day.
After all, it is a good excuse to drink Guinness and Irish whiskey. Whiskey, with an 'e', tends to be triple-distilled, making for a lighter, finer spirit than Scotch.
For Scottish triple-distilled expressions, try Auchentoshan (the Three Wood is particularly good), or the lovely Hazelburn from Springbank in Campbeltown.
The distillery has three different expressions with the Hazelburn being the most approachable and easy-going of the three.
If you're going Irish for March 17, I can heartily recommend Jameson's as a very decent expression of the style.
Sainsbury's is promoting the brand for St Patrick's Day with the entry level at £17 and the Select Reserve at £25, a saving of £12.99. Grab a bottle of either and enjoy with friends and a few cans of Guinness.
If that doesn't float your boat, try a bottle or three of Innis & Gunn's Irish Whiskey Cask Scottish Stout (Royal Mile Whiskies, £2.95, 33cl bottle) which is big and full (at 7.4% ABV), but really well balanced.
To finish off your evening, try a special release of the Alec Bradley cigar range. The Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan (Inverarity One to One, £12) has been released for St Paddy's and sports a candela wrapper which is a distinctive green leaf more usually associated with the American market. The filler (or flavour) of the cigar comes from Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, adding a lovely richness to balance the green, grassy edge of the younger wrapper leaf. Whatever you do this weekend, raise a glass and enjoy yourself on St Patrick's Day.
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