The Stout's Brasser

If Ireland truly is the Island of Saints and Scholars, then Brothers McCullough, Dan and Nate — the Stout Public House’s own scholars of the dram and ounce — have canonized St. Germain liqueur into the Emerald Isle’s list of greats.

Baptized with a bit of green food dye, the Brasser (named after the somewhat demure Irish term for a lady of the night) brings the sprightly sweetness of the St. Germain elderflower to the more worldly peat of Jameson.

New to the menu at the Stout, the Brasser made its debut on St. Patrick’s Day and serves as an excellent bridge between the slogging solemnities of winter and the riotous rites of spring, McCullough says, balancing out the sweet and the bite with charm.

“It’s a little bit sweeter with a creamy vanilla hint to it,” he says, “but then with the lemon juice and Jameson’s gives it a bit of a bite.”

In the old babhdóir (Irish matchmaker) tradition, the St. Germain and Jameson also serve as an opportunity for striking up a grand match, McCullough says.

“Because it is a sweeter drink, it’s more typical of what women are going to like,” he says, “but it also has a bite to it with the Jameson, so we hope it will go over well with both parties.”

Among the other Irish whiskeys on the market, Jameson’s robust flavor allows it hold its own as a base liquor for cocktails, McCullough notes.

“There’s a different choice of flavors out there among Irish whiskeys as far as everyone likes their own thing, but the Jameson is definitely a solid Irish whiskey that everyone tends to love,” he says. “Other Irish whiskeys can either be too harsh or too light.”

Kitchen Proof: The Jameson and St. Germain make such a fine match — it’s to be doubted that a babhdóir at the top of his game could a do better job with a biddy and bachelor.

HOW TO MAKE IT

Into a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour:

• ½ oz. St. Germain liqueur
• ½ oz. lemon juice
• ½ oz. vanilla syrup
• 1 ½ oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey
• 1 dash of green food dye

Shake, pour into rocks glass filled with ice, garnish with basil leaf and cucumber slice, and tipple all the way to Tipperary!