A word to the wise Old Lifer who may be out celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Don’t! It’s an Irish festivity for a Roman Catholic Saint. You’re Protestant. Just stick to Sundays, Mother’s and Father’s Days, and July 4th.
But if you do go out to make up for the Roman Catholics who gave up whiskey for Lent, keep in mind that Bushmill’s is the Protestant Irish whiskey, produced as it is in Northern Ireland, which may be the oldest active distillery in the world.
Jameson, by contrast, is the Roman Catholic whiskey, made in County Cork.
A recent piece in the Washington Post made the arresting point that the religious identities of Irish whiskey is nonsense:
There is a dicey — and misguided — aspect of Irish whiskey loyalty that splits along partisan lines. I’ve known a lot of older Irish Americans who will drink only Jameson because it is considered the “Catholic” whiskey, as opposed to Bushmills, which is perceived as the “Protestant” whiskey. During grad school in Boston, I drank once or twice in a hard-core Irish pub where you might come to physical harm if you ordered a Bushmills. (That bar also passed around a hat once a night, and you were strongly “encouraged” to donate to “the cause”).
This idea of Catholic vs. Protestant whiskey is bunk. For one thing, from 1972 to 2005, coinciding with some the worst of The Troubles, both distilleries were owned by the same company, Irish Distillers, before Bushmills was sold to Diageo. Jameson is now owned by Pernod Ricard, a French conglomerate. Also, John Jameson was a Scotsman, and therefore in all likelihood a Protestant.
Still, the perception persists. As we were tasting, one of my friends, Kevin Meeker, who owns an Irish pub in Philadelphia called the Plough and the Stars, gave a thumbs up to Bushmills Black Bush blended whiskey. He texted his Irish managing partner, Patrick Nester, at the bar and asked whether they sold a lot of Bushmills. Nester’s reply: “Not much because u idiots think it’s a Protestant whiskey.” Perhaps it’s best, as usual, to avoid discussing religion and politics while drinking.
Maybe the confessional difference between Irish whiskies no longer holds. But in the age of Evangelicals and Catholics Together, maintaining the legitimate antagonisms between Rome and its Christian protestors is imperative. For Old Lifers it’s a treat if you can do so with spirits.
Be careful out there.
Old Life 
It seems to me that the American variant (Kentucky Bourbon) would almost certainly not be “of a confessional Spirit”.. On second thought, though, it does go back to the (French and Spanish) Bourbons descendants of which are the Queen of Navarre as well as more or less Calvinist King Francis I of France. So there you have it… This is where confessional brewing (and drinking) obviously breaks down…
LikeLike
Yes, I think Wendell Berry would prefer the Kentucky stills.
LikeLike
What your wrote might have been funny, if it weren’t for all those who’ve been killed in what is sometimes styled as sectarian violence in Ireland. If ever there was a real world example of the utter failure of the church by mixing itself up in politics, it is Ireland. Perhaps if the protestants had not come trying to spread the Reformation in Ireland at the end of a gun, the preaching of the gospel wouldn’t have been confused with the occupation of conquerors.
If the “protestants” of N Ireland stopped and considered how they actually ended up there, they might be a little less friendly toward Westminster (in the civil sphere). The English got expatriated Scots to war against the natives, and that has been very effective politically and militarily for the English in Ireland.
So sure make the correct distinction between Reformed and Rome, but St. Paddy’s day has way too many cultural and political aspects for you to do so in this way and still keep your 2K credentials. You’ve made Ian Paisley proud. Now sure the church was pretty corrupt by the 5th century when Patrick lived, but by your reasoning about Patrick being a Roman Catholic saint you’d have to completely disown Augustine as well.
Irish Roman Catholics need to hear the gospel of grace as is only found in the Reformed churches, but reminding them of how the Reformation was first tried in Ireland, by force at the hand of the government of the English occupation certainly won’t do much to help the cause. The offence of the cross is enough, by itself, you don’t need to add the offence of English Imperialism in Ireland to it.
LikeLike
So in conclusion, go to a pub, have a pint of Guinness or Murphy’s, see the condition of the masses, and be moved with compassion as Jesus was when looking on the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then go home and pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God even among the Irish.
LikeLike
Interesting! The Philadelphians I know from the Commodore John Barry Club (aka The Irish Center) in Mt. Airy don’t seem to fall for sectarian identifications over the choice of whiskey. I don’t recall Bushmills ever being singled out for its Protestant status. I have never been troubled for making known my traditional protestant (Confessional Presbyterian) commitments. The music & dance go along ways to bridge (or is it hide) the gaps, at least in Philly. Generally, The older Irish-Americans are polite, the younger ones (also polite) are less strongly tied to their Catholic commitments. Or they participate in the pluralist, post-modern attitude that “religion” is a purely private thing.
I am not too familiar with the deeper strata of the Irish-American community. There is a whole underground culture/economy, where young men still find there way to Amerikay for it’s economic benefits. There are villages in Ireland where all the young men of a certain age (late teens to 20’s) have departed for work elsewhere. You insert yourself into those circles very carefully, I’m told.
LikeLike
Green beer and bad whisky can have their day, but I will have nothing of it, Catholic or not. If I am forced to drink a European whisky, Bushmill’s is simply a better choice than Jameson on quality standards. Although Knappouge makes a nice Irish whisky.
However as an American, I am a Bourbon drinker. For the quality and price, I think it’s hard to find a better liquor anywhere. Is any of this confessional? I don’t think so, but it’s still pretty important.
Camden, I think that your Wendell assessment is pretty accurate on religious grounds too (isn’t he a Baptist). As legend has it Elijah Craig, a Baptist minister is credited with first creating Bourbon. To this day Elijah Craig is a fine drink.
LikeLike
So can I “baptise” my bottle of Jameson’s with a shot of Bushmill?
LikeLike
My vote is to wear Orange for Protestantism, and drink Johnny Walker Black for the Church of England.
LikeLike
Michael: The body of Guinness is black!
Reed: Recall WCF 28, 2 limits exercising this to “a minister of the gospel, lawfully called thereunto.”
And OPC DWP, IV, A, 4: Although the efficacy of the sacraments does not depend upon the piety or intention of the minister, they are not to be administered by any private person but only by a minister of Christ, called to be a steward of the mysteries of God.
I commend to y’all the CD Portland, by Kevin Burke & MÃcheál Ó Domhnaill, fiddle/guitar duet by former members of the Bothy Band; as well the Bothy Band itself to get Irish pipes in the mix. And another outstanding fiddle/guitar duo: Martin Hayes (fiddle) & Dennis Cahill. Absolutely magical music.
Boy I can hardly wait for St. Andrews day to dig into a Scotch and Scottish music!
LikeLike
What your wrote might have been funny, if it weren’t for all those who’ve been killed in what is sometimes styled as sectarian violence in Ireland.
Not to mention all of those innocent people who have pinched for not wearing green.
LikeLike
Actually, there are some historians who are convinced that Rome never sent Patrick to Ireland as a missionary, but that in fact he was more of the Eastern persuasion. When he met with some success, later Popes rewrote history and claimed him as their own. Of course, the actual historical evidence make these claims possibly true, but it’s not definitive. But there’s also no historical evidence to support Rome’s claims that he was the Pope’s man in Ireland.
LikeLike
Camden Bucey says: “Yes, I think Wendell Berry would prefer the Kentucky stills.”
Long live Maker’s!
LikeLike