Episode 237

The Legendary Silkie with James Doherty

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The Legendary Silkie with James Doherty

Episode 237

What’s shakin, cocktail fans? Welcome to Episode 237 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!

Thanks for joining us for another interview episode, where we track down the best and brightest minds in the spirits and cocktail world so that we can share their secrets with you. In this delicious, philosophical conversation with James Doherty of Sliabh Liag Distillers and The Legendary Silkie Irish Whiskey, some of the topics we discuss include:

The geography and culture of the Donegal region of Ireland, located in the far Northwest of the country, and how this elemental landscape inspires their mission and their products.
Why James and his wife and distiller Moira consider themselves “scatterlings,” having come to Donegal after traveling and collecting flavors from around the world, and how this informs their approach to creating spirits with a sense of time and place.
Then, of course, we explore the legend of the Silkie, a maritime yarn deposited in Ireland by the Vikings, and taste through the three primary expressions of the Legendary Silkie: the flagship product, the Dark Silkie, and the Midnight Silkie.
Along the way, we cover why Irish whiskey is beginning to return to its smoky roots, how building a blended whiskey can be like carving a block of marble, why Australians don’t understand what the world truly loves about them, and much, much more.

As you sink into this conversation filled with charming Irish legends and breathtaking landscapes, we’d encourage you to pay attention to the ways in which James and his team are trying to advance the conversation about what Irish whiskey is and could be, and how they’re grounding that mission in a place they truly love. That’s a sense of place that’s greater than the climate and weather conditions we generally consider when we think about terroir. And that’s precisely the kind of thoughtful, integrated approach you’d expect from a brand that makes delicious, exciting whiskeys.

Featured Cocktail – The Silkie Special

This episode’s featured cocktail is The Silkie Special. To make it, you’ll need:

2 ounces of your favorite dram from the Legendary Silkie portfolio
4-6 ounces of your favorite local or premium quality cola. In Donegal, Ireland, they use a rendition called “Football Special” that foams like a beer, giving it a nice, rich head.

This is a “built” drink, so to make it, simply pour your whiskey dram into a chilled highball glass with plenty of ice, top up with the cola, garnish with a citrus twist, and maybe even a little squeeze of lemon, then give the glass a gentle stir, and enjoy.

On the face of it, the Silkie Special is simply a Cuba Libre made with a very specific Irish whiskey. But we happen to think there’s a bit more to this drink than meets the eye.

Take, for example, the decision to use “Football Special” as the Cola of choice. It’s called this because it’s made for kids to drink after their football matches when they go out to celebrate – allowing them a sort of non-alcoholic pub culture that mirrors the experience of the pints they see the adults in their lives enjoying. So in addition to the textural uniqueness of the soda, it also evokes a sense of home and memories of childhood friends for those who grew up in and around Donegal. This sense of home is something that we focus on quite a bit in this conversation.

Another thing to note about the Silkie Special is that it takes a very deliberate stance on how one is supposed to enjoy this whiskey. In the world of single malts and premium grain whiskeys, much is made about the question of ice, or water, which glass to use, and what premium cigar to light when enjoying a dram. But the Silkie Special cocktail suggests that maybe that’s not the point of the Legendary Silkie. The point, it seems, is to enjoy it however you like – even (or perhaps especially) if that happens to be mixing it with the cola you enjoyed as a kid.

This episode was made possible with editing and sound design by Samantha Reed and Irish whiskey insights courtesy of James Doherty of Sliabh Liag Distilling. Special thanks to Preiss Imports for making the interview possible. This has been a Modern Bar Cart production, copyright 2022.

This episode is also brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life.

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The Legendary Silkie with James Doherty

Featured Cocktail – The Silkie Special

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