After nearly a century in the shadows, Irish whiskey is rebounding toward its former dominance. It’s all explained by David Wondrich, a drinks scholar and writer, who details the trajectory and the evolution of Irish bars in the United States since the 17th century in his foreword to “Paddy Drinks: The World of Modern Irish Whiskey Cocktails.” The book, by most of the partners in the Dead Rabbit, an esteemed bar in Lower Manhattan, is an up-to-date treatise on the whiskey, defining its four styles: pot still, malt, grain and blended. There are details for about 50 labels, and the book serves as a technical primer on Irish whiskey cocktails and how to build them. Following recipes for six classics, there are scores of Dead Rabbit creations, most of which call for esoteric ingredients like tonka bean syrup, za’atar tincture and toasted fennel salt (recipes are provided). There are a few more pantry-friendly options, like the head bartender Jillian Vose’s deliciously bitter Broadway Junction and the Precision Pilot, which she said was one of the first drinks she created at the bar.
“Paddy Drinks: The World of Modern Irish Whiskey Cocktails” by Jillian Vose, Jack McGarry, Sean Muldoon and Conor Kelly (Mariner Books, $28).