Seamus McCaffrey's!

Greetings everyone, my name is Andrew Hall and in celebration of the 76th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition, I have been bestowed with the privilege of having a guest article on this fine publication.

In order to celebrate our greatest freedom, intoxicating liquors, along with Mr. D-Lux, Gizmo, and Sir Alan Hoyt and his merry men, I made the arduous light-rail journey to the urban jungle of downtown Phoenix. Seamus McCaffrey’s is one of the few bars nestled amongst the skyscrapers of downtown, but I’ve always considered it to be a diamond in the rough. Next door to the haunted and historic Hotel San Carlos, this dingy yet distinct Irish pub is chock full of character. The service was above average, and other than a few gaudy neon lights and a tacky countdown to St. Patrick’s Day sign, the hardwood floors, aged decor and socially robust ambiance could almost convince someone they are in a friendly Irish pub in Dublin… almost.

While I know this is a beer oriented blog, because of the limited to nonexistent selection of any interesting choices, I’d rather focus on what this rich pub is known for, its superb whiskey list. Considering it is an Irish pub, there was a suspiciously large selection of Scotch. The list was conveniently divided up into region, which makes the selection process much easier to the trained, or in my case, training pallet. At the recommendation of Dan the man, I went with the $8 Glenmorangie 12 year single malt with a port wood finish. This beautiful golden colored whiskey did not disappoint. Nuts and oak were the clear winners of the initial flavor war, and as the name would imply, the port flavors finished the medley off. A wonderful taste, but I found that it really dried me out worse than expected. Even if you are a regular whiskey drinker, plan to be thirsty and order a glass of water beforehand, otherwise bad breath and cottonmouth are almost sure to follow. Overall it was a wonderful drink and bar. I would recommend to whiskey folk, but if you are going to grab an exotic pint, you may be a bit disappointed.

Bar: 8 out of 10 in general
Glenmorangie 12 year: 8 out of 10

-A votre sante
Andrew Hall


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