Dit keer is het de beurt aan een Ierse whiskey met zwart-groen etiket en als naam Old Flag. Ook hierin zit de kleurstof E150a. Zou dat typisch zijn voor goedkope whsik(e)y? Hij lijkt iets lichter van kleur dan de andere flesjes. Deze blended whiskey had ik iets ruwer en groffer verwacht, maar misschien wen ik al aan deze branderige smaak? Het is wel minder dan Scotch.
Irish Whiskey '...skillful blend of the finest Irish Grain and Malt Whiskeys creates a Whiskey of unique smoothness & character. Triple distilled and gently matured in handmade oak casks.'
Zo staat te lezen op het doosje.
Guess where Irish whiskey has to be made?
Anyway, like scotch, Irish whiskey is actually less regulated than bourbon. Basically, is has to be made in Ireland and distilled for a minimum of three years in wooden casks. Like scotch, Irish whiskey is almost always malt whiskey (i.e. made from barley), but unlike scotch, Irish whiskey isn’t roasted over peat. Instead it’s roasted over charcoal or in gas kilns, which leaves a cleaner, sweet malt taste. Oh, and Irish whiskey is generally triple distilled while Scotch is double distilled, which also yields a cleaner taste (www.refinedguy.com/2012/08/16/what-you-need-to-know-about-whiskey/#5).
Irish blended whiskey is defined by the Republic of Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine as a blend of two or more different whiskey types among the pot still, malt, and grain whiskey categories, and its production usually includes Irish grain whiskey that is produced from a distillate that "is much less intense in flavour when compared to Pot Still distillates ... at a strength of c. 94.5% vol." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blended_whiskey)
Ik draai het dopje er af en neem vol vrees een snelle slok. Het brandt minder dan gevreesd. Het smaakt ook wat anders dan de Amerikaanse en Canadese whisky. Als ik de Kentucky nogmaals proef lijkt ook die anders te smaken. Zou mijn smaak zich al aan het aanpassen zijn?
Als ik nog een slok neem voel ik het weer branden. Wie vindt dit lekker? Als ik een dag later weer een slok neem...idem.
En waar staat die naam eigenlijk voor?
Als ik zoek naar een oude Ierse vlag kom ik terecht in de roerige geschiedenis van het land...
Thomas Meagher, the man who first flew the flag publicly, wanted a new Ireland, where Irish Catholics and Protestants joined forces for independence. In February 1848, he made a famous speech. He said: “what strength have I to beat my way towards that bold headland, upon which I have sworn to plant the flag I have rescued from the wreck?”
Meagher and the Young Irelanders were inspired by 1848 revolutions in Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Rome, Prague and Budapest, which overthrew kings and emperors from their thrones, and established democratic republics. These revolutions had inspired the Young Irelanders to overthrow British rule in Ireland, peacefully if possible. In April 1848, Meagher, William Smith O’Brien and Richard O’Gorman went to Paris to congratulate the French on overthrowing King Louis Philippe. While they were there, a group of French women wove an Irish tricolour made from the finest French silk and presented it to Meagher.
Back in Dublin, on April 15, 1848, Meagher presented this silk flag to the citizens of Ireland, and said: “The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the ‘orange’ and the ‘green’.” (www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/fifteen-facts-about-the-irish-flag-and-1916-1.2362893).
On the 15th of April he presented a fabulous version of the Tricolor made from the finest French silk to the citizens of Ireland. He said:
“…I trust that the old country will not refuse this symbol of a new life from one of her youngest children. I need not explain its meaning. The quick and passionate intellect of the generation now springing into arms will catch it at a glance. The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the “orange” and the “green” and I trust that beneath its folds, the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood…” Thomas Francis Meagher
...The Irish Tricolour has inspired generations of Irish people since its conception in 1848. Although the flag didn’t see the light of day again until it was raised above the GPO in 1916, so poignant was its symbolism that its message still prevailed over half a century later, as it does today. The tricolour was eventually recognised as Ireland’s national flag in 1937 (www.1848tricolour.com/history-of-the-irish-flag/).
Although the 1916 Easter Rising made the Irish tricolour famous, it was actually first flown publicly in Waterford City in 1848. On March 7th of that year, Thomas Francis Meagher, a leader of the Young Irelanders, flew the flag from the Wolfe Tone Confederate Club at 33 The Mall, Waterford City (www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/fifteen-facts-about-the-irish-flag-and-1916-1.2362893).
The General Post Office (GPO; Irish: Ard-Oifig an Phoist) in Dublin is the headquarters of the Irish Post Office, An Post, and Dublin's principal post office. Sited in the centre of O'Connell Street, the city's main thoroughfare, it is one of Ireland's most famous buildings, and was the last of the great Georgian public buildings erected in the capital.....During the Easter Rising of 1916, the GPO served as the headquarters of the uprising's leaders. The building was destroyed by fire in the course of the rebellion and not repaired until the Irish Free State government took up the task some years later. The facade is all that remains of the original building. An original copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic was on display in the An Post museum at the GPO, where an exhibition, Letters, Lives & Liberty, highlighted the history of the Post Office and the GPO. The museum closed at the end of May 2015 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Post_Office,_Dublin). Besides its architectural significance and role as the chief office of the Irish Post Office, Dublin’s GPO holds a place of particular symbolic importance for Irish people.
It was the headquarters of the men and women who took part in the Easter Rising of April 1916. While that rebellion ended in failure with most Irish people lamenting the death and destruction caused, it led to Irish independence and the creation of a new State...The rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, were motivated by various ideals but held the common belief that only an armed revolt could bring about the independence of Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. They chose the GPO, the communications heart of the country and the centre of Dublin city, as the building on which to hoist the flag of an Irish republic.
For nearly a week, the rebels held the GPO. Fighting here and in other parts of the city was intense with civilians bearing the greatest hardship. With the building on fire and crumbling, they tried to break through the surrounding army cordon and failed. Pearse, realising the futility of further fighting, finally took the decision to surrender.
The smouldering ruins of the GPO bore silent witness to the momentous events that had taken place (www.anpost.ie/AnPost/History+and+Heritage/History/1916+Rising/) (www.anpost.ie/AnPost/
History+and+Heritage/History/GPO+Dublin/The+General+Post+Office.htm).
The flag was later used by the IRA during the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921). After independence in 1922, the flag was also used by the Irish Free State (1922–1937) and was included in the 1937 Constitution.
The green in the flag symbolises Irish republicanism dating back to the Society of United Irishmen in the 1790s and beyond.
The orange in the flag represents the Protestant minority in Ireland. It was included in the Irish flag in an attempt to make Irish Protestants feel included in the Irish independence movement. Many Irish Protestants had been supporters of William of Orange, the Protestant Dutch prince who became King William III of Britain. As King, William defeated the Catholic King James II and his mainly Irish Catholic army at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Today, ‘Orangemen’ in the North continue to celebrate this Protestant victory with parades and bonfires on July 12th.
The white in the centre symbolises the hope for a lasting peace between the two cultures on the island of Ireland – nationalist, mainly Catholic Ireland, and unionist, mainly Protestant Ireland. The flag as a whole is therefore meant to symbolise inclusion and a hoped-for reconciliation of the various religions in on the island of Ireland, which is expressed in Article 2 of the Irish Constitution as the entitlement of every person born in Ireland to be part of the independent Irish nation, regardless of ethnic origin, religion or political conviction (www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/fifteen-facts-about-the-irish-flag-and-1916-1.2362893).
Ik heb nog een site gevonden over oude Ierse vlaggen. Ook Wikipedia heeft 'a list of flags which have been, or are still today, used in Ireland.' Waaronder ook de Ulster Banner.
De Ieren komen door al die vlaggen toch een beetje over als een stel rebellerende rebellen. Als ik verder zoek vind ik ook wat over die andere rebellen, de Amerikanen:
(Youtube)
"You're a Grand Old Flag" is an American patriotic march. The song, a spirited march written by George M. Cohan, is a tribute to the American flag. In addition to obvious references to the flag, it incorporates snippets of other popular songs, including one of his own. Cohan wrote it in 1906 for George Washington, Jr., his stage musical (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
You%27re_a_Grand_Old_Flag).
Na Amerikaanse en Canadese whiskey nu Ierse whiskey en ik vind het nog steeds niet lekker... whiskey is geen kinderspel...