Paddy and Pink

I was staying on the Connemara coast in Ireland when I had my first big girl drink: Paddy and Red. The bartender poured me a pint glass of Paddy Irish whiskey and handed me a 2-liter bottle of "Red." Apparently, I was supposed to sip the whiskey, add some Red, sip some more, add more Red, until either the Paddy or the Red was gone.

For the past ten years, I searched liquor stores far and wide for Paddy. No one ever heard of it. But this year, I found it sitting right there at Surdyk's, next to the Jameson. It looks exactly the same too -- kinda cheap and very, very dangerous.

The only problem is the Red. How someone could be so stupid as to import the Paddy without the Red is beyond me, but that's what happened. Red lemonade doesn't exist outside of Ireland. While it isn't anything special -- super sweet lemonade that's been dyed red -- it seems crucial to the whole Paddy experience. Fortunately, the Canadians discovered that Red's cousin, Pink makes an acceptable substitute.

So here's to Paddy and Pink and the start of Irish Week!