The Instructor:

“I don’t want to claim to be an Irish whiskey expert,” Baker says. “I’ve known what I know for only about the last six months.” That said, the Dead Rabbit tests its bartenders’ knowledge – literally, tests – of Irish whiskey, and Baker has passed the most recent exams. You don’t get that without absorbing a great deal of knowledge, and probably an enviable amount of Irish whiskey – over time, of course.

Baker’s character contains a healthy dose of hospitality, so she’s as happy to pour knowledge along with pot-still whiskey. Spirits taste better when people know about what they’re drinking – and with Irish whiskey, there’s a lot to know.

Sliding closer to the Dead Rabbit’s upstairs future and Irish whiskey’s tangled past, here’s an Irish Whiskey 101 – complete with buying guide – courtesy of the Dead Rabbit’s Brooke Baker, a bartender with a house education in Irish whiskey. If you will, imagine yourself up the stairs, through a door, and up the stairs again. Set yourself in the Dead Rabbit in-between hours. Present are you, Brooke Baker and a pretty panel of Irish bottles. Let the education begin.

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Photo by Seanan Forbes