Audio By Carbonatix
Bring out the Irish Spring! As my date and I sat down at the bar at the Irish Snug, a guy next to me gave me a dirty look. “I’m sorry, was this seat taken?” I asked, and he mumbled something inaudible and walked to the door. That’s when his repulsive aroma whacked me upside the head like a prizefighter’s knockout punch. I was apologizing to the bartendress for driving off her clientele, however stinky, when the phone rang. It was the rambling, somewhat incoherent, smelly man calling from a pay phone down the street to complain to the manager about the service he’d received. “I know I may smell, but that’s not my fault,” he said. The obvious question: Then whose fault was it? Rather than offend people in the bar, perhaps he should have made use of the Irish Snug’s namesake — a small, private room, or snug, that allows you to sit in relative anonymity and have cocktails without the outside world’s condemnation. Invented in the late nineteenth century, the snug was designed for patrons who preferred not to be seen at a public bar, such as well-off gentlemen, proper ladies, priests, police officers, public officials, lovers seeking a surreptitious location or the occasional stinky guy. After convincing the distraught bartendress that she’d done nothing wrong, we enjoyed a shot of the house drink (and the house drink at many Irish bars across the country): Shillelagh ($4, $3 on Friday and Saturday), made with Jameson Irish Whiskey and Baileys Original Irish Cream. As invigorating as a cold shower, it tasted fresh and clean as a whistle. Manly, yes, but I like it, too!
