I attended the most lovely, sweet and generous Irish wake memorial yesterday for the most lovely, sweet and generous of people, KJ Donoghue.
Memorials, while sad for the life lost, can be extraordinary for bringing people together and sharing stories. We don’t know the length of our lives, and while KJ’s was shorter than many others’ lives, the stories told about him, the ripple effect he has had on so many individuals and communities, and the nature of his being speak to the depth and reach of his life.
Endless thanks to the people behind the scenes who pulled the event together, made the gathering possible and helped a community grieve.
Guests were encouraged to bring a bottle of whiskey to share, and late in the night before heading out the next day for this all-day-all-night memorial, I got the idea to concoct a whiskey drink to share. I don’t typically write down my concoctions, as they are — each and all — their own moments of magic, but this one turned out really well, and best I can remember, this is what I made.
Many a toast were made to KJ with it.
The KJ
#1 – Serve hot
1 cup whiskey
1 cup simple sugar with 3 Tbsp dried ginger (to make a ginger simple syrup)
Sour to taste (lime, citric acid, ACV)
Orange zest
Chili de arbol to taste (a little goes a long way)
Heat it all up for 20 minutes or so.
Serve hot.
#2 – Serve cold
Start with the base recipe above.
Cool it down.
Add an equali-ish amount of black tea
Chill it all.
Serve cold.
#3 – The Tonic
Start with the base recipe
Add harissa sauce (smoked chiles, garlic, olive oil, cumin and coriander) to taste
Add a bit of salt
Heat it all up again.
Serve room temperature as a tonic.
Notes
The chile de árbol, specifically, is, imo, a key ingredient.
I think those are the general proportions. IDK. Seems about right.
Photo of KJ by Kenny Reff.
