(le Róislín)

Now that “do ghoile” has presumably been “géaraithe,” here’s a list of some of the actual deochanna alcólacha.  At some point sa todhchaí, we can also talk about the effects of these beverages, namely various states of tipsiness.  And perhaps other related side effects (eilifintí bándearga?).

Uisce beatha, literally means “water of life.” “Fuisce” is a shortened form, based on the “uisce” part alone, which now serves for “whiskey” also. 

Scailtín is normally made from heated whiskey (with butter, sugar, and hot milk or water), but the word can also be used for mulled wine: scailtín fíona. 

Cineálacha leanna: leann, leann piorraí, leann úll or ceirtlis (presumed to be “hard,” i.e. alcoholic, in the European context), and leann fraoigh (a legendary concoction, but Williams Brothers Brewing Co. started brewing it in 1988)

Cineálacha beorach: beoir, beoir bhairille, beoir neamh-mheisciúil, scothbheoir

Téarmaí Ilchineálacha:

Recognize these? aipsint, coinneac, licéar, licéar uachtair, meá, rum, seaimpéin, sneap [say: shnap], vodca (freagraí thíos)

Leann pailme, toddy, really a type of wine, not an ale (leann) as I understand it; not the same “toddy” as in “hot toddy.”   

Fíon mormónta, vermouth, with “mormónta” being the Irish for “wormwood.”  This reflects the history of the actual word “vermouth,” derived from the German for the herb itself, “wermuth.” 

Manglam, cocktail, or any jumble or hodge-podge.  The manglam would be served in a gloine mhanglaim, showing us that manglam, functioning as an attributive noun would take both lenition (initial “m” becomes “mh” and slenderization, the “-m” ending becomes “-im.”) 

Biotáille Ghinéive agus athbhríoch, gin and tonic, (lán do bhéil d’fhocail, nach ea? – quite a mouthful of words!), lit. Geneva spirits and tonic.  A slightly shorter alternative for “gin” is “gin-bhiotáille,” but even that suggests a reluctance to completely substitute the place name element (gin) for the type of drink being modified.  “Sloe-gin” can be specified as “biotáille airní,” with “airne,” being the same plant that gives us the place name “Cill Airne” (Killarney, “church of the sloes”). 

Súlap miontais, mint julep, perhaps not a particularly favored beverage in Ireland, but this might have been a useful term for an leipreachán Og, who ended up in Missitucky in the musical which could be gaelicized as Tuar Ceatha Fhinín.  Not that Harburg and Lane had much Gaelic in mind, but at least they did lip service to the language, with Og and the fictitious town of “Glocca Morra,” (presumably based on the phrase “clocha móra“).  If, after all the differences were resolved, Og decided to schmooze a bit with Senator Billboard Rawkins [sic!], who “ruled” Missitucky till he had his come-uppance, no doubt súlap miontais would have been the beverage of choice.  And no, there was no síneadh fada (long mark) in the leprechaun’s name, even though it is meant to be “óg,” the Irish for “young.”  

Finally, I might note that “leigheas na póite a hól arís,” the cure for a hangover is to drink again.  Perhaps not the healthiest advice, but time-honored.  — Róislín  

Nótaí: goile, appetite, stomach (although the more everyday word for “stomach” is “bolg” [say: BOL-ug, with two syllables]; géaraithe, whetted, sharpened; leann piorraí, perry; fraoch, heather; fraoigh [free] of heather; beorach, of beer; bairille, barrel (used for “draught beer”); scoth- [skuh, note: silent “t”] premium; ilchineálach, various; tuar ceatha [too-ur KYAH-huh] rainbow

Freagraí: absinthe, cognac, liqueur or just liquor, cream liqueur, mead, rum, champagne, schnapps, vodka