That's enough smooth talk
inspired in the two Gravediggers, Michael Jackson seeks a provocative pint and a combative ball of malt
The most famously well-kept Scottish ale was for decades the McEwanâs 80/- in an Edinburgh pub officially called The Athletic Arms but universally known (because it was between two cemeteries) as âThe Gravediggersâ. Oddly, the publican who kept such a good cellar did not himself drink alcohol.
The place was a shrine to one of Edinburghâs principal soccer teams, Hearts of Midlothian. I always felt vulnerable in The Gravediggers because Hearts is a Protestant team. âA you a Proddy or a Catholic?â someone would provocatively demand after a few pints, implying that perhaps I supported Heartsâ deadly rivals, Hibernian.
âI am a Jew,â I would reply, exaggerating slightly. Dissatisfied, he would press the point: âA Proddy Jew or a Catholic Jew?â
Had I not acknowledged this particular Gravediggers, some Edinburgher would have tried to start a fight over my quoting another pub of the same nickname, in Dublin.
That Gravediggers, next to Glasnevin Cemetery, is really called Kavanaghâs. The publican, Eugene Kavanagh, is another teetotaller. âDrink doesnât agree with my family,â he explains. Yet he, too, is famous for serving the best pint in his town. If he does not taste even a drop, how can he tell when it is right? âI can see when it isnât,â he explains.
The Guinness at Kavanaghâs has a head like clotted cream, and a peaty, sappy, almost woody, acidity. It beats the beer at Mulliganâs, famous for well-served Guinness, and at favourites of m.....
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By Michael Jackson
Section : The Gospel According to Michael Jackson
Page number : 7
