Irish Friday: Steal This Sandwich! (Also, Free Whiskey)

Are you hungry? Is the economy forcing you to drastically cut back on your food budget? Do the one-percenters who wield economic power over your life infuriate you? Well take action. Take your family to Dubh Linn Square in Cherry Hill and STEAL THIS CORNED BEEF SANDWICH.

That’s right. Follow the mythic spirit of the desperately poor “Michael,” who (as any self-respecting Irishman or Celtic Football Club fan will sing you), “stole Trevelyan’s corn so the young might see the morn.” Order the corned beef sandwich or platter at Dubh Linn, then tell the chef that his isn’t the best corned beef you’ve ever eaten and he’ll give it to you for free.

That’s right, go ahead. Your children are starving, and master of the Dubh Linn Square castle Mike McGeough is arrogantly lording over the food in the manner of the lyrically immortalized Charles Edward Trevelyan (who set food policy for the unpopular British-controlled administration that ruled from Dublin Castle during the Great Irish Famine, in case you don’t get our historical humor). Because this offer lasts as long as protagonist Michael’s subsequent imprisonment in Australia (read: forever), you can also goad your friends into stealing Lord McGeogh‘s corned beef. Consider it an expression of political defiance. He owns three successful Irish restaurants in New Jersey so he must be one of the royalist 1%.

And then, if your act of resistance doesn’t land you on a prison ship destined for Botany Bay, take your Mary to the Chestnut Club on Tuesday December 13th to further celebrate “the spirit of those who stay true in the face of adversity,” which is how William Grant & Sons describe the new multi-million-dollar “Irish True” re-branding campaign for Tullamore Dew Irish whiskey. Evoking the “true spirit of the Irish” that is at once “poetic and rebellious” in the manner of the above-referenced anthem “Fields of Athenry,” the world’s #2 Irish whiskey is making an American debut in four cities, Philadelphia among them. (We wonder if our inclusion has anything to do with the fact that WG & Sons owns Sailor Jerry rum and its alcoholic spin-offs, which were born in Philly).

We can watch the first star fall from 7-11 pm Tuesday, when Tully’s global brand ambassador hosts a free night (RSVP required) of Irish whiskey, music and folklore (and, weirdly, boxing), which means you don’t have to thieve to get your lips on the golden liquid nourishment. If you happened to need to, however, the whiskey’s creative team would profess to appreciating your whatever-it-takes approach to survival: a TV commercial depicts three convicts raising one last toast with their arresting officer, and poster ads portray a series of characters who are each charged with their own “dramatic call to action.”

Our “dramatic call to action”? Scoring free sandwiches in Cherry Hill, then coming back home again for a four-hour open bar. That’s a deal no authority can beat.

Dubh Linn Square’s chef on his corned beef guarantee [Youtube]

RSVP for the Tullamore Dew event [Thrillist]