Foodies are brimming with anticipation as Patrick Redmond ducks by the emerald green glow from his bar and takes a causal spin through his marble vault holding 500 different whiskeys from across the world. Redmond quickly approaches the crowd. He has a microphone in one hand and a menu in the other. It’s time to kick-off the 31st whiskey-and-cuisine pairing event at Redmond’s Irish pub in Woodland. 

Those in attendance are practically salivating for it. Most have already seen how far the cooks and mixologists at Father Paddy’s Public House will go to execute their leader’s mercurial palate experiments.

For Redmond, whiskey is more than a drink that warms the chest. It’s the intersection of craft, heritage and evolving secrets — a tradition that takes drinkers to other places through flowing creeks and dancing barely. That’s why 63 people have signed up for the event tonight. They have the same assessment of “Father Pat” as many in Yolo County, viewing him as an unofficial and undisputed interpreter of all things coming from grains distilled with love. He’s a proverbial professor of whiskey, if not a priest of the stuff.

More broadly, the pub that Redmond opened in a 122-year-old bank building on Woodland’s historic main street is also known for embodying one of the most authentic celebrations of Irish culture in the Sacramento Valley.  

On any given day, Father Paddy’s is a staple for bangers and mash or a properly drawn pint of Guinness. But this current pairing extravaganza is all about Redmond’s more ambitious side. Before the night is out, guests will have enjoyed a charcuterie board and pork rillette paired with The Delmore 12-year sherry cask Scotch; then saffron risotto, chicken saltimbocca, spiced prawns and Spanish chorizo paired with The Dalmore 14-year Pedro Ximenez sherry cask single-malt Scotch; and finally, a desert of “Fallen Angel caked” topped with smoked Bavarian cream with chestnut brittle and chef’s toffee sauce paired with The Dalmore Luminary #2, a 10-year unique single-malt Scotch. 

This will all leave plenty of attendees talking. 

At the moment, Redmond is watching his staff bring the first set of plates out of the kitchen, and the first round of glasses out of his reinforced whiskey vault. It’s a pairing of the Dalmore Port Wood Reserve single-malt Scotch meant to be sipped with French onion soup, brie and a specialty fig jam. Pub fans start tasting this Scotch that is aged in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels and finished in aged tawny port pipes. 

“So, when I taste this,” Redmond says into his mic, “I get marshmallow and spice.”

Faces around the tables turn to each other. Within half a second, most are smiling and nodding. 

It’s clear the professor is in. 

All of Redmond’s selections for food, cocktails and spirits this evening are calibrated to a Celtic theme, insomuch as vintages from The Dalmore get distilled on the banks of Cromarty Firth in Scotland. The pub’s vault, which was the bank’s original safe for gold deposits, holds whiskeys organized by brands from Scotland, Ireland and America, as well as an international corner with highlights from places that include Japan. Patrons come to Father Paddy’s from near and far to have Redmond guide them through a whiskey tasting inside the vault. 

Yet, given that Father Paddy’s is the site of one of its biggest Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations east of the Bay Area, a lot of visitors want Redmond to teach them specifically about whiskeys from the land that his family came from in eastern Ireland — or whiskeys from any from any part of that island known as “the land of saints and scholars.” 

Redmond is constantly monitoring and sampling different Irish whiskeys hitting the global market. This year, his big Irish whiskey recommendation for Saint Patrick’s Day is Method and Madness’ Single Pot Still, French Chestnut Cask Finish. For those who know him, it’s not entirely surprising. Redmond’s own favorite style of whiskey distilling is the Irish pot still approach, which uses a blend of malted and un-malted barley. The Midleton Distillery in southern Ireland is one of the most renowned distilleries anyway for that legacy. Method and Madness is produced as a special off-shoot of Midleton’s operations. 

“The ‘method’ in its name refers to Midleton itself, because they’re the top in the world for Irish whiskey,” Redmond explains. “And the word ‘madness’ is a nod to their apprentice program. With Method and Madness, Midleton is letting its apprentices mess with the whiskey; and they’re playing with all kinds of variations on casks, finishes, ages and mixes to come up with some unique and wonderful whiskeys. They’re a lot of fun — just beautiful, amazing, adventurous flavors.”

Redmond’s runner-up for a St. Paddy’s recommendation this year comes from Northern Ireland and — Mexico? That’s right, the whiskey professor has been getting visitors to sample Bushmills’ 12-year-aged Private Reserve Collection that is aged in tequila barrels from Jalisco.  

“When that one was first brought to me, I felt like I didn’t even want to try it,” Redmond recalls. “I thought it was going to be awful. But it turns out it’s absolutely wonderful. That palate of the world has been changing. It’s gotten a little bold. So new and interesting flavors are coming up.” 

Redmond is willing to pour both of those recommendations — or anything else from his whiskey vault — for people coming in on Saint Paddy’s Day. Just be aware that his pub will be bustling with green-clad revelers. Since opening in 2016, Father Paddy’s has hosted increasingly large festivities on March 17. 

Father Paddy’s kitchen will be putting out a special menu for the holiday that includes fish and chips, corned beef and cabbage, Irish sausage rolls and plates of fries. Redmond’s team has also perfected a drink-and-meal ticket system for the outdoor action which helps keep the lines flowing. 

Marissa Nofziger, a veteran bartender at Father Paddy’s, will be pouring Guinness and mixing Irish car bombs throughout the day.

“It’s so much fun,” Nofziger stresses. “It’s just great every year. This is our eighth time doing it and we have the best time.” 

Sheena Kawakami, who’s been a regular at Father Paddy’s almost since it opened, will be helping pour beers in its outdoor party zone. She says that for anyone who hasn’t experienced the pub’s ambiance and energy before, the Saint Patrick’s Day bash is a good time to start. 

“This event is genuine — it’s not cheesy, and it’s not throwing Dollar Tree decorations on the tables and playing Irish music in the background from a satellite radio station,” Kawakami says. “It’s legit. The food, the cocktails, the atmosphere speak for themselves. It’s the real deal. And as far as what Father Paddy’s is like as a pub, in general, I’d always wanted a place that felt like it was mine — and that’s what it’s become to me. I know the people who work there. I know Pat. As soon as I first walked through the door, it was the place that I wanted to be.”  

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