The Dead Rabbit

Last week, we launched our new Parlor menu. The result of many months of research and development, 13 brand new drinks have joined the list, including a Butternut Squash Margarita, Fig Newton Manhattan, and Coffee Date Sazerac. As always, house favorites remain, such as the Steakhouse Martini #2 - updated for Fall - La Condesa, Overboard, and En Route, with cocktails categorized by style, featuring both a ‘Tradition’ and ‘Tomorrow’ drink in each section. The design has changed too, making the menu easier than ever to navigate - though choosing just one cocktail might prove difficult. Well, then you ought to stay for a few - right?

Belfast, we’re coming home. Join us and Hotbox Entertainment, an East Belfast studio supporting local rap and R&B artists, on November 12th from 8pm at The Duke of York for a live music showcase, featuring four incredible emerging musicians as part of Output Belfast - Ireland’s leading music conference. Following a day of sessions, workshops, masterclasses, panels and keynotes, guests are invited to enjoy live performances from 48 artists across the city, wandering freely between each venue. We’re hosting Juntzu, Littleman, Filmore, and Olive Hatake, with a McConnell’s Irish Whiskey cocktail on arrival - and all events are free to attend. And, there’s more. The NI Music Prize 2024 will be announced on November 13th, with Single of The Year sponsored by yours truly. Nominees include Chalk, Chubby Cat, exmagician, JC Stewart, KNEECAP, and Problem Patterns, with the award given by our very own Director of Irish Music, Liam Craig. Ireland is home to so many incredible musicians, and we’re proud to champion and support the talented artists of the Emerald Isle - in our hometown, no less.

Last week, we celebrated the second year of our Spirits & Souls event, a tribute to the ancient Irish tradition of Samhain, paired with some more contemporary American conventions, too. And over the weekend, we were joined by a very special guest, Diego Livera, for our first ever Diá de Muertos event, hosted in The Parlor. Diego worked with us between 2018 - 2021, and has remained a firm friend, making him the perfect partner to mark this iconic Mexican holiday, complete with Espolón Tequila cocktails, Cempasúchil Flowers, Calaveras de Azúcar, Papel Picado, and more. And as spooky season comes to a close - Jingle Jangle is fast approaching. So, it’s farewell to pumpkins, cobwebs, and the spirits of the otherworld, and hello to Mince Pies, sleigh bells, merriment, and mirth. Write your letter to Father Christmas, hang up your stocking, and be sure to mark your calendars for November 19th - Santa Claus is coming to town.

Earlier this year, we launched our Tradition Meet Tomorrow chef series in partnership with Mark Moriarty and Kerrygold USA. Our fourth event, hosted just yesterday, marked the final installment of 2024, as we welcomed Ciaran Sweeney of The Olde Glen Bar to celebrate Samhain. Ciaran’s menu included an inventive take on Cheese & Onion Tayto, featuring a Potato Wafer with a Custard made out of Kerrygold Cheese, Pickled Onions, and a dusting of Chive Powder. Also on the menu was Scampi Fried Langoustine, Turf Smoked Salmon, Olde Glen Bar Colcannon, and a Barmbrack & Guinness Porridge, paired with cocktails created by The Parlor bar team. As has been the case with all of our guest chef events, Ciaran’s afternoon and evening sittings were fully booked, and the feedback so far has been phenomenal. So, will we be doing them again in 2025? Well, you’ll have to wait and see.

Have you met the Spirits & Souls of Samhain? These devious creatures of ancient Irish folklore inspired many of the modern Halloween traditions that are still observed today - like dressing up to ward off spirits, carving pumpkins to scare the undead, and gathering in groups for safety. The Púca, a mischievous and unpredictable trickster, is best known for its shape-shifting abilities, appearing as various animals and even as a human, recognizable by its long ears or glowing eyes - but watch out, there are more about. The Abhartach is out for blood - literally. One of the neamh-mairbh, or walking dead, this thirsty antagonist rises from the grave in search of unsuspecting victims, and can only be killed with a sword made from yew wood - so be sure to keep one close at hand. And then, there’s the Banshee, a harbinger of death known for her chilling and otherworldly mournful wail, a terrifying omen of impending death. So, if you’re attending our Spirits & Souls event one week from today, save this post for outfit inspo, and if you hear a scream - well, we’ll just turn the music up.

As you know, at The Dead Rabbit and The Irish Exit, we’re proud to celebrate Irish culture in an authentic and respectful way. We’ve been unwavering in our efforts to challenge misconceptions of Irish culture in many ways, always striving to create an experience that honors our heritage. One of those efforts includes addressing drink names that have painful and offensive associations for us as Irish people. In the past, we’ve made clear our stance on not serving Irish Car Bombs, but we continued to serve or acknowledge orders for the “Black & Tan.” For those of you who don’t know, the term “Black & Tan” refers to a British paramilitary force recruited and mobilized during the Irish War of Independence. They were notorious for committing numerous atrocities against the Irish people. This name is offensive, and as part of our broader mission to champion a contemporary, inclusive, and respectful representation of Ireland, we’ve decided to stop serving this drink. Moving forward, we’re happy to serve a 50/50 as an alternative. We appreciate your understanding and continued support in helping us honor Irish culture the right way.

Sure, we’ve shared Austin cocktails with you, and team members and dishes, too. But these, our new interior images, are the first time we’re showing the space in full. We’ve 461 pieces of Irish art, chosen by Crown Creative in the North of Ireland and framed by hand in Belfast. Our ceramic lighting comes from County Monaghan, with over 100 custom stools crafted in Ballinhassig, playlists curated in County Derry, and 5,000 sq. ft of space, all dedicated to celebrating the modern Irish maker. So yes, we opened our doors three months ago - almost to the day - but we’ve spent the last 12 weeks refining our service, tweaking our offering, and learning along the way. The Dead Rabbit will constantly be evolving - we never rest on our laurels, and we’re always thinking about how to improve. But for now, we can take a moment to pause, look around, and appreciate what we’ve built. And sure, we’ll have a Pint while we’re at it, too - sláinte.

We added The Dead Rabbit credo to the entrance of our NYC Taproom almost two years ago. It’s on the walls in Austin, and now it’s on our Water Street exterior, too. It’s important to us that our guests feel welcome within these four walls, and this, our Notice to Patrons, is a statement of our intent. As the sign reads, ‘Our commitment is to your shelter and refuge, nourishment and merriment, and above all, to ensuring that you leave happier than when you arrived. Everyone is included, and no one is excluded. From wherever you’ve traveled, Céad Míle Faílte.’ We hope that whenever and wherever you see these words, you’ll know that you’ve found a home away from home - may it always be filled with laughter, may your pockets be filled with gold, and may you have all the happiness, that your heart can hold.

The first Irish class at the world’s most awarded pub 🌎 September 17, 2024 ☘️ To the best of my knowledge, The Dead Rabbit and I collaborated to hold the world’s first-ever Irish language class in a bar setting 🍸 The SOLD OUT (!!) event took place in TDR in New York City and only a stones throw from Ellis Island, the port of entry for many of our Irish-speaking ancestors 🇮🇪 The opportunity to host an event that represents all that The Dead Rabbit (and me!) stand for, where “tradition meets tomorrow”, has left me feeling a mix of emotions - excitement, gratitude, awe and so many more 😊 I hope that by giving these lectures, Gaeilge will become more approachable to beginners, giving contemporary ideas a chance to revitalize something old! For the past year, my goal in creating my Instagram/TikTok videos for the has always been to reach the 33+ million Americans who identify as Irish and make our culture more accessible and understandable. When people ask me what motivated me to begin my social media, I tell them that when I lived in Massachusetts, I realized all my home was only known was drinking, sheep, shamrocks, and...you can imagine the rest 🐑 AND l the potatoes, how could I forget the spuds 🥔 … Anyways - this devastated me. When individuals made generalizations about my culture, I would typically counter with a question on the language asking if they knew about the Irish language or its history. It was like my way of saying, well you don’t know everything about us!! 😅 This is when I saw the white space, the gap where someone could speak up about modern Ireland, our traditions, and how they impact our identity and actions in the present. I thought that social media would be a great method to reach out while also keeping our traditions up-to-date 📲 I am incredibly thrilled to be a baby part of this merging of the old with the new :) Go raibh míle maith agat a chairde at TDR agus Jack McGarry P.S Keep an eye out for another exciting Dead Rabbit X Vivienne in NYC announcement soon 😁 Le gach dea-ghuí, Viv 🤍

If you’re joining us in Austin today, be sure to snag a table close to Mary’s Corner. Here, you’ll find our Sunday Seisiúns, welcoming traditional Irish musicians every week - but the space itself is special, too. As Jack McGarry explains, it’s been created in homage to his late grandmother, Mary McGarry. On the walls, you’ll find images from The Troubles, documented by photographer Mike Abrahams, whose work has been featured in Time Magazine, Forbes, The Times, and exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. In Crossmaglen, he photographed farmers, clubs, church services, Gaelic football, and road bowls, all, in his own words, “interrupted by British Army checkpoints, intimidation, helicopters and memorials.” In Belfast, Mike spent 14 years capturing the daily lives of its residents - including Jack’s Da - Jack McGarry Senior - and Mary herself. Mary’s Corner helps Jack feel close to his family, many of whom are thousands of miles away, and some of whom are no longer with us. And we hope it’ll do the same for you - today, and every other day of the year, too.