THE PONDEROSA HOT HALF'UN In Gerald Seymour's thriller Harry's Game the main characters visit The Ponderosa for a Hot Half'un. Perhaps you might like to try one for yourself.
You will need:   Whole Cloves A lemon Sugar A thick whiskey glass A measure of whiskey (Irish, naturally) Boiling water (preferably using water from the well at The Ponderosa) Method Whilst you wait for the water to boil, slice the lemon, remove the pips and spike three or four whole Cloves through it. When the water boils pour a small amount into your whiskey glass, swirl it around to heat the glass and empty out. Add one or two spoonfuls of sugar to the glass and refill with boiling water to approx 1/3 full. Stir till the sugar has dissolved. Add the lemon and cloves. Finally add a measure of Irish whiskey and stir. There you have it the perfect Ponderosa Hot Half 'Un. How to order your whiskey like a local Of a cold winter's evening, there is nothing better than a Hot Half Un. Perhaps you've wondered the origins of the term Hot Half Un? Whilst the Hot part speaks for itself, the half 'un part needs a little explanation. 'Half un' is a corruption of the expression 'half one' meaning a half measure of whiskey. This is distinct from a 'Glass' which is two 'Half 'un's'. A variation on the theme of a Hot Half 'un is a 'Hot Bush'. As you'd expect this has got nothing at all to do with biblical references. It simply means a Hot Half'un made with local Bushmills Whiskey.