So the group I recently formed to play for a creative arts forum goes under the name Black and Tan because the fiddle player is English and the rest of us are Irish. And it tends to be our favorite drink. Wish us the best, we practiced again tonight it sounded great, about 500 people usually show up, so the craic will be grand!!!
Have a great craic!
I have to admit (as an Englishman) I don’t understand the black and tan bit - are the Irish black or tan or the English? What do the black and tan relate to? The only ref I have is the Scottish regiment from the 1916 Easter Uprising who wore black uniforms with tan leather - they were Glaswegian thugs who did lasting damage to Anglo-Irish relations. You’d be a brave man to go into an Irish pub calling yourselves “Black and Tan”!
Nick
The best of luck Michael. Are you quite sure that’s the name you want to use, though? 
[Edited to add that, as I posted, Nick spelt it out explicitly. We Aussies have such a sensitive feel for history, eh? Well, Nick’s really english but he’s sensitive too.]
I’d agree with Nick. I’d never even consider the name Black and Tan. Here’s a link with a little more B&T information.
http://www.irish-society.org/Hedgemaster%20Archives/black-tans.htm
Good luck
Steve
PS. Also check this link. Read the instructions to the Black and Tan police. Nice!
I believe the black is Guinness (Irish) and the tan is Bass (English)…although this varries from pub to pub. Seems to be a popular drink in “Irish” pubs in America…not sure about elsewhere.
-Brett
We have those drinks here. Nobody minds the name for the drink but, Michael, for a band, I’d change that name really quickly before someone does or says something very ugly. We’re not kidding; those guys were every bit as bad as their reputation suggests.
Michael, I have to toss my hat in with the cautionary ring. That’s a fraught name. I don’t even drink Black-and-Tans because of the historical associations (but I could always get over myself 
), even though it’s been said that the drink is a remembrance of ugliness past.
Best,
N
Very interesting, I had no idea that is where the association for the drink Black and Tan came from. Perhaps you should go with the name “half & half” instead. Thanks for the history lesson SteveK.
It’s excellent beer and comes in a cool jug, which I have on display in my computer/music room.
This is indeed a touchy subject. My band once got someone yelling at us just when we introduced the next song we were going to play as Black and Tans. He did calm down once he found that the song was making fun of them.
I’d still say go with the name though if that’s what you’re attached to. Just realize that it may make you some enemies you don’t want.
Seth
You’ll still find folks who lost grandparents in the “Black and Tan War.” The Irish have long memories, and still scare their children with stories of Cromwell, from the 1650s, so you can bet they remember the horror of the Black and Tans.
My mother used to tell me stories about the Black and Tans. How the people of Monahan were at the mercy of their capricious ways. How when she was born and my grandparents wanted to have her baptized that they had to have a neighbor hide her on the way to the church. Her name was to be Maurine but the church at the direction of the government would not give any child an Irish name.
If she were alive today and she hear that you are making light of the suffering of so many Irish men and women she would defiantly be at any venue you played at with al large sign and even louder voice to educate you to the folly off your ways.
You need to be ashamed off your self for making light the suffering of the people of Ireland as they fought for the dignity.
If you play in my area I will fill her shoes and be there myself.
A Half & Half is a different drink. Whereas a Black & Tan is Guinness and ale (usually Bass) a half & Half is a Guinness and lager (usually Harp)
Cheers,
Aaron
I know several bartenders who can pour a perfect black & tan or half & half, but I have only once been able to do it successfully at home. (Fortunately it’s still good to drink even if you mess up.) Has anyone here mastered the art of preparing this drink?
You mean the perfect, lovely layered effect? Here’s what works for me (not that I do this often); got these tips from a bartending friend:
–Pale Ale first. Serve chilled, and pour fairly vigorously to fill half the glass and to get a head on the beer. Then tilt the glass and let the head and bubbles dissipate.
–Then stout (Guinness, of course!): serve warmer, as intended. Use the kind that comes in the can with the little nitrogen widget (apparently the nitrogen helps, maybe possibly), or better yet, install a nitrogen tap in your house. Bend a spoon so that the spoon head is horizontal when you hold the handle vertically, and be sure the concave part points down. Pour the Guinness gently over the spoon.
Done right, you should get a nice layered black-and-tan. Either way, you have good drinkin’ to look forward to!
Wizzer, it was explained to me that this drink is acceptably named and not insulting because, as usual, the Irish comes out on top! I wouldn’t attack poor Michael: many Americans aren’t at all aware of the historical associations of Black and Tan, and only know the phrase as a name for the drink. Michael can decide for himself whether the name is appropriate, given the historical background, but my bet is that he didn’t intend to insult anybody at all.
Best,
Aaron
Thanks for the details on preparing the drink.
Perhaps Michael left himself open for the attack because he declared that “the fiddle player is English and the rest of us are Irish”. I didn’t see anything about his being American, although I assumed that he is.
I’ve only recently discovered (and fallen in love with) this wondrous concoction (Guinness and Bass), the more so because I don’t really like Guinness by itself. As for doing it, here’s a nice cheat. If you have a Sam’s Club (Wal-Mart warehouse arm_ store in your area, they’re selling a Black and Tan kit consisting of cartons of Guinness and Bass complete with a little plastic spoon for proper layering.
That said, though, I’d also concur in the caution over calling a band by that name. Maybe it’ll work on the left Coast, but it’d run the real risk of fomenting violence in certain bars in Boston or Chicago.
Thanks! There are two Sam’s Clubs in my area. I’m not a member, but this gives me an additional excuse for joining.