Black and Black

An Irish pub staple combining Guinness stout with blackcurrant cordial to soften the bitter bite, creating a sweeter, fruitier pint with a purple hue.

Black and Black — also called Guinness Purple or Blackcurrant Guinness in some Irish pub contexts — is a simple pub modification that adds blackcurrant cordial to a pint of draught Guinness, softening the stout's roasted bitterness with a measure of fruity sweetness. Guinness was first brewed by Arthur Guinness at the St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin in 1759, when Guinness signed a famous 9,000-year lease on the premises — a detail that became one of the most cited facts in Irish brewing history. The dry stout he developed, characterized by roasted unmalted barley that gives the beer its near-black color and bitter coffee notes, has been produced continuously at St. James's Gate ever since. Blackcurrant cordial — a concentrated, sweetened blackcurrant syrup — has been produced commercially in Britain and Ireland since the 19th century, and Ribena, introduced by H.W. Carter & Company in the 1930s using blackcurrants grown in the West Country, became the category's defining brand. The combination of Guinness's astringent roasted character with blackcurrant's deep, sweet berry flavor is a logical pairing by the logic of contrast: sweetness moderates bitterness, fruit lightens grain, and the resulting purple-black drink is distinctly more approachable than straight Guinness for drinkers who find the stout too bitter or too dry at full strength. The format has been common in Irish pubs for decades.