Drops of Brandy

Slip jig, G, Traditional Irish

Drops of Brandy, Traditional Irish Slip Jig. TrailJams Tune of the Week. Play it together November 27, 2022. Image copyright Jonathan Lay 2022. trailjams.org

Drops of Brandy, a spirited Irish tune, is among the most popular of traditional Irish slip jigs.

Here’s praise indeed for the golden grape that hangs upon the vine.
For without the golden grape we’d not know brandy wine.

From the song “Merry Little Hop” by Graeme Miles

Recordings

Dots (Music Notation)

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.

Sheet music with chords for Drops of Brandy, Traditional Irish slip jig in G
Play from the Dots
Slow tempo 70bpm
Moderate tempo 90bpm

Here’s little Sir John in a nut-brown bowl,
And brandy in a glass;
And little Sir John in the nut-brown bowl
Proved the stronger man at last.

From the traditional English ballad, “John Barleycorn”

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

  • Drops of Brandy / Fig for a Kiss
  • Humours of Whiskey / Hardiman the Fiddler / Drops of Brandy
  • Humours of Derrykrosane / Hardiman the Fiddler / Drops of Brandy

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.