The ‘Irish Car Bomb’ pie sold by Cutie Pies NYC and profiled on IrishCentral last week swirled up a storm of media across the Atlantic in Ireland, also calling attention and outrage to the popularity of the drink of the same name in the United States.

In response to the IrishCentral article on the ‘Irish Car Bomb’ pie sold by Cutie Pies NYC, Belfast Telegraph columnist Lindy McDowell asked, “What is wrong with these people — the woman who sees no harm or hurt in her vile wee buns and the people who eagerly snap them up?

“Needless to say your woman has Irish forefathers which makes it OK presumably to flog a not-so-cutie-pie named after an infernal device which ripped apart the lives of thousands of men, women and children in Ireland,” McDowell wrote.

Alice Cronin of Cutie Pies NYC told IrishCentral she didn’t anticipate the negative reaction and resulting media coverage, as the ‘Irish Car Bomb’ is a wildly popular cocktail in the United States.

“The Irish car bomb pie was named after the bar drink, as shorthand to convey the dessert’s ingredients, nothing more,” Cronin told IrishCentral. "Because of the drink’s and cupcakes’ popularity in the U.S., we didn’t expect such a reaction.

“We regret any pain the name may have caused, and have renamed the pie to reflect the alcohols used to flavor each layer,” Cronin told IrishCentral. “Ultimately, Cutie Pies NYC is out to make pie—not political statements. Our goal is, and always has been, to inspire smiles (not frowns) by providing our clientele with quality, handcrafted baked goods.”

"Ordering an ‘Irish Car Bomb’ — the drink on which the pie flavor was based— is comparable to ordering a ‘9/11 cocktail," McDowell wrote in her column.

The comparison is one often made. As IrishCentral previously reported, Willie Frazer, spokesman for Fair, an IRA victims group, has stated: "I would have expected Americans, of all people, to behave more sensitively and responsibly. How would they like it if we developed the Al-Qaeda car bomb, the Twin Towers cocktail, or the 9/11 ice cream sundae?"

McDowell took the popularity of the drink in the United States, and the failure of most who order or serve it to comprehend how it might be perceived as offensive, as an indication of something “stomach-turning” in American culture.

“The fact that calling food and drink after a mass murder weapon is seen as a bit of a joke there — a clever marketing device even — does say something,” McDowell wrote.


  Photo: Laura Bryn Sisson. Sign for Irish pies now appearing at Cutie Pie