What is Irish whiskey, really? - Whisky Advocate Whisky Advocate What is Irish whiskey, really? March 12th, 2010 Other than the fact that it is distilled in Ireland and aged for a minimum of three years in oak barrels, what is Irish whiskey? Most of the time when you read in general media how Irish whiskey is defined, they will say that Irish whiskey is different from Scotch whisky in that it’s not smoky like Scotch whisky. And, they’ll say that Irish whiskey is distilled three times, while Scotch whisky is only distilled twice. (Many times they will continue this train of thought with the comment that, because Irish whiskey is distilled three times, it’s smoother than Scotch whisky.) If I had a dollar for every time I read these generalizations, I could afford to buy a couple bottles of Redbreast 12 year old. But, as most of you know, these generalizations are not completely accurate. Most Scotch whisky is not smoky, and there are triple distilled whiskies in Scotland (e.g., Auchentoshan). In Ireland, whiskeys distilled at Cooley are only distilled twice, and they make smoky whiskeys there too (Connemara).

In fact, I have heard of the Cooley distillery referred to as “a Scotch distillery that just happens to be located in Ireland.” Plus, I have enjoyed smooth Scotch whiskies, and tasted some harsh Irish whiskeys over the years. So, the whole “Irish whiskey is smoother than Scotch whisky because it’s distilled three times” statement isn’t exactly accurate either. Some enthusiasts more “in the know” will point out that what differentiates Irish whiskey from Scotch whisky is that Irish whiskey is made (at least in part) with “pot still” whiskey (i.e. from a mash containing both malted AND unmalted barley), rather than Scotch whisky which uses a 100% malted barley mash bill in its pot stills. Some Irish whiskeys (e.g., Redbreast, Green Spot) are 100% pure pot still whiskeys. It’s true, if you look at the Irish whiskeys made at the Midleton distillery in County Cork (Jameson, Powers, Paddy, Tullamore Dew, Redbreast, Green Spot, etc.), there is a pot still component in these whiskeys.

But, you won’t find “pot still” whiskey in Bushmills or the whiskeys produced at Cooley. So, what is Irish whiskey, really? 48 Responses to “What is Irish whiskey, really?” March 12, 2010 at 8:14 am I think this hodge-podge of different styles is a symptom of why Irish whiskey is so overshadowed by Scotch. There is a very tight definition for what is Scotch whisky, and yet there is this incredible variety of available bottes. Irish whiskey is a bit of this and a bit of that, so there is no real uniqueness to it. I’m so pleased you posted about this, John. I sometimes think the Irish whiskey sector is a little unsure themselves. The anomalies abound. For example, Midleton make pure potstill whiskey to the traditional mashbill, method and style. Cooley do not, but sometimes naughtily market their whiskey with that term anyway. And now other non-Irish distillers have latched onto the phrase and are bottling all sorts of things under that term. To me, it’s like seeing a distiller from Asia bottling a molasses-based blend and calling it single malt Scotch.

It’s wrong, and the term should be protected. I think a little clarity and some rules akin to the legislation that entered law in Scotland last autumn would be great. But as with many things, partition of the island poses a problem. Even Irish law couldn’t force any changes on how Bushmills do things (which is uniformally well, I hasten to add.) It would be great to see the opinions of your readers here, because that will help clarify what Irish whiskey drinkers think it is or want it to be. And that’s the best place to start. kallaskander well this is an easy one. Irish whiskey is whiskey distilled and matured in Ireland. What else should it be? With the arrival of Cooley defining Irish whiskey has become kind of a problem. On the other hand it was always a two sided coin with Bushmills producing a tripple distilled 100% barley malt and Midleton producing pure pot still from malted and unmalted barley. There seems to be no discussion about differences between Irish and Scotch grain whisk(e)y, though. Does anybody know if Midleton does “Scotch malt” as well somewhere in that complex? If so than no definition via “style” is possible.

And tripple disitllation is not as Irish or as definig as we would like to think. To make matters worse there is a or are Irish whiskies around consisting of pure pot still malt and grain. Was that Clontarf Black or something? So the easiest definition to me seems to be Irish whsikey is whiskey distilled and matured in Ireland. And of course it is always spelled with an e :o) . Greetings March 12, 2010 at 9:39 am John, Great question. I’ve been struggling with this recently in preparation for a tasting I’m leading. Yeas ago, a tour guide at Bushmills told me that what made Irish whiskey different (and superior, of course) was that Irish whiskey could not use caramel coloring (not true, see Tullamore Dew), Irish whiskey never spends more than 5-7 years in the same barrel (not true as far as I can tell), and the obvious triple distillation /no peated malt that everyone hears. Maybe he was just talking about Bushmills, not Irish whiskey as a whole but this was way back when Bushmills and Midleton were under Irish Distillers.

I think kallaskander has the real answer. Joe M March 12, 2010 at 9:42 am I do think it’s fair to say that by and large, Irish Whiskey TASTES like Irish Whiskey. Give me Bushmills and Powers, and I can easily group their taste profile as Irish just as I can with JW Black and Dewars as Scotch. I’ve done this blind many times and it’s not difficult. Much harder is picking out individual brands within a given whisk(e)y type. Obviously Cooley put a wrinkle in all this, but by and large Irish tastes like Irish. As Parker Beam has said more than once about bourbon vis a vis modern tasting methods “It tastes like bourbon, and if doesn’t taste like bourbon, you got a problem”. Red_Arremer March 12, 2010 at 9:51 am There is a unique Irish style, but it’s a pretty modest one. It’s defined more by it’s contrast with cheap bourbons and scotch blends than by the possibilities of pot still whisky or the intriguing attributes of some more expensive bottles.

It might not be less smoky or smoother, but it is cleaner than say Jim Beam or J&B and much more straighforwardly fruity. It also shows it’s youth in a different way, more just as spiritiness– it’s not funky. To me and I think most of us, that’s the real Irish style. But what about the great Irish Whiskeys? You might ask. Well, Redbreast might be great and it surely exploits the one special element of Irish whiskey production, but it is not emblamatic of Irish whiskey. Neither are the older Bushmills, or Jameson Vintage Reserve, or the Tyrconnel finishes. Of course, it’s not the fault of any of these very good whiskies that they’re not representative of Irish whiskey. It’s just the way the game has played out up until now. And it is how it will continue to play out unless Irish Whiskey producers take more of an interest appealing to the adventurous middle class whisky afficianado– the one who is excited about the endevour to define and develop substantial conceptions of whisky. Luke Red, re Great Irish Whiskeys, stock of sufficient quality to vat it EXISTS in Midleton, Cooley and Bushmills.

The only thing holding Irish Whiskey back is demand. Imagine, say, Black Bush, remaining as a blend, but bottled at 46% ABV and Non-Chill-Filtered. Fantasy? The stock exists, all that’s missing is sufficient customer demand. The above applies to all Irish Distilleries. You want to see Great releases? Get writing! Red_Arremer March 12, 2010 at 11:37 am Actually, Irish has been blowing up sales wise for a couple of years. At least Jameson and Bushmills are. A friend told me that the reason single cask middleton has pretty much dropped out of the picture is because Jameson is so big now. But anyways… Luke, I’m not criticizing Irish or saying that plenty couldn’t be done. I’m saying that an exciting new concept won’t emerge unless the producers focus on drinkers like us. Forever, scotch distilleries made their money by filling blends. Abstractly speaking that’s the kind of concept that the practically the whole Irish industry runs on right now.

“Whisky Nerd” is a phrase I’m not crazy about, but it really gets across the way scotch is so big in a certain sense and Irish is not in that sense. What sense? In the sense selling lots of small production runs (independent bottlings) just on the fact that they give more contrast and richness to the field. Irish needs to take an interest in these nerds because the way to make a commercial enterprise out and exploration is to appeal to people who will spend their time, energy, and money studying the fruits of exploration. David D March 12, 2010 at 10:10 am Speaking of Irish whiskey, did you know Paddy’s is now available in the U.S. again for the first time in over a decade? I picked up a bottle on vacation in NYC the other week and immediately grilled my Pernod-Ricard rep about California availability. It’s going to be allocated but I’m buying the full amount of 60 bottles for the store. It should be in stock just in time for St. Paddy’s Day and it comes in liter bottles!

I think it’s just as good as Redbreast and it should come in cheaper for a larger quantity. That’s exciting! Scott I’m not sure if that information is correct. It is somewhat limited, but has been available for months. Ian McCarthy March 22, 2010 at 4:38 am My Nebraska bar was limited to two bottles, and I heard there were only a few cases in the state. For the money, I think it is no better than Powers, but I would gladly take a Knappogue or Redbreast over Paddys any day. I have been told the limited availability has something to do with Pernod-Ricards concern over biting into their own market share. Sell one more bottle of Paddy, sell one less bottle of JJ. March 12, 2010 at 9:48 pm LOL. I know. It’s shameful. Scotch as a category has more choices and complexity. Some can argue that Irish can lack depth, but that’s slowly changing. I just never have been a huge Scotch drinker. I lean towards bourbon. Of course, I just had Auchentochan Classic, which I really liked.

Not surprising, it’s aged only in bourbon barrels. Steve March 12, 2010 at 10:44 am In some ways I think Scotch isn’t quite as clearly defined as we sometimes think. The SWA includes its version of “conduct unbecoming,” that charge the military sometimes uses in court martials when nothing else will stick: Scotch must be made in the “traditional” way. As such, the original Spice Tree wasn’t “Scotch” even though it met all other legal requirements and tasted like Scotch to me. Dominic’s article in the latest Malt Advocate hits on some of these cases again and questions how long some “traditions” have been around. JC is completely correct about labeling on Scotch giving a solid idea of what’s in the bottle, but we still must know something about which region and even which distillery birthed a whisky to guess what the contents may taste like. Most folks reading this blog get a mental image when somebody says, “This is an Islay whisky.” I told a friend the same and described a typical Islay flavor profile. He decided to try one and so bought a dram of Bruichladdich at our local watering hole.

You can imagine what he thought.about my palate. I remember the first time I tasted a Tobermory and a Ledaig side by side. At the time, I had no idea they came from the same distillery. I’ve also tasted a couple of finishes I doubted were really Scotch. As others have noted, I think of Irish whiskey production the same way I think of Japanese whisky and Canadian whisky production. Each is distilled and aged in their respective countries, but none are so bound by legal definitions (unlike Scotch or any American straight whiskey, although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing of course) they can’t do something very different. Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn’t, but the research is fun and I’ve found favorites from all three Irish producers, as well as the big two in Japan, and a handful from Canada. Same with the American micros. This was a good question. Maybe next we can debate whether George and Jack are bourbons or not!

March 12, 2010 at 4:38 pm Why, I thought it was the Leprechauns that make Irish whisky what it is… 😉 In all seriousness – my experience of Irish whiskey is limited to two expressions of Jameson & Bushmills 10yr. John, perhaps it may be a good idea to repost some of your old Irish whiskey reviews that may help people better understand some of the taste differences? For me, I’m not so concerned with process (though I do understand that process makes up what the differences are) as I am with the actual differences from a taste standpoint. Ernest March 12, 2010 at 4:45 pm Please clarify something for me and I apologize for this question if it’s silly but if “pot still” means a blend of unmalted and malted barley than what does “100% pot stilled mean? Is it that the grain bill consists entirely of this blend as opposed to being a mix of this and a batch of 100% malted barley.

booka March 13, 2010 at 4:06 am I believe that “pot still” is just that – a certain type of still. It’s, well, a pot still, where the whiskey has to be distilled in batches (vs a continuous column still). Malted and unmalted barley is different. I hope I’m not misinforming you, I’m sure someone here can correct me if I’m wrong. For the original topic, for me Irish whiskey is a nice clean opening, sweet and a little spicy, then fruity finish. March 12, 2010 at 6:46 pm To return to Oliver and JC Skinner’s points… I know what you are driving at but the question was “What is Irish whiskey?”, not “What is a single malt?”. There is no whiskey made in Ireland today that would not qualify as Scotch had it been made in exactly the same way in Scotland. So if there is a “hodge-podge” of Irish styles it’s not because Scotland has a tighter legal definition of whiskey. I’ll take Oliver’s point that some malted barley is required in UK legislation whereas any malted cereal will do in Ireland.

Also, if memory serves, UK legislation mentions oak wood where Irish legislation mentions only wood. In practice, however, all Irish whiskey contains malted barley (even the grain whiskey) and all of it is matured in oak. So in practice these differences are not relevant. So I’ll say it again: what is “whiskey” is defined in exactly the same way in Ireland and the UK. And it’s now defined the same way at EU level too. I admire the tight legal definitions of styles of whiskey in Scotland and would very much like to see that replicated in Ireland. The lack of it might give the appearance of a “hodge-podge” of styles but some consistent labelling would sort that out. March 12, 2010 at 9:20 pm While it is easy to separate American Whiskey from European Whiskey because of our use of corn and new charred barrels, it is hard to tell one European Whiskey from another along national lines. The only thing that truly distinguishes all scotch from all Irish is their respective nation of origin. Tim M March 12, 2010 at 9:27 pm I love Irish.

After becoming a fan of scotch (blended…) around age 14 (from my dad’s bar, the only think I liked, for some reason stupidly thinkiing one had to drink them straight), Irish was my 2nd “favorite” from early college days (John jameson, drank a bunch on a roadtrip to see the Dead in Baltimore in ’82..). Even though I had drunk a lot more bourbon than Irish by that point, it took a decade for good bourbon to eclipse Irish on my playlist (Eagle Rare – before single barrel became popular). So John, perhaps you can shed light on a mystery which had plagued my poor (or is that ‘pour’) whisky loving head. I’ve tried and enjoyed many an Irish (only Feckin’ do I consider unworthy to drink). I find it easy to sip and generally very tastey. But there is one – to be honest the only “single malt” Irish I have had although there are probably (many) others – that I just cant drink. Even though I love the taste.

Connemara just gives me the worst headaches, as if it cranks the sugar and saps the H2O from my blood with no regard for countermeasures (repeated hydration). Thoughts? You mean Red Breast 15 YO DavindeK March 13, 2010 at 8:40 am John, A very timely and topical question. To me, the quality of Irish whiskey is really on the rise. I recently sat down with a couple of dozen of them and man, some of them were really great. But the myths do still persist. We have to remember that Irish whiskey was not invented in the 1970’s, and to base our understanding of Irish whiskey on whiskeys produced since then, and on modern production methods is to miss 90% of what Irish whiskey-writ large-can be. Sales are on the rise, but in terms of variety, Irish whiskey is in a slump now, down to just a few distilleries from the hundreds that used to prosper on the Emerald Isle. But given the quality coming out of Ireland now, it seems inevitable that more distilleries will come on line and more whiskies will be made there.

These new distilleries and whiskies will have a very broad tradition to draw on, using methods and processes we so often dismiss out of hand as not Irish, simply because we haven’t seen them in our own relatively brief whisky lives. Cooley did not re-define Irish methods, they simply revived disused ones – disused only because in hard times only a single distiller remained in Ireland and one distiller can’t do everything while fighting to survive. Using peat as a fuel was the norm in Ireland for centuries. Peated Irish whiskeys are not an anomaly unless we look back for only a few years. Triple distillation did not become the norm until the only surviving distiller happened to specialize in it. Similarly, in more prosperous times, labels on the Irish potation were just as likely to call it whisky as whiskey. As far as using malted and unmalted barley in the mash bill, it seems very unlikely this was not also done at one time in Scotland as well, and it most certainly was in other countries. Green malt, or barley that has been malted but not dried, was almost certainly used at one time in both Scotland and Ireland as well.

If we want to take a long perspective, I think we have to agree with kallaskander and Chuck and say that Irish whiskey is whiskey that was made in Ireland. And please, no regulations; let the distillers, not the bureaucrats decide how to make it and let the market decide which ones to drink. Davin The problem with ‘let the distillers decide’ is that they don’t necessarily agree. I gave the pure potstill example earlier. I don’t see a problem with emulating the Scotch system of having some clearly defined terms on the bottle so that consumers can easily comprehend what they’re drinking. Bobo March 18, 2010 at 8:08 pm Hi JC, Do you have to know how a product is made? I think it is enough to judge it by its characteristics (taste)…. jbart March 13, 2010 at 9:03 pm As someone fairly new to scotch compared to many drinkers here, I had little idea what I was drinking until I actually did a lot of research. So I didn’t exactly find Scotch easy to understand when I started out. In some ways, it still seems complicated to the uninitiated.

That’s why I am not always a big fan of strict rules.It works with scotch, but as the Spice tree brouhaha shows, these rules can sometimes seem to discourage innovation. As for Irish whiskey, I don’t see any problem with there being no defined style as long as the quality continues to increase and more variety becomes available. I love variety. Davindek March 13, 2010 at 10:16 pm Yes, Spice Tree, isn’t that bizarre? And yet as much as 7 or 8 litres of the liquid that flows out of every barrel of whisky finished in a wine cask is actually grape-derived spirit and flavour and no one bats an eye. Whatever happened to just three ingredients? You can add 7 or 8 litres of wine, no problem ,but if you add a teaspoon of Kininvie to a barrel of Glenfiddich it’s no longer a single malt? chef! March 15, 2010 at 3:36 am I guess I’m torn on this issue and have a double standard.

When it comes to whisk(e)y what matters to me is that there’s contiguity in the base distillate and distillation processes (pot, column, combo, etc) and not so much thereafter unless drastic. Yet what defines the very differences between some other spirits is the very last step of finishing from maceration to even adding small amounts of sugar. If a whisky is ACE’d in a wine barrel or uses a special stave does it go outside the boundaries? For me, no it does not because the base distilled material is 100% grain derived. That’s just me in terms of whisk(e)y. I’m all for a simple definition of what a country and its distillers decide. Less to memorize in regard giving a broad definition to a region’s style, but then again a lot more to memorize for each specific distillery. I’m all for innovation so long as what ends up in my glass is tasty and worth the price. Davindek March 13, 2010 at 2:10 pm Hi JC, Well, if you want them all to be sort of the same, cool, make a rule.

But if you want new flavour experiences and enjoy whisky for it’s range of flavours , rather than being easy to predict, comprehend or explain, I say let anarchy reign. We’ve seen so much rule-led dumbing-down of some Scotches lately. If we let the distillers do as they will, the good ones will prosper on their reputation and the others will fade away. Go ahead, define Pure Pot, Single Malt, Blended, and so on, but do it in a way that encourages experimentation and variety. Davin March 13, 2010 at 7:56 pm Whiskey-making in America is about 250 years old. In Japan it’s about 140 years old. Many of the other countries that make whiskey have long distilling traditions but their whiskey-making origins are modern. Only the Irish and Scots have traditions that go back many centuries. Clarity of terminology is good, but we don’t want rules that tend to fix the fly in amber. For example, in the EU (but not the USA) the term ‘whiskey’ cannot be applied to any beverage that has spent less than three years in wood, even though common (i.e.

un-aged) whiskey has a long and venerable history. March 14, 2010 at 10:47 am @Davin: I agree. You don’t want to throw out the baby with the bathwater by defining away all possible experimentation. But at the same time, is it not fooling the consumer to label a whiskey ‘pure potstill’ when it isn’t? @Chuck: Utterly agree. In Ireland the term for unaged (and often untaxed!) whiskey historically has been poitin (or poteen, or potcheen for the anglophones). They only legalised poitin in the last few years (Bunratty do a weak version) but I’d like to see the Irish distillers releasing their unaged spirit as branded poitin. I was disappointed when Kilbeggan released theirs as ‘spirit’ – a missed opportunity there, I think. kallaskander March 15, 2010 at 5:08 am Hi there, not so much a missed opportunty but common sense. Poitin is an undeclared illicit distilled whiskey same as moonshine.

There is no way to bottle it and bring it ot the shelves in stores. As soon as it is taxed it is no longer poitin. When the state took care of taxing potin the taxed spirit was called “parliament whiskey” in Ireland to make a difference from the real stuff. You know, freedom an whiskey gang tagither. As for Cooley and the question of defining or re-defining whiskey… If you ask John Tealing he will probably tell you the story how IDL and her French mother tried to prevent him from starting Cooley. With their monopole on everything in connection with Irish whiskey from distillers equipment to the barley market John was not able to obtain even the smallest item you need to start a distillery. So he looked to Scotland. So much that he hired a Scottish master distiller. Soon after he had established Cooley IDL appeared at his doorstep with wallet in the hands and wanted to buy him out. Irish pride and the Irish anti trust legislation prevented that. In the aftermath of all that Cooley took to calling ther malts made in the Scottish style “pure pot still whiskey” to emphasize that they were made in pot stills – and probavly to create confusion I am afraid.

And they opened the bottle of questions concerning the definition of Irish whiskey. March 15, 2010 at 5:18 am While poitin was historically the term used for illicit whiskey, it was also the term used for unaged whiskey. It’s not the case that poitin cannot be licit. It’s been legal for 13 years now, and both Bunratty and Knockeen Hills have licit versions on the market currently. I can see why Midleton or Bushmills mightn’t want to sell their unaged spirit (and they don’t.) But with Kilbeggan coming back after so long, there was a huge interest in what the spirit would be like and they did indeed release some. I just think calling it Kilbeggan poitin would have been a classy touch is all. Interestingly, poitin DOES have a legally protected status in European law, whereas terms like ‘Irish pure potstill’ do not. I’m familiar with the Cooley history you cite, but it does no harm to spread that information a little wider. A lot of people don’t realise how difficult it was for Cooley at certain stages.

lawschooldrunk March 16, 2010 at 4:01 pm Hi John, To be blunt I think Irish whiskey is a sad shell of its former self. Yes there are still some great whiskies coming from that Island, but with only 3, some might say 4 distilleries, Ireland is a land that has lost touch with its whiskey distilling roots! Regardless of the reasons for its contraction in the 20th century–Irish Civil War, the Great Depression, Prohibition and others–the Irish whiskey industry has become separated from place, tradition and history. Bushmills is the only Irish whisky which has managed to keep its identity, and to me it is the only one which still has an authentic feel. The iconic brands distilled at Middleton are just that, brands, brands produced by one distillery under one roof. Yes there are different styles, the names of long lost distilleries persist, and some of the traditional techniques have been preserved but much more has been lost. Whereas in Ireland there are only 3 active full time distilleries, there are over 100 in Scotland. To me this is the most striking fact.

Scotland has done a much better job of protecting its tradition and heritage with respect to distilling (whether by design or not). There is a sense of mystique and place about the Scottish distilleries and their whiskies that those of Ireland have mostly lost. It’s great to see what’s being done at Cooley, and I wish them the best of luck with Kilbeggan too. Hopefully we will see a return to Ireland’s distilling roots; the creation of new distilleries and the revival of some old ones. Short of that all we have to look forward to is another brand from the same “not so old” distillery! Slainte! Irish Whiskey - The Spirit of the Emerald Isles Irish Whiskey Irish Whiskey - The Spirit of the Emerald Isles Contact Us FREE CALL 1800 069 295 Outside Australia 613 9848 1153 sales@nicks.com.au Store Location Biggest online range in Australia We taste & rate most of what's on this site Irish Whiskey. The Spirit of the Emerald Isles Scotch whisky is no longer king.

Where not long ago 20 cases of it sold for every single case of Irish, in the first six months of 2012, Irish whiskey outsold single malt Scotch on the US market for the first time since the 1930s. Jameson has recently ranked amongst the top 30 of the world’s biggest selling drink brands, as well as been the world’s fastest growing drink brand, with a sales increase of 750 percent since the late 1980’s. Despite the success, the whiskey scene in Ireland is still nothing like what it used to be. In 1887, the country boasted twenty eight whiskey distilleries, of which half a dozen were in Dublin, a couple in Belfast, and the rest scattered around the country, from Antrim to Cork. Just over a century later, with the exception of the illicit 'poteen', still made today but now in the family kitchen using town gas rather than in a secluded cove over a wood fire, the production of Irish whiskey is almost exclusively concentrated in the hands of one multi-national company.

A History of Distilling in Ireland The Irish claim (with some justification), that they actually invented whiskey and say it was a particular gift to them from St Patrick or missionary monks during the seventh century. The Irish then kindly exported their knowledge to the rest of the world. Certainly, the Scots most likely learned about distilling from the Irish (though they are loath to admit it). Although historical details remain obscure, it does seem reasonable to believe that Irish monks were distilling aqua vitae ["water of life"] ,primarily for making medical compounds, but these first distillates were probably grape or fruit brandy rather than grain spirit. Barley-based 'whiskey' (the word whiskey itself derives from 'uisce beatha', the Gaelic interpretation of 'aqua vitae') first appears in the historical records in the mid-1500's when the Tudor kings began to consolidate English control in Ireland. From this it may be conjectured that the Irish were the first to use cereals as a base for making spirit.

Indeed, by the middle 1500's, so much whiskey was being consumed by the Irish that the government passed a law against drunkenness, and the makers of whiskey were deemed undesirable.(Even Queen Elizabeth I was said to be fond of it and had casks shipped to London on a regular basis). As in Scotland and other whiskey producing countries, it was realised that the only way to curb whiskey production and consumption was to tax it: In 1661 the then Government introduced a tax of 4 pence on each and every gallon distilled. This imposition had the same effect as it did in Scotland, with the immediate commencement of the production of'poteen'(the Irish version of moonshine). The tax failed to slow down the growth of the industry and so by 1785 it was increased to one shilling and tuppence. The last straw for some distillers was in 1815 when the tax was levied at a crippling six shillings. It was this which drove many to produce there goods illicitly and by the end of the 18th century it is thought that there were over 2,000 stills in operation around the country.

Some decided to distill legally and attempted to raise the capital to set up larger distilleries. Of these, by far the most successful were the four big Dublin distillers: John Power, John Jameson, George Roe and William Jameson. Under British rule, Ireland had become export oriented and along with grains and assorted foodstuffs, Irish distillers continued to produce large quantities of pot-distilled whiskey for export into the expanding British Empire. Irish whiskey out-sold Scotch whisky in most markets because it was lighter in body. It is said that in the late 19th century over 400 brands of Irish whiskey were being exported and sold in the United States. This happy state of affairs for Irish distillers lasted into the early 20th century when the market began to change. The Irish distillers, pot still users to a man, were slow to respond to the rise of blended Scotch whisky with its column-distilled, smooth grain whisky component. When National Prohibition in the United States closed off Irish whiskey's largest export market, many of the smaller distilleries closed.

The remaining distilleries then failed to adequately anticipate the coming of Repeal (unlike the Scotch distillers) and were caught short without adequate stocks when it finally came. The Great Depression, trade embargoes between the newly independent Irish Republic and the United Kingdom, and World War II caused further havoc among the distillers. Most of the 20th century saw the closure of once great distilleries: Allmans, Dunville, Old Comber to name only a few. Old Bushmills, the world's oldest functioning distillery, first licensed in 1608. Gradually the distilleries were shut or amalgamated until the creation of the Irish Distillers Company (IDC) in 1966, itself a merger of three of the biggest surviving distilleries: John Jameson, ironically founded by a Scot of that name, John Power, founded by an innkeeper, and Cork Distillery, itself a grouping of the five remaining Cork distilleries, and whose labels included Paddy's Murphy's and Dunphy's. The group acquired the jewel in its crown, Old Bushmills in 1972.

(This distillery lies on the road between Royal Tara of the Kings and Dunseverick Castle in Country Antrim in the north and was first licensed in 1608, making it the oldest operating distillery in the world). Thankfully, the IDC were careful to preserve the identity of each of the whiskies within the group, as each had its own strong following, in many cases on a regional basis as old loyalties die hard. In 1975, the IDC opened a new mammoth distillery at Midleton, near Cork, and all of the other distilleries in the Republic were closed down with the production of their brands being transferred to Midleton. For a 14-year period the Midleton plant and Bushmills in Northern Ireland were the only distilleries in the country. This sad state of affairs ended in 1989 when a potato-peel ethanol plant in Dundalk was converted into a whiskey distillery. The new Cooley Distillery began to produce malt and grain whiskeys, with the first three-year-old bottlings being released in 1992. The opening of Cooley distillery marked the beginnings of a resurgent global interest in Irish whiskey.

The possible opening of a new distillery, Coola Mills in Westmeath, the breaking of the million case barrier for Jameson and the imminent launches of Midleton1973 and Cooley's 12 Year-Old Connemara Single Malt, all heralded the start of a new golden age for Irish whiskey. In spite of their efforts, the IDC did not remain in Irish hands for long. In just a few years, the huge Seagram's group had bought it out. Initially Seagram's kept production active at the Bushmills, Midleton and Coleraine distilleries although Coleraine was put to rest in 1978. The remaining two distilleries, Bushmills and Midleton produced 15 whiskey brands, yet the Irish whiskey industry now held only one percent of the global whiskey market. Seagram's were not happy with their investment and started getting rid of some of their shares in the late 1980's. The French company Pernod Ricard seized the opportunity and made an offer for the remainder of Seagram's shares.

Seagram's accepted the £4.5 million bid and the Irish whiskey industry passed to Pernod Ricard who remained Ireland's only whiskey producer until 1989 when John Teeling founded the Cooley Distillery - currently Ireland's only independent Irish whiskey distillery. The Irish Whiskey Act By law, as set out in the Irish Whiskey Act, 1980, to be called Irish Whiskey, the whiskey has to be distilled from native grains in Ireland, stored in wooden casks for at least three years and must be distilled at an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8%, such that the distillate has an aroma and flavour derived from the materials used. To lay aside any arguments, we have reproduced the act itself below: AN ACT TO DEFINE IRISH WHISKEY AND CERTAIN DESCRIPTIONS USED IN RELATION TO IRISH WHISKEY AND TO REPEAL THE IRISH WHISKEY ACT, 1950. [10th December, 1980] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS: Irish whiskey. 1.

- (1) For the purposes of any statute or instrument made under statute spirits described as Irish whiskey shall not be regarded as corresponding to that description unless the requirements regarding spirits contained in subsection (3) of this section are complied with as regards the spirits. (2) For any of the purposes mentioned in subsection (1) of this section spirits described as blended Irish whiskey shall not he regarded as corresponding to that description unless- ( a ) the spirits comprise a blend of two or more distillates, and ( b ) the requirements regarding spirits contained in subsection (3) of this section are complied with as regards each of the distillates.

(3) The following are the requirements referred to in subsections (1) and (2) of this section regarding spirits; ( a ) the spirits shall have been distilled in the State or in Northern Ireland from a mash of cereals which has been- (i) saccharified by the diastase of malt contained therein, with or without other natural diastases, (ii) fermented by the action of yeast, and (iii) distilled at an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% by volume in such a way that the distillate has an aroma and flavour derived from the materials used, and ( b ) the spirits shall have been matured in wooden casks- (i) in warehouse in the State for a period of not less than three years, or (ii) in warehouse in Northern Ireland for such a period, or (iii) in warehouse in the State and in Northern Ireland for periods the aggregate of which is not less than three years. (4) For the purposes of subsection (3) of this section the alcoholic strength at which spirits are distilled shall be ascertained in the same manner as that in which such ascertainment is for the time being arrived at for the purposes of customs and excise.

Making Irish Whiskey at Cooley's Distillery Irish whiskey is made from water, grain (usually barley) and yeast. From these simple ingredients, one of the world's most fascinating whiskies is distilled, famed for its marriage of full flavour with mellow smoothness. Yet Ireland's whiskeys are also quite diverse, with many different styles produced; pure pot still, pure grain, single malt, combinations of any two or three, double distilled, triple distilled, peated or unpeated. The variety of tastes and styles are as varied and fascinating as any in the whisky world. The following is an outline of Irish whiskey production as followed at the modern Cooley's distillery [right], the only remaining distillery that is still Irish owned. (Note: The procedure will vary slightly from distillery to distillery). At Cooley Distillery two types of whiskey are distilled: malt whiskey (made up of 100% malted barley, water and yeast); and grain whiskey (made up of maize, malted barley, water and yeast). Producing Malt Whiskey via Pot Stills Barley is first steeped in water to germinate. Starches in the sprouting grains are gradually converted into natural sugars.

After 7 - 14 days green malt goes to kiln for drying. The heat halts the growth, and the barley is then ready for mashing. Mashing involves the dried malt being ground into coarse flour or grist, which is mixed with hot water as it pours into the mash tun. After mashing, the sweet sugary liquid is known as wort. Yeast is added to the wort and fermentation begins. The living yeast feeds on sugars, producing ethanol and other alcohols. Large volumes of carbon dioxide gas are also produced and the wash froths violently. After about 2 days, fermentation dies down and the wash contains about 8% of alcohol by volume. The wash is distilled twice, first in a wash still to separate the alcohol from water, yeast and other waste matter. The distillate from the wash still known as low wines then goes to a spirit still. The more volatile compounds are distilled off first. Then only the heart of the run, which is about 66% alcohol by volume, is collected in the spirits receiver. The more oily compounds are collected separately at the end of the distillation.

During distillation, the pot still is heated to just below the boiling point of water, so that the alcohol and other compounds with a lower boiling point vaporise first and pass over the neck into either a condenser or a worm(a large copper coil immersed in cold running water). The shape and size of the pot stills affect the character of the individual whiskey. Smaller stills with larger necks produce more refined whiskies as in the case of Cooley whiskies. Producing Grain Whiskey Distillation in Columns Stills In this process, the maize grain is first mashed or milled into a flour. Water is then mixed into the flour to make a slurry. It is then pumped through a pipe and heated to 155 C for half an hour. The slurry is then cooled and the malted barley is added (about 10-12% of quantity of maize). Once the malt is added, the sugary liquid or wort is cooled and put into the fermentation tanks for a minimum of 48 hours. After fermentation, two separate distillation columns are used to produce a spirit of 94.6% alcohol which has the exact balance to produce a flavoursome grain whiskey.

Maturation After distillation, tankers take the new spirit from the distillery in Cooley to the old Locke's distillery in Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath. This is where the warehousing, filling and coopering facilities for all Cooley whiskies take place. The spirit is placed into oak barrels, the majority of which are first-fill ex-Bourbon barrels. These are used in some cases up to three times for maturation and deliver a vanilla-rich character to the spirit. Each barrel is specially numbered according to the production year, the contents of the barrels being either malt or grain whiskey along with their respective batch numbers, the number of the malt barrels and grain barrels themselves, and finally the litre quantity. Whiskies are aged for a minimum of 3 but usually 5 years in the 200 year old stone warehouses at John Locke's. These warehouses are cool, moist and dark and ultimately produce a different whiskey than whiskey which is matured in a concrete modern structure. During maturation, the whiskey becomes smoother, more flavoursome, and draws its golden colour from the cask. A proportion of higher alcohols turn into esters and other complex compounds, which subtly enhance each whiskey's distinctive characteristics.

About 2% of whiskey evaporates from the cask each year. The master blender from Cooley carefully selects the casks of whiskies to ensure that the final product is well balanced, smooth and unique. Cooley produces flavoursome whiskies which are generally sweet, and mature more smoothly than most whiskies. All Cooley whiskies are chill filtered before bottling except for Connemara Cask Strength. The purpose of chill filtration is to increase the clarity of the whiskey by removing compounds such as charcoal, pieces of wood and fatty acids which tend to cause cloudiness. Why Does Irish Whiskey Taste So Different? As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Irish whiskey is undeniably big business. Yet it remains attached to some small minded misconceptions. Is it really different at all? Almost anyone could be forgiven for making the naive generalisation that “Irish Whiskey is smoother than Scotch”. That’s because the vast majority of Irish Whiskey made and consumed (around 90%) is of the blended kind - mostly unpeated and triple distilled. Just like their blended Scotch counterparts, these are inherently smoother and lighter in style.

“Smoother & Lighter” is also the message that leading marketers of Irish Whiskey have been ramming into our heads since the 1960’s. If you’ve only experienced entry level Jameson’s or Tullamore Dew, you’re not going to have much perspective on the matter. But even seasoned whisky drinkers remain ignorant of key facts. Like most other whisky producing countries, there’s more than one category been made in Ireland. Apart from the blends, there are Grain, Single Grain, Single Malt, and Single or Pure Pot Still whiskies. One of these styles is unique to Ireland. Ironically, it's the very preponderance of blended Irish in the market that has been the primary cause behind several Irish Whiskey misconceptions. Here are three. There are others. 1: Irish Whiskies are always triple distilled (and so lighter in flavour). Not all of them. (What is true is that the more times one distills, the spirit tends to retain less of the congeners (or flavouring elements), so the whiskey seems lighter to the palate).

Some Irish distilleries double distill, not triple (likewise some Scotch distilleries employ three distillations, rather than the more common two). Don't let anyone try to tell you that all Irish whiskey is triple distilled, and all Scotch is double distilled; both are incorrect. 2: Irish Whisky is never peated. According to Jim Murray, author of “Classic Irish Whiskey’, this is firstly historically inaccurate. “As much of Ireland is covered in peat, it’s hardly surprising that in the 19th Century, smoky whisky from inland distilleries was not uncommon. Like Scotland.” Secondly, in the present day, there has been a quiet resurrection of this arguably ‘Traditional’ Irish style. If you’re partial to smoke, try ‘Connemarra’ at Cask Strength. 3: Irish Whiskey is never a Single Malt. It’s true that the market for Irish whiskies that aren’t blends is relatively small. But some of the more exciting Irish releases of the last few decades have been Single Malts (Connemara, Knapogue Castle). Like their Scotch equivalents, these are produced entirely from malted barley distilled in a pot still.

A delightful Single Grain Whiskey now sells under the Greenore label. There are other subsidiary and less prevalent Irish Whiskey myths - such that, all Irish is matured in Sherry casks (not true). Or that Ireland predates Scotland in whiskey production (unclear). However, there’s really only one answer to the question “Is Irish really different at all?” The point which clearly differentiates some Irish from whiskey produced anywhere else in the world is straightforward: The only whiskeys that are emphatically and uniquely Irish are of the ‘Pure Pot Still’ variety (also referred to as Single Pot Still). In Scotland, a practice of using malted and unmalted barley in order to pay less tax on malted grain had persisted for some time. When this ceased in Scotland, the Irish carried it on. Irish Pure Pot Still whisky is simply that - made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley, completely distilled in a pot still. They can be good - at times astoundingly so. In fact, if you want to try some of the UK’s most brilliant new drams, you cannot go past the likes of Redbreast or Greenspot.

It’s not just our opinion, but one resounded amongst whisky writers around the globe. (Jim Murray and John Hansell - of maltadvocate - are in rare agreement here). Irish Pure Pot Still whiskies are not only a category to themselves, they are amongst the hidden gems of the whisky world, and by world standards, remain relative bargains to boot. Irish Whiskey Cocktails The Irish Coffee Joe Sheridan, a barman at Foynes 'Flying Boat Terminal' (now known as Shannon International Airport) in Ireland, originally prepared this drink. Sheridan had a habit of greeting weary travelers sneaking into war-torn Europe on seaplanes from the United States with hot coffee laced with Irish whiskey and topped with lightly whipped Irish cream. 50ml Irish Whiskey 25ml Brown Sugar Syrup 2.5cm Whipped Irish Cream Method: Combine the whiskey, coffee and syrup in a tody glass. Ladle 2.5cm of cream on top. Variations include: Cafe Amore: Amaretto and brandy. Calypso Coffee: Rum and Kahlua. Jamaican Coffee: Rum and Tia Maria. Kioke Coffee: Brandy and Kahlua.

Mexican Coffee: Tequila and Kahlua. - recipe taken from The Craft of the Cocktail, Dale DeGroff 2003 Black Manhattan 45ml Irish whiskey 15ml sweet vermouth Method: Fill mixing glass with ice. Add whiskey and sweet vermouth. Stir. Strain into a chilled martini glass or a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a cherry. Irish Fix Terms & Conditions | Privacy All prices are stated in Australian dollars. Please note! Your browser must have cookies and javascript enabled to use our shopping basket technology effectively. Where a wine is marked SOLD OUT, this indicates that the wine is no longer available for sale. The tasting notes are still able to be viewed for historical purposes. Safe Secure Shopping. Our checkout is secured by the latest SSL Technology and uses Securepay's Payment Gateway. © 2017 Nicks Wine Merchants (Doncaster) Pty Ltd A.B.N. 19 826 635 151 A.C.N. 006 267 045 Packaged Liquor Licences - 32005543 Nicks Wine Merchants supports the responsible service of alcohol.

Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is against the law to supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years (Penalty exceeds $6,000) and/or for a person under the age of 18 years to purchase or receive liquor (Penalty exceeds $500). FREE CALL 1800 069 295 Outside Australia: 613 9848 1153 sales@nicks.com.au Store Location © 2017 Nicks Wine Merchants (Doncaster) Pty Ltd A.B.N. 19 826 635 151 A.C.N. 006 267 045 Packaged Liquor Licences- 32005543 Nicks Wine Merchants supports the responsible service of alcohol. Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is against the law to supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years

Question: What is the name of the Irish whiskey illicitly made from barley?
Answer: Poteen