Irish whiskey is considered to be smooth, fruity, and triple distilled. Many of them are, but this isn't the full story. The Irish are widely credited as being the first to distil whiskey, though this is strictly contested by the Scots. The Bushmills distillery is the world’s oldest licensed distillery, founded in 1608. The Irish are unique in their pure pot still whiskey.
Irish single pot still whiskey is a mix of barley, malted and otherwise, distilled in a pot still. The un-malted barley proffers a spicy freshness that one associates with Irish whiskey. Some of the Irish blends are global successes with Irish Whiskey brands like Bushmills Original and Jameson notable examples. There's also a healthy selection of single malt expressions, including the majority of the Bushmills range, Tyrconnell and Connemara.
In the last 20 or so years we've seen the re-introduction of double distilled single malts and peated malts, as well as a reinvigorated and now thriving single pot still Irish whiskey style. There are also many new distilleries being constructed as Irish whiskey continues to be the fastest growing spirits category in the world!
We have a list of thebest Irish Whiskies here and if you would like to learn more about the history of Irish whiskey - visit our Irish Whiskey History Timeline which has been written by our leading whiskey experts and authors.
Why not also choose from some amazing offers on our St. Patrick's day whiskey range?