Irish Whiskey

We start from the materials. Irish whiskey makers mostly use a mix of malted and raw (unmalted) barley. Malted barley (a.k.a. malt) comes from raw barley allowed to sprout, but quickly dried. While Scotish whisky makers dry their barley using peat smoke, Irish ones don't usually follow that tactic. Thus, Irish whiskey tastes smoother than the smoked Scotch cousin. Moreover, the use of unmalted barley offers a "cereal" sense to Irish whiskey, not so intense at Scotch. As far as the American version, bourbon comes from a great percentage of corn, responsible for its sweet taste. We move on to the distillation process. Three distillations for the Irish, just two for the rest. It's a great difference, reflected on the tenderness of the taste. Exceptions do exist, but not often. We finish with aging. Scotch matures exclusively in oak casks, while Irish is allowed to rest in casks made also of other types of wood. This enhances the taste and flavour complexity of Irish whiskey.

First of all, each one of them is... single, meaning that the distillate comes from just one distillery. It is not a blend of distillates coming from more than one distillery. But most interesting are the differences. Single malt irish whiskey is exclusively made of malted barley, while single pot still irish whiskey is made of malted and unmalted (raw) barley. Single grain irish whiskey is made of barley (no matter if it's malted, unmalted or a mix of them) and other cereals, like wheat, rye and corn.

Whiskey owes its sense of warmth to alcohol. It also owes its body or else the strength someone feels in the mouth, when enjoying a sip of this specific spirit. Of course, don't get the impression that a 70% whiskey would be preferable, because (even if it existed) it would neutralize our tongue, palate, nose and throat.

We proudly offer Redbreast 12 Y.O. Single Pot Still, an ideal representative of its country of origin. Also top is one of the lamdmark labels of the distillery in Bow Street of Dublin, Jameson 18 Y.O. Any bottle baring the name Connemara is a guarantee of delight, while Fercullen 8 Y.O. deserves great attention. Bushmills 10 Y.O. and 16 Y.O. are also magnificent and Green Spot doesn't fall short. Finally, the less famous series of The Busker labels is the perfect way of familiarizing with the types of Irish whiskey: single malt, single grain, single pot still and blended.

Not much. The status quo of Scotland does not apply to Ireland. In general, whiskies of southern Scotland tend to be lighter and more floral than the heaviest, peated ones of the north and the islands. In Ireland though, taste usually follows the distillery, which often provides choises for everyone.