"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough."
Mark Twain
Irish whiskey.... it was one of the earliest distilled drinks in Europe, arising around the 12th century. The word 'whiskey' in Gaelic is uisce beatha, meaning water of life. Irish whiskey was the most popular spirit in the world but suffered a long period of decline from the late 19th century until the mid-1970s. Ireland boasted at least 28 distilleries in the 1890s but by 1966, that number had fallen to just two!
Since the 1990s, Irish whiskey has seen a revival and has been the fastest-growing spirit in the world every year since. Distilleries have also been expanding and as of December 2019, Ireland has 32 distilleries in operation, with more either planned or under development. I’d call that a comeback!
So, what’s the deal with Irish whiskey? And how does it differ from Scotch whisky? Well, to begin, Irish whiskey has a smooth finish as opposed to the smoky, earthy overtones common to Scotch whisky.
There are also a bunch of key requirements (under Irish law) that make Irish whiskey well…Irish whiskey.
They include:
Irish whiskey needs to be distilled in the country of Ireland from a mash of malt and cereal grains.
By Irish law, all whiskeys must be aged a minimum of three years in barrels.
They must have a minimum alcoholic by volume (ABV) content of 40%
In addition, Irish whiskey is a protected European Geographical Indication (GI) meaning its production, labelling and marketing must be verified by the Irish revenue authorities as conforming with the Department of Agriculture's technical file for Irish whiskey. It also means Irish whiskey is a key economic asset for the European Union, and it is part of the EU-wide system of intellectual property rights. In other words, it’s their bread and butter and you’d better not touch it.
American millennials are driving the growth of Irish whiskey in the U.S. Since 2002, premium Irish whiskey sales have risen by 1,007%. And it's not just a drink for men. According to CBS News, just under 40% of U.S. whiskey drinkers are women! So, now that you know you are free to imbibe on this wonderful spirit, we'd better get a move on!
Label got you confused? No problem - here are a few types of Irish whiskeys and what you need to know to buy the right one.
Single malt Irish whiskey -These are whiskeys made entirely from malted barley distilled in a pot still within a single distillery, although they may be double or triple distilled. Single malt whiskeys are mellow in taste and the taste can change dramatically with each additional distillation.
Single pot still whiskey - These whiskeys are made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley completely distilled in a pot still within a single distillery, and there's raw, unmalted grain in the mash. The raw barley generates a distinctively rich and somewhat spicy character.
Grain whiskey - These whiskeys are produced from continuous distillation in a column or Coffey still, rather than a pot still and may be produced from a variety of grains. Most of grain whiskey is used to make blended whiskey. You will almost never find this whiskey bottled alone.
Blended whiskey - These whiskeys are a mixture of the above styles. They are the most common style of both Irish and Scotch whiskeys. For delicious taste and complexity, an Irish blended whiskey is the way to go.
So, now that we have our bottle in hand, what do we do with it? Some folks will tell you to drink it straight or on the rocks and it's perfect with food, especially traditional Irish recipes. You can shoot it straight or serve it in coffee. But if you've followed me for even a minute, you know I'm thinking delicious martini or some form of highball.
Ready to give it a try? I've added three recipes below that will be easy to mix up and help you get your Saint Patrick's Day underway. Give one a try - or hell, give them all a try! Everyone's Irish on Saint Patrick's Day and there's no better way to toast the day than with some delicious Irish whiskey! Slainté!
Irish Coffee
1 to 2 tsp brown sugar
4 oz strong, hot coffee
1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz heavy cream, lightly whipped
Place the brown sugar into a glass coffee mug. Add the coffee and whiskey and stir until sugar is dissolved. Float the whipped heavy cream on top of the coffee and serve.
Irish Martini
2 oz vodka
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz Irish whiskey
Garnish: lemon twist
Pour the Irish whiskey into a chilled martini glass. Swirl it around the glass in order to coat the inside, then dump the excess whiskey. (or shoot it, or use it for your next martini.)
Combine the vodka and dry vermouth into an ice filled shaker and shake. Strain into the whiskey rinsed glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
Green Dublin Apple Cocktail
2 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz sour apple schnapps
2 oz white cranberry juice
Garnish: apple slice
Combine the ingredients into an ice filled shaker and shake. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a fresh apple slice.
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