Irish Whiskey Condensed to a Few Lousy Sentences:

• Single malt (made from a single batch of 100% malted barley),
• Pure pot still (made from a mixture of malted & unmalted barley in small batches), and
• Blended (made from a blend of malted barley and non-malted grains such as corn or wheat).

Each type imparts unique flavor characteristics, and each type is favored equally by whiskey experts. Not only were the Irish the first to make whiskey, but Irish whiskey is the oldest distilled beverage in Europe; whiskey came about when Irish monks, who learned how to distill perfumes from the middle East, found a better use for stills. In fact, the word whiskey is based upon the Gaelic "uisce beatha," which translates as "water of life." The Old Bushmills Distillery lays claim to being the oldest licensed distillery in the world since gaining a license from James I in 1608, but now that the John Locke Distillery in Kilbeggan is back up-and-running, this distinction is up for debate.

Irish whiskeys were considered to be the premium whiskeys until the American prohibition, during which time bootleggers would brew inferior whiskey and label it as Irish whiskey. Scotch whisky gained prominence shortly after WWII, when GI's who served in Europe sampled the tasty beverage.  Only in the last few years has Irish whiskey begun to again gain prominence. If you're interested in learning more about Irish whiskey, shoot us an email at tastings (at) nineirishbrothers (dot) com and ask to be put on our mailing list, or fill out our email signup form. We'll ring your bell next time we have something scheduled. In the meantime, feel free to browse our selection of Irish Whiskeys:

Jerry O'Bryan considers running for it at the John Locke Distillery in Ireland. 

Our Selection of Irish Whiskeys