IRISH WHISKEY - KEY FACTS
• It is thought that distillation technology reached medieval Europe around the 12th century, with Ireland & Germany being the first countries where distilled spirits became widely available to the populace. However, some sources claim that Irish monks were distilling spirits in the 6th century.
• The continuous still was perfected and patented by an Irishman, former Customs & Excise official Aeneas Coffey, which is why it is also known as a ‘patent’ or ‘Coffey’ still.
• Coffey had retired from his position as Inspector General of Excise in Ireland in 1824 to work on perfecting the technology. His Coffey still was patented in 1831.
• Irish (and American) whisky added the ‘e’ to become ‘whiskey’ in the late 19th century to distinguish themselves from Scotch whisky - which was suffering from a reputation for very low quality due to the flood of inferior Coffey still Scotch that was being produced at the time.
• As well as Scottish and Irish grain whisk(e)y, nowadays the Coffey still is also used for the production of vodka, gin, bourbon and most rums.
• All the Irish whiskey currently available is produced at just three distilleries: Cooley, Midleton and Bushmills. However, Cooley recommenced production at Locke’s distillery (now renamed Kilbeggan) in 2007. Kilbeggan is the oldest licensed distillery in the world, having been established in 1757.
• Bushmills is the only distillery in Northern Ireland. Cooley and Midleton distilleries are in the Republic of Ireland.
• It is a myth that all Irish malt whiskies are triple-distilled. In fact, the only available triple-distilled Irish single malt whiskies are from Bushmills. The vast majority of Irish malt whiskey brands are distilled at Cooley, and all of them are double-distilled.
• It is also no longer true that all Irish whiskey is unpeated, as the Cooley distillery has been producing peated whiskeys in Ireland for some time.
Types of Irish Whiskey
Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Pure pot still is the only style of whiskey that is exclusively made in Ireland.
• Confusingly, pure pot still’s distinctive characteristic is not that it is made in a pot-still – Irish malts are also made in potstills – but the type of barley used in the distillation process. Where single malt is produced from 100% malted barley, pure pot still whiskey uses a mix of malted and unmalted barley.
• This mixed mashbill gives the whisky a distinctive spiciness known as ‘potstill character’.
• All the pure pot still Irish Whiskey available today is made at the New Midleton distillery, home of Jameson. Some of the older expressions of Jameson contain a large proportion of aged pure pot still whiskey.
• The best pot still whiskies are Redbreast, which is rounded, rich and silky due to partial ageing in sherry casks; and the younger Green Spot, which is lively, fresh and displays a flawlessly clean pure pot still character.
Blended Irish Whiskey
• Irish blends are the cornerstone of the industry. Midleton and Cooley distilleries both produce several different brands, but all of Bushmills’ blended whiskey is bottled under their own label.
• Bushmills distillery produces only single malt whiskey. The grain component in the Bushmills blends comes from the Midleton distillery. The Black Bush blend contains a very high proportion of sherry-aged malt whiskey.
• Cooley’s Kilbeggan 15yo blend was released in 2007 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Kilbeggan distillery. It went on to win the title of World’s Best Irish Blend at the World Whiskies Awards, as well as a Gold Medal and Best in Class award at the International Wine & Spirits Competition 2008.
• Jameson was produced at the company's Bow Street distillery in Dublin from 1780 until 1975, when the brand was relocated to the new Midleton distillery in Cork.
• The Midleton distillery is the largest in Ireland, with a production capacity of 19 million litres per year. Other brands produced at the distillery include Tullamore Dew, Powers and Paddy.
Irish Single Malt Whiskey
• The vast majority of Irish single malt whiskey brands are produced at the Cooley distillery under different brand names. Besides its own brand, Bushmills produces only Knappogue Castle, Clontarf and The Irishman malt whiskies. The Midleton distillery does not produce any single malt.
• Bushmills is the only producer currently releasing triple-distilled Irish single malt whiskey, although it is rumoured that Cooley have recently made some triple-distilled malt.
• Cooley is Ireland’s only producer of peated single malt whiskey - their main peated brand is Connemara. However, the peat character of Connemara contains none of the iodine notes associated with Islay single malt whiskies.
Irish Grain Whiskey
• The Midleton distillery produces the vast majority of Irish grain whiskey for its Jameson brand. The remainder is made by Cooley.
• Strangely for such a big producer, none of Midleton’s whiskey is bottled as a single grain.
• This leaves Greenore as Ireland’s only commercially available single grain whiskey.
Tim F, March 2009
