In a 4 part series, Sean is taking a deep, deep dive into the
category of Irish whiskey. In this edition, he brings light to the
definition and dispels some of the myths and common misbeliefs.
Let’s Chat Irish Whiskey BY SEAN KINCAID
Many people likely recognize two common brands of Irish whiskey and describe it as smooth, easy drinking and light. Then there’s a few people like me who have dove in head first into everything Irish whiskey. Pull up a chair… Welcome to my Irish whiskey 101. I’m going to start with a very simplified, and wholly not inclusive, definition of what Irish whiskey must be*: • Distilled on the Island of Ireland, for this definition, including Northern Ireland • One of the four general classification: single pot still, single malt, single grain or blended whiskey, to which each has its own technical specifications • Aged in wooden casks and matured for a minimum of three years on the island of Ireland, in Irish warehouses • Bottled at no less than 40% alcohol by volume (ABV) Unfortunately Irish whiskey seems to be one of the most misunderstood and misconstrued whisky categories so let’s start with the spelling. It is in fact almost always spelled “whiskey”, with the “E”. But if we go back to one point in history, Irish whisky was spelled with no “E” and was actually more popular and regarded as being of higher quality than Scotch. So, when the inferior continuous still produced Scottish whiskies started flooding the market in the mid 19th century, the Irish brands began adopting the use of the “E” in the spelling as another way of quickly marketing their superior style. Presently there are a few brands that have returned to the legacy whisky spelling which includes Waterford, McConnell’s and Blackwater.
When I ask people to describe Irish whiskey they say things like smooth, sweet and zero smokiness but if I had a looney for every time I heard this depiction - I would currently own quite a few cask strength, dark & dirty but delicious Irish whiskeys. Best I can tell this seems to have happened after the crash of Irish whiskey which came about due to: • Introduction to the Coffey (aka continuous) still
• Outbreak of World War I • Irish Independence and, • USA’s prohibition era.
Unfortunately, the perfect storm that caused all but two distilleries to close up and almost ended exports of Irish whiskey altogether. Even when exports began anew, products from the active distilleries were mass produced entry level offerings. As far as the “no smokiness” part comes in, I truly wish I carried a small sample of peated Irish whiskey at all times, just so I could prove that it not only exists, but easily challenges or even overtakes the smoky side of peated Scotch. The New Guards of Irish whiskey are setting their sights on reviving the true historical methods of making Ireland’s Uisce beatha by using peat to dry their malted grains. The last one I’d like to highlight is the “smooth” effect because not all Irish Whiskies are triple distilled. Historically and currently there are distilleries that triple-distill, double distill and some do both.
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the whisky explorer magazine
FALL 2023
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