Irish Whiskey at the Whiskey For Sale Shop

Irish whiskey is barley malt whiskey made in Ireland. Irish whiskey resembles Scotch whisky in its ingredients and production. Peat is almost never used in the malting process, resulting in a whiskey with a smoother, sweeter, flavour. In most Irish whiskey, the smoky, earthy overtones of Scotch are absent. Common wisdom says that the Irish invented whiskey, but the Scots perfected it. Both claims are open to doubt, of course. There are far fewer distilleries of Irish whiskey than there are distillers of Scotch. Economic difficulties in the last couple of centuries have led to great number of mergers and closures. Currently there are only three distilleries operating in Ireland (although each produces a number of different whiskies): Midleton, Old Bushmills, and Cooley, and only the last is Irish-owned.

Irish whiskey, like Scotch, comes in several forms. Like Scotch, there is single malt whiskey (100% malted barley distilled in a pot still) and grain whiskey (grains distilled in a column still). Grain whiskey is much lighter and more neutral in flavor then single malt and is almost never bottled as a single grain. It is instead used to blend with single malt to produce a lighter blended whiskey. Unique to Irish whiskey, to which there is no Scotch counterpart, is pure pot still whiskey (100% barley, both malted and unmalted, distilled in a pot still). The "green" unmalted barley gives the pure pot still whiskey a spicy, uniquely Irish quality. Like single malt, pure pot still is sold as such or blended with grain whiskey. Usually no real distinction is made between whether a blended whiskey was made from single malt or pure pot still.

What Is Irish Whiskey?

Irish whiskey is made as Scotch, but the malt is "not" exposed to the peat fire and thus doesn't have a smoky quality. It's distilled three times (twice for Scotch) and is usually blended. (The triple distillation is what results in the smooth taste.)

There are two kinds of Irish Whiskey:

• One is produced in Northern Ireland with a blend of malt and grain whiskey. The malt variety is distilled in pot stills at approximately 111 proof from a mash of barley malt. The grain whiskey is distilled in continuous stills at over 180 proof.

• The other is produced in the Republic of Ireland and is blended at not more than 171 proof in pot stills. The difference is the mash — the malt barley is mixed with wheat, oats and rye.

Did You Know? In Ireland whiskey is spelled with an "e," but in Scotland it isn't (whisky). And the Irish are generally accepted as the first people in Western Europe to make spirits.

Due to economics and numerous mergers, there are currently only three distilleries operating in Ireland: Bushmills, Cooley and Midleton, and Cooley's is the only one that's Irish-owned.

How Do We Drink Irish Whiskey?

Suggestions for enjoying Irish whiskey:

• Never dilute the rich flavor by adding water and / or soda. If you must have water, put it in a glass on the side.

• It's perfect as an after-dinner "Irish Coffee" mixture. After World War II, San Francisco's Buena Vista Café made this drink famous. They recommend that you fill a glass with piping hot water to preheat, then empty. Pour hot coffee into the glass until it's two-thirds full, drop in two cocktail sugar cubes and stir until the sugar has dissolved completely. Add a full jigger of Irish whiskey and top with a "collar" of lightly whipped cream by pouring gently over a spoon.

• A popular choice in nightclubs and at cocktail parties is to pour Irish whiskey over several ice cubes and sip slowly.

• Another soothing way to enjoy Irish whiskey is to make a Hot Toddy

• Try a fun cocktail twist with a Dirty Irish Whiskey: one part Bailey's Irish Cream and one part Jameson Irish whiskey — mix with ice and shake, pour through a strainer and enjoy!