Irish Whiskey Condensed to a Few Lousy Sentences:

• Single malt (made from 100% malted barley),
• Pure pot still (made from a mixture of malted & unmalted barley), 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 favoured 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 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.

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. 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 the tastings mailing list. 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