The history of Irish Whiskey
The reason why Irish people insist that they invented whiskey is a distiller: The Old Bushmills Distillery was founded as the first licensed whiskey distillery in the world in 1608. The Scots, in return, possess a document from the 15th century which proves the sale of barley for whisky production. Still, most present-day historians assume that whisky was brought by Celtic monks through Ireland to Scotland.
In 1661, the government decided to impose a tax on Irish and British whiskies. Since the registration of the distilleries was voluntary until 1761, many simply kept producing whisky without a license.
In the 18th century, the growing population and the tax increases on alcohol imports created a higher demand for Irish whiskey. To match the demand, many producers started to produce low-quality spirits. As a result, parliament passed a bill that forbade whiskey producers from using any other ingredients than malted barley, grains, potatoes and sugar. Meanwhile, many distilleries started fudging their production numbers to save taxes and make up for the lost income. When the government reacted with more regulatory measures which defined the minimum outputs for specific pot still sizes, many distilleries were unable to afford the taxes and disappeared into illegality. While Ireland had had 1228 registered distilleries in 1779, only 32 were left in 1821.
The big whiskey producers had fewer problems. In Dublin, a few big producers were able to establish themselves and continue their business. During the peak in the 19th century, more whiskey was produced in Dublin than anywhere else in the world. Unfortunately, the country was struck with the potato blight shortly after, which led to the starvation of millions of people and a sharp decrease in the production of whiskey. This crisis was followed by the Irish War of Independence, the Civil War, the Anglo-Irish Trade War and Prohibition in the US and many other countries in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. From a multitude of distilleries, only few survived and soon Scotch whisky had taken over the market.
In the last few decades, there were many attempts to revive the Irish whiskey industry – with slow, but lasting success. The entrance of foreign investors like Pernod Ricard and the international marketing that followed created an upsurge in output and sales figures.
How is Irish whiskey defined?
To be regarded as a real Irish whiskey, the spirit has to be distilled in Ireland from grain mash. Law dictates a minimum maturation time in wooden casks of at least three years in Ireland. Irish whiskey may not contain less than 40% alcohol. Besides water, only caramel colouring may be added. Although the usage of peat is not regulated, peated Irish whiskeys are not common.
The right spelling: whisky or whiskey?
Although we use the spelling “whisky” in most parts of our shop, the spirit is called “whiskey” in Ireland. The same is true for American whiskey.
Which popular Irish whiskey brands are there?
The most popular Irish whiskey producers include Jameson, Paddy, Redbreast, Hyde, Green Spot, Tullamore, Teeling, Connemara and Bushmills. The Old Bushmills Distillery in County Antrim in Northern Ireland is regarded as the oldest whiskey distillery in the world.
Irish Whiskey at Gustero
Gustero offers a large selection of traditional and modern whiskies. Among the hundreds of high-quality whiskies, you will also find dozens of Irish whiskeys which are waiting to be discovered – including countless single malts. Take a look at our selection now!
