You could make the case that whiskey is woven into the history of Ireland. I dare say it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to believe it run in the natural waters since that land lends so much of itself to it.
A Short History
Legend tells of how the Celts brought the art of distillation through the mist of the sea northward to Islay, Scotland. Romantic tales aside, the history of Irish whiskey anything but a tale. It's a story of booms and busts beginning with the a happy accident of rebellion against the Malt Tax, a English flex aimed at taming the long rebellious Isle nation.
Suffice it to say the Irish didn't take this well, to say the least, at the worst, they were incensed. So much so that, to bugger with the English, they decided to evade the tax by including unmalted barley, enough so for legal evasion but not enough to spoil the brew. This is one of those instances of blind inventiveness that history testifies to. It turned out that the mix of malted and unmalted , later called single pot still whiskey, barley produced a distinct kind of whiskey that won the world over.
The demand for pot still whiskey was such that, unlike its counterpart in Scotland, production was more akin to industrial Victorian enterprise, with big booming distilleries. By the 1800s there were close to a hundred licensed distilleries in the country. Since then there has been a number of booms and busts, each with different circumstances that eroded the commercial prominence of Irish Whiskey in the world. It's not until recent years that the market for it reemerged, with those surviving distilleries and brand producing what is for sure premium whiskey.
Quick Whiskey Name Dropping
Redbreast
This was the whiskey for those in the know, a standing memory of how Irish Whiskey used to be. Though a single pot still, this one is a blend (most Irish Whiskeys are these days). It's named after the Robin Redbreast. When held up to a light, it shinings with a rosy glow. The red glow found in a Redbreast whiskey is a hint at the style and taste the of whiskey. Redbreast is aged in sherry casks from Spain that have been left to mature which are then shipped over to Ireland. The whiskey is then poured, stored and aged in these casks for no less than 12 years, that being the youngest of the whiskeys.
Jameson
The Jameson name is synonymous with Irish whiskey the world over. There is little that can be said that would surprise the regular whiskey lover about this brand, it is that well known and well loved. Maybe something that the regular whiskey enthusiast wouldn't know, is that Jameson is aged in two kinds of matured casks; bourbon and sherry. The resulting spirit is a really smooth whiskey with nodes of vanilla and toasty wood. Jameson is a popular mixer and is often served as a cocktail of one kind or another. I'm not a big Irish whiskey drinker but I testify to it popularity as a mixer.
Conclusion
I may not like Irish whiskey a much as maybe I should but I do know a good thing when it washes the tongue. And of late, the whiskey business there has been on the rise again and I suppose that too says a lot about Irish whiskey and the demand there of. Stop by your local liquor store and grab yourself a Jameson.
If you want to learn more about whiskeys, click on the books below to get schooled.
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