Irish whiskey

Irish whiskey is whiskey produced in Ireland.

According to records, the first whiskey distillery to be granted a distilling license was Old Bushmills. The patent was granted in 1608 by King James I, allowing Old Bushmills to claim the title of the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world. By 1835 there were about a hundred legal distilleries operating, and the quality of whiskey had significantly increased. This was a period of prosperity for the drink, which enjoyed great popularity not only in Ireland, but also beyond its borders.

Due to Ireland's complicated history, its alcohol industry has undergone numerous trials. War, famine, the economic crisis of the 1920s, the Prohibition in the US (which closed the American market for a long time) resulted in only three distilleries operating in the Republic of Ireland and two in Northern Ireland by the 1950s, out of the hundreds that existed at the end of the 19th century. On March 8, 1966, John Jameson, John Powers, and the Cork Distillers Company merged to form Irish Distillers Limited (IDL) in order to survive under these trying circumstances.

Irish whisky is produced from malted barley, with the addition of some other cereals. The fermentation product is distilled three times, then poured into oak barrels and aged for at least three years.

The types of whiskey produced in Ireland include: single malt, single grain, 'pure pot still whiskey' and blended.