
Master of Malt Whisky Blog


by Jake Mountain     12. February 2014 12:02




  • Part 1 - The History of Irish Whiskey
  • Powers Irish Whiskey

    Go Go Power's Whiskey!


    The History of Irish Whiskey

    The origins of whisky (Irish whiskey was, in fact, only spelt with an ‘e’ much later) in the British Isles are less than clear, but it’s likely that the secrets of distilling reached Scotland via Ireland with monks distilling the first uisce beatha, or uisge beatha, from which we get usquebaugh and ultimately whisky. This is but the start of the story, however.

    The reputation of Irish whiskey doesn't merely rely upon the fact that it may predate Scotch, far from it. The truth is that it was considered a superior product for much of its history. Already, by the 17th century, Irish whiskey was gaining a reputation around the globe (a reputation that was far more favourable than that of its Scottish counterpart), in spite of English conquest and subsequent taxation. In fact, one form of taxation in the 18th century, the malt tax, probably gave birth to the most quintessentially Irish style of whisky: single pot still (using both malted and unmalted barley), and the total number of distilleries (including unlicensed rural whiskey and poitín producers) rose to over 1,000! By 1800, James Power had already founded John's Lane Distillery (1791) and John Jameson had bought into the Bow Street Distillery (1780), both situated in Dublin.

    Irish_Whiskey/John Jameson Irish Chuck Norris

    John Jameson. The Irish Chuck Norris... apparently.
    (Only from 1780 though - the chap was actually born in Scotland.)

    During the following century, the Irish whiskey industry would have to endure the ‘total abstinence’ campaign in Ireland, the Great Famine and mass emigrations. The number of legal distilleries fell from over 90 to somewhere in the twenties, but nevertheless, Irish whiskey became the most popular spirit in the world thanks to its consistency and high quality. (The phylloxera crisis that destroyed the Cognac vineyards didn’t hurt either.) It was even the most popular spirit in Scotland at this time, where imported rum was also more popular than the native Scotch whisky!

    It was at this point that Ireland, led by the likes of Jameson, Power and George Roe (who were already building strong brands), actually introduced the ‘e’ into their spelling of ‘whiskey’ to distinguish their product from the ‘whisky’ being distilled in Scotland. This spelling was subsequently adopted over in America, the largest export market for Irish whiskey.

    George Roe Irish Whiskey

    Tasting notes courtesy of the British Medical Journal (1898)

    So what on earth happened? Well, for one, Scotch Whisky was on the march thanks to the introduction of blending. Brands such as Dewar’s, Johnnie Walker, Bell’s and Teacher’s were established by their namesakes (placing their names on their bottles as a guarantee of quality, just as Jameson and others had done) and were producing not just consistent Scotch whiskies, but ones that were specifically designed to appeal to the palates of the day. The production of these blended whiskies was made possible by developments in continuous distillation by Robert Stein and Aeneas Coffey, but the use of Patent or Coffey Stills was widely derided by the Irish whiskey industry, who fought against them and the supposedly characterless, ‘silent’ spirit they produced. It was a battle that they would ultimately lose in 1909 when the Royal Commission on Whisky and other Potable Spirits concluded that grain whisky produced in a continuous still was a legitimate form of whisk(e)y.

    Irish whiskey, meanwhile, would have to attempt to negotiate the First World War, the Easter Rising, the Irish War of Independence (and export restrictions), Prohibition in America (their largest export market), the Irish Civil War, the Anglo-English Trade War (where it was essentially locked out of markets in the Commonwealth) and the Great Depression. By the end of the 1930s, these gruelling years had been all but fatal to the industry.

    A great scene here from Boardwalk Empire (volume is a little low but well worth including)

    The unwillingness of most distillers in Ireland to send their whiskey over to America illegally via bootleggers during Prohibition not only fully closed this vital market, but, as with their rejection of continuous distillation, gave Scotch an advantage. Whilst knock-off Irish whiskey was damaging the real McCoy’s reputation (and yes, I'm aware of the irony of that turn of phrase), many distillers in Scotland were more than happy to ensure their bottles were making it across the Atlantic, gaining a foothold in America. This foothold would be truly cemented after the Second World War, when American troops stationed in the UK also returned home with a taste for blended Scotch whisky.

    The late 1930s-1960s are the bleakest in the history of whiskey production in Ireland, as the world seemingly forgets about this once world-beating spirit whilst embracing the trendy and famous whiskies of Scotland. The number of Irish distilleries dwindled to just 5 by the the mid 1950s before, in order to survive, the remaining distillers in the Republic of Ireland (Jameson, Powers and the Cork Distilleries Company) merged to form Irish Distillers Ltd. in 1966. Bushmills in Northern Ireland joined Irish Distillers in 1972, which ultimately made the final distillery, Coleraine (owned by Bushmills and by this stage only producing grain whiskey), redundant (it officially closed in 1978).

    Production of all but single malt (which remained at Bushmills) moved to the Cork Distilleries Co. site at Midleton, where a new, state of the art distillery was subsequently opened in 1975. This consolidation of efforts meant that Irish whiskey had left Dublin, but importantly, the single pot still whiskey that the Dublin distillers had long been known for remained central to the newly-formed Irish Distillers’ plans. The total number of distilleries in Ireland, extraordinarily, fell to just 2 at this stage, both owned by the same company.

    Ah, so he really is the Irish Chuck Norris!*

    Jameson Blended Irish Whiskey became the flagship brand that the entirety of the Irish whiskey industry could now get behind. A triple-distilled whiskey made from single pot still and grain whiskeys, it was both different from Scotch blends and quintessentially Irish. It was also aided by the wood policy Irish Distillers were beginning to adopt, as they were amongst the first to really scrutinise the casks they were using and seek out the best quality available.

    The monopoly, meanwhile, was finally broken in 1987 when John Teeling purchased Ceimici Teo (which produced potato alcohol) and converted it into a whiskey distillery named Cooley. This new, independent distillery was founded the same year that Irish Distillers was purchased by Pernod Ricard, who had seen the potential of the resurgent Irish whiskey category.

    Cooley Irish Whiskey Distillery

    Cooley distillery was founded back in 1987, the first new Irish Whiskey distillery in over 100 years.

    Irish whiskey continued to build momentum throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, and Diageo would go on to purchase Bushmills in 2005. This only saw the trend continue as Pernod Ricard and Diageo, the two largest spirits groups in the world, both used their considerable resources to promote Irish whiskey, investing in distilleries and brands, and seeing the category grow by as much as 15-20% year after year. Quite extraordinary, although not altogether unsurprising given Irish whiskey's tradition, just how small its market share had become and the quality of the whiskeys that have been produced. Jameson continues to lead the way, with sales increasing from around half a million cases at the close of the 1980s to over 4 million cases today, becoming one of the top 20 best selling whisk(e)y brands in the world.

    Bushmills Bon Iver

    Except, Bon Iver, the distillery was actually founded in 1784...

    The world is now sitting up and taking notice of Irish whiskey, which as Bernard Walsh says, has taken "around 20 years to become an overnight success". The growth shows little sign of slowing though, and whilst Scotch whisky now sells over 95 million cases a year, Irish whiskey still only sells a total of around 6 million (about half of what it sold at its pre-Prohibition peak).

    We'll pick the story up from here on Friday, with more recent developments and some exciting new distilleries to cover in the third and final part of this blog. In tomorrow's second instalment, however, I'll be turning my attention to the different styles of wonderful Irish whiskey that are available today...


    * Some say that John Jameson was born in a hut that he built with his own hands.

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    Read the full story (3 Comments )

    Comments (3) -

    2/12/2014 1:01:04 PM #

    Hi there
    I often hear the term'single malt' implying there is a double malt
    My question is
    Is there such a thing as a non single malt?
    Surely this would be a blend

    Can you help it's driving me crazy

    Kevin Dixon United Kingdom

    2/12/2014 2:14:22 PM #

    Hi Kevin,

    'Single' malt means that it's from a single distillery, but it can still be made up of different whiskies (/whiskeys) from different casks blended together.

    If a malt whisk(e)y is constructed by blending whiskies from different distilleries then it is called a 'blended malt' (they used to be called 'vatted malts', or 'pure malts').

    A 'blend' or 'blended whisky' is different again, being made up of a blend of both malt and grain whiskies. For Irish whiskey, this is more complicated, however, as blends can be made up of any combination of malt, grain and pot still Irish whiskeys (but I'll go through that in tomorrow's blog).

    If no blending takes place at all, what you have is a single cask whisk(e)y.

    Hopefully that should clear things up!

    Jake Mountain United Kingdom

    7/19/2015 1:15:15 PM #

    Single malts are typically associated with single malt Scotch, though they are also produced in various other countries. Under Scotch Whisky Regulations, a "Single Malt Scotch Whisky" must be made exclusively from malted barley (although the addition of E150A caramel coloring is allowed), must be distilled using pot stills at a single distillery, and must be aged for at least three years in oak casks of a capacity not exceeding 700 litres, e.g.: Glenfiddich, Taliskar, Cardhu, Bruichladdich..

    Blended malt, formerly called a vatted malt, or pure malt, is a blend of different single malt whiskies from different distilleries. These terms are most commonly used in reference to Scotch whisky, or whisky in that style, such as Japanese whisky, e.g.: JW Green label, JW Odyssey, Nikka malt, Smokey Joe Islay malt

    Blended Scotch whisky means a blend of one or more single malt Scotch whiskies with one or more single grain Scotch  JW Black label, Chivas, Whyte & Mackay

    Grain whisky ordinarily refers to any whisky made (at least in part) from grains other than malted barley, such as whisky made using maize (corn), wheat or rye. Grain whiskies can also contain some malted barley. Whisky made from only malted barley (or primarily from malted barley) is typically called malt whisky rather than grain whisky (although barley is a grain). Most American whiskeys and Canadian whiskeys are Girvan 25, Cameronbridge 25yo

    Blended Grain Scotch whisky, made from the mixture of two or more Single Grain Scotch Whisky from different distilleries. e.g.:  Bourbon.

    Sahil Chauhan India

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