In this book I have tried to capture the personality of Ireland’s working distilleries and independent brands. In a time of rapid growth for the sector I want to champion Irish whiskey and allow as many people as possible to enjoy the journey it’s on.

The book is as much a travel guide to Ireland’s new distillery network as it is to the whiskeys they produce. In reading it, you should get a picture of the people, the places, and the products they have created. It should give you a comprehensive overview of Irish whiskey and the knowledge to choose a whiskey that matches your own personality and flavour preferences.

The first part of the book provides the story of each of the working distilleries and, where it exists, details their core range. Not all of the working distilleries are selling their own brand yet. Some of the younger distilleries have chosen not to use sourced whiskey from other distilleries, deciding instead to allow their own spirit to mature before putting their name to it.

The second part of the book is designed to celebrate the art of independent blending. Not all Irish whiskey brands have their own distillery, or ever intend to open one. This section introduces you to some of those independent brands who only source whiskey from distilleries to blend a new whiskey and outlines why their independence matters.

Irish whiskey is incredibly good fun and the people who drive it are passionate and full of life. I hope this book helps you meet them and get to enjoy what they make.

Introduction

If you’re looking for a dramatic pursuit, lose yourself in the story of Irish whiskey. It has all the elements of a great saga: poor beginnings, roaring success, sudden decline, a romantic back story, and back-from-the-brink re-invention – while bursting at the seams with plot twists.

While it’s gratifying to reflect on Irish whiskey’s past, with its sixth-century beginnings, eighteenth-century rapid growth, and nineteenth-century global dominance of the spirits sector, what’s happening now in the twenty-first century is incredibly exciting.

The Irish whiskey industry has suddenly exploded. The number of distilleries now in operation (twenty-six at the time of writing), as well as those planned to open, have taken the country by surprise, re-invigorating an industry that was for so long wrapped up in the fortunes of just a handful of distilleries. In 2010 there were only four whiskey distilleries in operation in Ireland: Midleton Distillery in County Cork, Old Bushmills in County Antrim, Kilbeggan in County Westmeath, and Cooley in County Louth.

These large-scale operations, each today owned by some of the biggest names in the global drinks industry, re-invented, fought for, and protected a category that was long in decline. In some cases, like with Irish Distillers’ re-invention of Jameson, they created global whiskey brands that introduced a whole new generation of drinkers to Irish whiskey. While the latest chapter in the Irish whiskey story is all about the rise of independent craft distilling and bonding, the decades of work still being undertaken by the big distilleries is truly inspiring.

In 2018 Ireland exported 10.7 million cases of whiskey. This is an increase of some four million cases since 2010 and the sector is now said to be the fastest-growing whiskey category in the world. While it is still a long way behind the dominance of Scotch on the international market, the rapid growth in demand from new and old Irish whiskey fans, coupled with the Irish industry’s ability to provide greater product innovation and choice, suggests that the sector’s ambition is not misplaced.

Old whiskey from new distilleries

But we’re not there yet. A lot of the whiskey brands in this book are from distilleries

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