Irish Whisky is a misunderstood class of Whisky. I don’t know of many people that drink Irish Whisky on a regular basis, but those that I do know of will tell me they drink Bushmills. After I talk with them a while, I soon realize they have not explored the Irish whisky issue much deeper than to claim some degree of brand loyalty to a particular product.

There are actually 3 types of Irish Whisky: (1) Single Malt, (2) Irish Pot Still, and (3) Blended.

An Irish Single Malt whisky is made from 100% malted barley. Distillation is carried out via the triple pot distillation method. Three copper pot stills are used in this method and what emerges from the final still will be a nice, clean distillate at about 80-85% abv. The following image shows a 16 year old Irish Single Malt from Bushmills that I found in Calgary at Willow Park Spirits. I was so happy to have found this, I did not so much as flinch at the price. By the way, the book in the image is one of my textbooks from my studies at Heriot-Watt University. If you want a top notch book about Whisky, let it be this one edited and compiled by two world renowned experts.

An Irish Pot Still whisky is made from a combination of malted grains and un-malted grains. There must be at least 30% malted grain and at least 30% un-malted grain in the recipe. Triple pot distilling is usually employed, although a double distillation method could be used. Check the label of the bottle. If the label bears the words Triple Pot Distilled, then you know.

An Irish Blended Whisky takes us into the realm of what people refer to when the loudly declare that they drink something like “Bushmills”. A blended Irish is not unlike a Scotch blended whisky. It is comprised of about 2/3 base alcohol and 1/3 single malt or pot still product. The base alcohol has come off a column still at about 95% abv and has likely been made from wheat. A trip to your average, ordinary liquor store will have you come face to face with blended products because they will carry a cheaper price point and will appeal to a wider audience.

There is nothing wrong with an Irish blended whisky. Just like there is nothing wrong with most Scotch blended products. Clean and approachable are two apt descriptors.

But, if you are looking for a deeper experience, take a look at something like Bushmills 16 year old single malt Irish whisky. When I poured a wee dram my first instinct was to use my eye-dropper to add several good drops of water. This is what I normally would do when tasting a fine Scotch. But, in the case of Bushmills 16, a couple small drops was all it took to open the whisky up. Being triple distilled, it was softer and more elegant than many of the Scotches I drink. I was in a near state of nirvana as I finished my dram. Needless to say, I will not be sharing this whisky with anyone else.

Treat yourself right during these challenging times. Get yourself some really good whisky. Make it a Bushmills 16 year old single malt.