IrishCentral's top ten delicious Irish whiskeys - PHOTOS

Ireland top whiskey tipples for your totties

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

7 Comments

Jameson Whiskey

Tweet

PHOTOS - visit the photo gallery of IrishCentral’s top whiskeys

The Irish know whiskey. The spirit is so embedded in the culture that whiskey in Irish “Uisce beatha” means the “water of life.”

The Emerald Isle has become synonymous with some of the best whiskeys in the world including Jameson, Tullamore Dew, and Bushmills, to name a few. There are as many brands of the spirit as dialects in Ireland but all adhere to the same strict guidelines in production.

Irish whiskey must be aged and distilled in the Republic of Ireland or in Northern Ireland. It must be aged three years in a wooden casket. If the product is a blend of two or more distillates, it then must be referred to as “blended” Irish Whiskey. And lastly the whiskey must be distilled to an alcohol by volume level less than 94.8 percent from a yeast-fermented mash of cereal grains in such a way that the distillate has an aroma and flavor derived from the materials used.

Considering ourselves connoisseurs of the spirit, we have compiled a list of our ten favorites. Unfortunately, we had to leave many fine selections off our compilation.

So pour a glass of the stuff, put up your feet....

And lets take a look at IrishCentral’s top ten whiskeys.

1. Jameson

Jameson is the world’s leader in Irish whiskey, selling 31 million bottles annually. It is the third largest single whiskey distillery in the world and is produced by a division of the French distiller Pernod Ricard. Maintaining its “pure pot still” distilling tradition, Jameson is produced in Cork and vatted in Dublin.

Special Selection: Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve

2. Powers

The most popular brand of whiskey in Ireland is a mixture of pot-still and grain. Powers was first distilled at the St. John’s Distillery at Thomas St, Dublin in 1791. Powers Gold Premium sells over 2.5 million bottles in Ireland each year.

Special Selection: Powers 12 Year Old Reserve.

3. Redbreast

Redbreast is produced at the new Middletown Distillery by Irish Distillers and is only one of two pure pot whiskeys being produced today. First distilled in Cork in 1903, Redbreast has attained many accolades including Irish Whiskey of the Year by whiskey writer Jim Murray and was nominated #1 in John Hansell’s buyers guide.

Special Selection: Redbreast 12-year-old (pure pot still)

4. Tullamore Dew

Originally a pure pot whiskey distilled in 1829 in the small town of Tullamore, County Offally, Tullamore Dew is now a blended whiskey. It’s the world’s second best selling Irish whiskey behind Jameson. Tullamore Dew is owned by Scottish company William Grant and Sons.

Print

E-mail

Tweet