Irish whiskey can legally be made from any type of grain, and different brands use different grains in different combinations, which is why there's such a wide range of flavors available. If a whiskey is called a "single malt," that means it's made from 100 percent malted barley, at one individual distillery, while a "single grain" whiskey is made at a single distillery but can use a mix of barley and other grains, such as corn or wheat. Malted barley-barley that's been allowed to sprout and then dried-is a very common ingredient, as it contains an enzyme that helps break down starches into fermentable sugars. Bottle proofs vary, but the minimum allowed by US law is 40 percent ABV, or 80-proof.Īll whiskeys are made from some kind of grain. Whiskey usually goes into the barrel at fairly high proof and is then "cut" with water to bring it down to its final strength. Irish whiskey must spend at least three years aging in oak barrels, but distilleries can use casks that formerly held anything from bourbon to sherry to beer. Some whiskeys are made from only malted barley, while others use a combination of barley and other grains. (When it comes to whiskey, Ireland includes both the independent Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.) Many brands are distilled three times in copper pot stills, but other distilleries and styles use other methods and types of still. There are some legal and technical regulations around exactly how it can be made, but Irish whiskey, put simply, is whiskey distilled in Ireland. For a more affordable dram great for mixing or sipping, try Teeling Small Batch Irish Whiskey. The 86-proof whiskey’s depth of flavor is the perfect backdrop for the cocktail’s strong coffee sweetened with brown sugar and topped with cream.ĪBV: 43% | Age: no age statement | Volume: 750 mlįor a world-class whiskey that's worth every penny, we recommend the renowned Redbreast 15 Year Irish Whiskey. Hints of nutmeg, butter, and vanilla accent the oaky palate. In this case, it’s corn in addition to barley, which adds a wonderful sweetness that plays remarkably well with the flavors of bourbon-barrel aging. Unlike a single malt, made at a single distillery from from 100 percent malted barley, a single grain whiskey must be made at a single distillery but can use a mix of grains. Kilbeggan Single Grain definitely fits the bill for smoothness. Named Joe Sheridan, the inventor gave his cocktail's recipe in rhyming form: "Cream as rich as an Irish brogue, coffee as strong as a friendly hand, sugar as sweet as the tongue of a rogue, and whiskey as smooth as the wit of the land” It has a suggested retail price of $32,€40,£32.The legend behind the iconic Irish coffee cocktail goes that an airport bartender in the town of Shannon whipped it up on a rainy day in the 1940s to warm up (and cheer up) a group of delayed passengers. 20th in the US, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Dublin Airport and online at and via The Whisky Exchange in the UK in the coming months. Powers Irish Rye clocks in at 43.2% ABV, and is set to release on Feb. “From our commitment to farming a difficult crop, to reduced brewhouse throughput, to longer fermentation times, and considering the exceptional cask profile if it was only about efficiency, we would never have used rye,” Ryan said. Now, the Cooney Furlong Farm in County Wexford supplies 100 percent of the rye used in Powers Irish Rye, and the farm is located just a short distance from Edermine House, the ancestral home of the Powers family.Įric Ryan, distiller for Powers, said they attribute the success of this whiskey to the extended team at Midleton Distillery, and also to the generations of Powers distillers who considered rye grain to be a unique component of their craft. So Powers commissioned the planting of rye crops exclusively for this Irish whiskey. “This has fed very much into the DNA of Powers Irish Rye today, both in the use of rye and in the method of distillation.”įinding an Irish supplier was a challenge, since commercial rye farming in Ireland had all but disappeared. “Throughout the history of the famous Powers John’s Lane Distillery, there was a willingness to challenge the old ways of doing things and experiment with new ideas, from urban farming on the distillery roof in the 1940s, to bottling in-house and the introduction of the world’s first miniature Irish whiskey, the ‘baby Power,’” Quinn said. Old mash bills and recipes showed that Powers experimented with rye over the brand’s history, while as the scientific knowledge of distilling expanded throughout the 19th century, the whiskey maker continued to innovate, finding new techniques and processes.
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