The Whiskeys Of Ireland, Peter Mulryan

Peter Mulryan’s publication, The Whiskeys Of Ireland, is a welcome exploration of the Irish Whiskey landscape.

Packed full of historical information, anecdotes & photographs, the current rise of Irish Whiskey is given texture & depth.

The reasons for the demise of Irish Whiskey in the early 1900’s is still a contentious issue.

The usual trinity of prohibition, war & the rise of Scotch are generally trotted out by way of explanation.

However it’s clear from reading this book that opposition by the major players in Irish Distilling at the time to the emerging & revolutionary new technology of the Coffey Still of the 1830’s was a major factor.

Shunning this invention – and lambasting blended whisky as silent – gave the Scotch Whisky industry an opening which they enthusiastically embraced.

It wasn’t until the late 1960’s that Irish Whiskey eventually championed blended whiskey with the launch of a reimagined Jameson coupled with aggressive marketing that things slowly started to turn round.

As late as 1988 Jameson was only selling 466,00 cases globally.

Proper Twelve sold that much alone in the US in it’s first meteoric couple of years.

Irish Whiskey is still dominated by a few players – but there is much more diversity & innovation in the category as a whole.

Cooley kickstarted that diversity by double distilling & reintroducing peated Irish Whiskey to the market. This in turn has led to a positive proliferation of distilleries, brands, styles, customers & consumers flocking to the industry.

It’s fabulous to witness.

Irish Whiskey has never been in better health.

The Whiskeys Of Ireland is a great book to read – preferably with a glass of Irish Whiskey – to grasp what Irish Whiskey was, what it became & where it is now.

Where it’s going is all to play for.

Sláinte

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Kilbeggan Black, Lightly Peated Irish Whiskey, 40%, Blend

For a long time Irish Whiskey was defined more by what it couldn’t be rather than by what it could.

Truths About Whiskey 1878 c/othewhiskeynut

When the whisky market was clearly shifting to blended whisky in the late 1800’s, Messrs J Jameson, W Jameson, J Power & G Roe brought out the ‘Truths About Whisky’ pamphlet which railed against this new confounded ‘silent spirit’ & thereby shunned the opportunities available.

Proper Twelve c/othewhiskeynut

Celebrity endorsed brands are making big waves across the globe right now – yet within the Irish Whiskey community there is almost universal rejection of Conor McGregor’s Proper Twelve Whiskey – despite it leaping to become the 4th most popular Irish Whiskey in the world.

Sods of turf drying in the sun. c/othewhiskeynut

Many also adhere to the myth that Irish Whiskey can’t be peated.

Which is a pity.

Peated whiskey displays a gorgeous smoky flavour which many customers seek out – customers like myself.

Peated Kilbeggan c/othewhiskeynut

So when Kilbeggan Distillery recently added the Kilbeggan Black Lightly Peated Irish Whiskey to their range – I couldn’t wait to try it out.

Label info c/othewhiskeynut

The double distilled blend of malt & grain whiskey from Cooley Distillery in County Louth is presented in a no nonsense screwcap bottle at 40% ABV with added colouring.

It’s clearly positioned at the mass market peated blend category previously dominated by Scorch – and I fully welcome Irish Whiskey’s entry into this arena.

Delicately smoky c/othewhiskeynut

A subtle kiss of smoke rises from the honeyed blend.

Soft & easy palate.

Gently drying smokiness envelops the finish in a warm tingly embrace.

Now that the pubs are slowly opening after a long COVID shutdown – it’ll be great to reach for a lightly peated Irish Whiskey.

Go on Kilbeggan!

Sláinte

Innovation & Change in Whisky

The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) recently relaxed the rules as to what kind of oak barrels can be used to mature or finish Scotch Whisky in.

This caused a few murmurings on the internet with some in favour – and others against – but it had me pondering on innovation & change in the wider whisky world.

Back in the 1830’s there was a major shift in how whisky was distilled. It centred round the patented design of Irishman Aeneas Coffey’s new still – the Coffey Still – that continues to be the mainstay of whisky production today.

The major whisky producing nation of the time – Ireland – refused to have anything to do with this new fangled machinery.

Ireland says No! c/othewhiskeynut

As the internet wasn’t around then  – a book was written to say no to the Coffey Still.

Irish Whiskey was producing the market leading ‘traditional’  great tasting single pot still whisky at the time – why bother to change?

Meanwhile in Scotland, a growing band of mainly non distillery producers were experimenting with this innovative new ‘silent spirit’ to release a product called blended whisky.

Cameronbridge grain distillery. Largest in Europe. Built 1830 & still going strong. c/othewhiskeynut

Slowly but surely this ‘non traditional’ blended whisky caught on.

A combination of affordability, accessibility, easy tasting and clever marketing brought about a revolution in whisky fortunes and turned the underdog into the new master.

Blended whisky is the major player in worldwide whisky production today making up to 80% of sales.

Currently Irish Whiskey is one of the fastest growing segments in the whisky community. Relatively unhindered by tight regulations it is innovating like mad and releasing fabulous tasting whiskey.

Failure to innovate nearly 200 years ago almost brought Irish Whiskey to it’s knees. All the more marvelous to witness the phoenix like rebirth & stunning growth happening now.

The ever pragmatic SWA will have noticed this – and are responding accordingly.

Sláinte

Header photo Athrú Whiskey – athrú meaning change in Irish.

John L Sullivan – The New Silent Whisky?

There has been a lot of hot air expended over a bottle of whiskey recently by the name of John L Sullivan.

John L Sullivan is a sourced whiskey brand. They – like many other sourced brands – get their whiskey from a reputable Irish whiskey distillery. They can then proceed to promote, brand, distribute and blend this whiskey in any way they see fit.

Just as many other companies do.

The particular expression that everyone is getting hot under the collar about is one where they have mixed the Irish whiskey with an American bourbon – also sourced from a reputable distillery in the USA – to create a hybrid type of blend.

Exhibit A c/oJohnLWhiskey.com

This hybrid whiskey has garnished rave reviews in some regions here.

And an outpouring of scorn in others.

A facebook thread in Ireland castigates this whiskey as ‘fake’ & ‘pseudo’. It likens the whiskey to the ‘gutrot’ produced by gangsters during prohibitions times which allegedly brought the Irish whiskey industry to it’s knees.

I just don’t buy that narrative.

I congratulate John L Sullivan for coming up with a new & exciting product that can offer an innovative new taste experience to customers – as well as opening up a new revenue stream for Irish whiskey.

The Irish whiskey industry has a long proud history and culture.

But part of that culture is resisting new means and methods of  making whiskey.

Truths About Whisky c/oTeelings

In 1878 a book was published denouncing the new form of whisky being made by an invention called the Coffey Still.

That new whisky was called ‘silent whisky’ and we now know it as  grain whiskey.

Nowadays that ‘silent whisky’ is the main constituent in blended whiskey – which is the very backbone of the modern global whiskey industry making up to 90% of all sales worldwide.

Sections of the Scottish whisky industry took to this new product in the 1840’s to create market leading brands that are still popular today.

It took at least another 100 years for the Irish whiskey industry to fully engage with the new methods. None of the 4 large Dublin whiskey distilleries who commissioned the book exist today

What if this new hybrid whiskey becomes the next ‘silent whisky’ in terms of future sales?

Is the Irish whiskey industry of today going to inflict the first cut in it’s demise as it did in the past?

And as the old song goes, The First Cut Is The Deepest.

Or is this new style of whiskey going to be embraced?

Being a new style means there will be labelling issues, regulatory red-tape and legal gremlins to sort out.

Hopefully that is in process.

Whiskey is fluid.

It has constantly flowed, changing and evolving throughout it’s long existence.

History is not kind on those who wish to stop that flow.

My thanks to The Whiskey Jug for the header image.