Spirits · Red Meat & Cigar Club editorial

Irish Whiskey & the Single Pot Still

Smooth, but not simple: the Irish way, with Redbreast 12.

Irish whiskey was once the most popular whiskey in the world. Prohibition in America, trade wars, and consolidation knocked it down to a handful of distilleries by the 1970s. It has since come roaring back, with dozens of distilleries open across the island.

The rules

Irish whiskey must be distilled and aged for at least three years in wooden casks on the island of Ireland, in the Republic or Northern Ireland. It's often (not always) triple-distilled, which helps give it a reputation for smoothness, and it's rarely peated.

Four styles

• Single malt: all malted barley, from one distillery.
• Grain: lighter, column-distilled.
• Blended: a mix, like the familiar Jameson.
• Single pot still: the uniquely Irish style. It's a mash of malted and unmalted barley distilled in copper pot stills. The tradition grew in part from historic taxes on malt, and the unmalted barley gives a creamy, oily texture and a spicy bite.

Redbreast 12 Year Old

Redbreast 12 is made at the Midleton Distillery in County Cork and is a single pot still Irish whiskey aged in a combination of bourbon barrels and sherry casks. It's bottled at 40% ABV and has become the benchmark for the style.

In the glass: red apple, dried fruit, toasted nuts and that pot-still spice, with a creamy, round finish. It's a great "next step" for bourbon drinkers.

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