Uisge Beatha Whisky prices compared
On this page

GuideBeginners

Best Irish whiskey for beginners

Where to start with Irish whiskey: light blends like Jameson and Tullamore DEW, single pot still from Redbreast and Green Spot, and a peated malt.

Written by

Published Updated

Start with a triple-distilled Irish blend such as Jameson or Tullamore DEW: light, unpeated and built to be drunk neat or mixed. When you want more body, move to single pot still whiskey, a style protected as Irish, with Green Spot or Redbreast 12 Year Old. Irish whiskey is not one flavour, though: there are peated Irish malts too.

The four kinds of Irish whiskey

Irish whiskey must be distilled and matured on the island of Ireland, in the Republic or Northern Ireland, for at least three years in wooden casks. The Irish Whiskey Technical File recognises four styles:

A table of the four styles of Irish whiskey recognised by the Irish Whiskey Technical File. All must be distilled and matured on the island of Ireland for at least three years in wooden casks. Pot still, or single pot still: malted and unmalted barley, at least 30% of each, with up to 5% other cereals, in pot stills at one distillery; picks in this guide are Green Spot, Redbreast 12 Year Old and Powers John's Lane 12 Year Old. Malt: malted barley only, like Scotch single malt; the pick is Connemara Peated Single Malt. Grain: usually maize or wheat with some malted barley, in column stills, and the base of most blends; this guide has no grain pick. Blended: any mix of two or more of the above, and most Irish whiskey sold; picks are Jameson Irish Whiskey, Tullamore DEW and Bushmills Black Bush.

Triple distillation is common in Ireland but not required. Jameson and Bushmills triple distil; Connemara, made at Cooley, is double distilled. Whiskipedia explains triple distillation.

Blends to start with

Jameson Irish Whiskey (£23.40 at Master of Malt). A blend of pot still and grain whiskey, triple distilled at Midleton in County Cork, 40% ABV.

Tullamore DEW (£24.09 at Master of Malt). A triple-distilled blend of pot still, malt and grain whiskey, 40% ABV, named after the town of Tullamore in County Offaly.

Bushmills Black Bush (£29.95 at Hard To Find Whisky). A blend from Bushmills in County Antrim, 40% ABV, with a high share of triple-distilled malt whiskey, matured in oloroso sherry and bourbon casks. Fuller than the two above.

Single pot still, the next step

Single pot still whiskey uses unmalted barley alongside malt, a practice usually traced to the late 18th and 19th centuries, when Irish distillers used raw grain to pay less tax on malt. The result is oilier and spicier than a blend.

Green Spot (£45.95 at Master of Malt). Single pot still whiskey from Midleton, 40% ABV, matured in bourbon and sherry casks. It is bottled for Mitchell & Son, the Dublin wine merchant.

Redbreast 12 Year Old (£51.00 at Master of Malt). Single pot still whiskey from Midleton, 40% ABV, matured in bourbon and oloroso sherry casks.

Powers John’s Lane 12 Year Old (£64.00 at Master of Malt). Single pot still whiskey, 46% ABV, named after the Powers distillery that stood on John’s Lane in Dublin.

If you want smoke

Connemara Peated Single Malt (£33.45 at Master of Malt). A double-distilled peated single malt from Cooley distillery in County Louth, 40% ABV. It shows that “unpeated” is a habit of Irish whiskey, not a rule.

Long serves

More Irish whiskey to compare

Sources and review

Where to go next

Questions

Is Irish whiskey smoother than Scotch?
Often it is lighter. Many Irish whiskeys, including Jameson and Bushmills, are triple distilled, which gives a lighter spirit, and most are unpeated. But Connemara is a peated Irish single malt, and single pot still whiskeys such as Redbreast are full-bodied and spicy.
What is single pot still whiskey?
An Irish whiskey made at one distillery in pot stills from a mash of at least 30% malted barley, at least 30% unmalted barley, and up to 5% of other cereals such as oats or rye. The unmalted barley gives a creamy, spicy texture. Redbreast 12 Year Old and Green Spot are well-known examples.
What Irish whiskey works in a hot toddy?
A 40% ABV Irish blend such as Jameson, Tullamore DEW or Kilbeggan Traditional. Mix 25 ml to 50 ml of whiskey with one or two teaspoons of honey and a squeeze of lemon, top up with hot water, and add a clove if you like.
Should I start with a blend or single pot still whiskey?
A blend is the gentler start. Irish blends such as Jameson mix pot still and grain whiskey and are light; single pot still whiskey such as Redbreast 12 Year Old is fuller, oilier and spicier. Try the blend first and move up if you want more weight.

About the author

John Fegan

· Editor

Hailing from the land of haggis and deep-fried Mars bars, John was always going to find his way to whisky. He has run Uisge Beatha since 2015 and Whiskipedia.com since 2020.