Uisge Beatha Whisky prices compared
On this page

GuideStyle and flavour

Best Irish whiskey: picks from each style

Irish whiskey picks across blends, single pot still and single malt, from Jameson and Bushmills to Redbreast, Green Spot and Teeling, at live UK prices.

Written by the Uisge Beatha team

Published Updated

This guide links to retailers. Some links may earn us a commission; picks are based on the price data and the criteria below.

For a first Irish whiskey, start with a blend such as Jameson Black Barrel or Bushmills Original; for Ireland’s own style, try single pot still, with Redbreast 12 Year Old as the reference point. The sections below give two to four widely stocked bottles for each style of Irish whiskey, with today’s UK prices. New to it? See best Irish whiskey for beginners.

Irish whiskey is distilled and matured on the island of Ireland, in wooden casks for at least three years. The rules recognise pot still, malt and grain Irish whiskey, and blends of at least two types. Much of what is sold in the UK comes from Midleton in County Cork, which makes Jameson, Redbreast, Powers and the Spot range, and from Bushmills in County Antrim. For one pick from every style, see the best whisky to buy in the UK.

Irish blends

A blended Irish whiskey mixes at least two of the four types.

Jameson Black Barrel: £35.00 at The Whisky Shop. A blended Irish whiskey at 40% ABV from Midleton, a separate release from the standard Jameson Irish Whiskey.

Bushmills Original: £25.00 at The Whisky Shop. The standard Bushmills blend, at 40% ABV.

Slane Irish Whiskey: £24.60 at Tyndrum Whisky. A blend at 40% ABV from Slane in County Meath, founded in 2017.

Single pot still

Pot Still Irish Whiskey is a protected Irish category: a mash of malted and unmalted barley, distilled in copper pot stills. “Single” means it comes from one distillery. See single pot still whiskey.

Redbreast 12 Year Old: £56.00 at Master of Malt. A 12-year-old single pot still at 40% ABV from Midleton, sold under the Redbreast name.

Green Spot: £43.90 at Master of Malt. A single pot still at 40% ABV with no age statement, the entry to Midleton’s Spot range.

Yellow Spot 12 Year Old: £81.25 at Master of Malt. A 12-year-old single pot still at 46% ABV, also from Midleton.

Teeling Single Pot Still: £39.95 at Hard To Find Whisky. A single pot still at 46% ABV from Teeling in Dublin, founded in 2015.

For an older pot still, Redbreast 15 Year Old (£95.95 at Hard To Find Whisky) is bottled at 46% ABV.

Irish single malt

Irish single malt is made from malted barley only, like Scotch single malt.

Bushmills 10 Year Old: £35.95 at Master of Malt. A 10-year-old single malt at 40% ABV.

Bushmills 16 Year Old Three Wood: £69.50 at Master of Malt. A 16-year-old single malt at 40% ABV, named Three Wood for the three cask types it is matured in.

Peated and finished Irish whiskey

The rules for pot still whiskey call for non-peated malted barley, so any smoke in Irish whiskey comes in its malts and blends, or from a cask finish.

Dunville’s Three Crowns Peated Finish: £49.50 at Master of Malt. A limited-edition Irish blend at 43.5% ABV with a peated finish, as its name says.

For a peated Irish single malt, see Connemara in best peated and smoky whisky.

The most widely stocked Irish whiskey today

This list updates with every build: the full-size Irish whiskeys sold by the most UK retailers we check.

For every bottle, see Irish whiskey; for a lower budget, Irish whiskey on a £40 budget.

How we chose

Member ratings are not shown on this site yet, so these picks are not ranked by score, and we have not ranked them against each other. We grouped Irish whiskeys by the four legal types, then chose bottles in each that were full size (50cl to 1 litre) and sold by at least three UK retailers we check on 11 November 2026, favouring core-range bottles over limited editions; the picks span the under £30, £30 to £50 and £50 to £100 bands. Two picks, Redbreast 12 Year Old and Green Spot, are also on the beginners’ guide. Distilleries, founding years and owners come from our distillery database, the rules from HMRC’s published checks, and ages and strengths from the bottle details; the lines are label facts, not tasting notes. Prices change daily, and the retailer’s checkout price is the one that counts. Read how we compare prices.

Questions

What is single pot still Irish whiskey?
Irish whiskey distilled in copper pot stills from a mash of at least 30% malted barley and at least 30% unmalted barley, with up to 5% of other unmalted cereals such as oats or rye (HMRC verification checks for Irish whiskey, June 2025). Redbreast 12 Year Old and Green Spot, both 40% ABV, are single pot still whiskeys from Midleton in County Cork.
Is all Irish whiskey triple distilled?
No. The Irish whiskey rules require it to be distilled at least twice and allow double or triple distillation, for pot still whiskey as for the other types (HMRC verification checks, June 2025). Triple distillation is common in Ireland, but it is a producer’s choice, not a legal requirement.
What is the difference between Jameson and Bushmills?
They come from opposite ends of the island and different owners. Jameson is made at Midleton in County Cork, founded in 1975 and owned by Irish Distillers; Bushmills is made at the Bushmills distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, owned by Jose Cuervo. Both standard bottlings, Jameson Irish Whiskey and Bushmills Original, are blends at 40% ABV.
What is a blended Irish whiskey?
A blend of at least two of the four types of Irish whiskey: pot still, malt, grain and plain Irish whiskey. Only water and plain caramel colouring (E150a) may be added in blending, and it must be bottled at 40% ABV or more (HMRC verification checks, June 2025). Jameson Black Barrel and Slane Irish Whiskey, both 40% ABV, are examples.