The Origin of Scotch and Irish Whiskey
The origin of Irish whisky is a little cloudy, no one is actually sure when it was 1st created, it is surmised that brewing started sometime in the 12th century.
Irish whisky is barley, malt whisky made in Ireland. Irish whisky resembles Scotch whiskey in that its ingredients and formulation is slightly different.
Note that Irish whisky is written differently. Peat is rarely used when malting Irish whisky, resulting in a whisky with a smoother, sweeter flavor. In most Irish whiskeys, the smoky, earthy flavors of Scotch are absent.
Common wisdom says that the Irish invented whisky, but it is speculated that the Scots perfected it. Both claims are open to doubt, if “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” then “perfection is on the tongue of the glassholder.” In other words, it is a question of taste. The word whisky comes from the Irish Gaelic term “uisce beatha” which translates as “water of life” (“uisce” is pronounced ish-ka).
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There are fewer distilleries of Irish whisky than there are distilleries of Scotch. Economic difficulties in the last couple of centuries have led to a great number of mergers and closures.
Currently, only three distilleries are operating in the whole of Ireland (although each produces some different whiskies.) Irish whisky, like Scotch, comes in several forms. Like Scotch whisky, there is single malt, (100% malted barley and grain whisky.
Grain whisky is much lighter and more neutral in flavor than single malt and is seldom bottled as a single grain. Instead, it is blended with single malt to produce a lighter whisky.
Unique to Irish whisky distilling and something that scotch has never followed, pure pot still whisky (100% barley, both malted and unmalted, distilled in a pot still). The “green” unmalted barley gives the pure pot still whisky a spicy, unique Irish quality. Like single malt, pure pot still is sold as such or blended with grain whisky.
Irish whisky is believed to be one of the earliest distilled beverages in Europe, dating to the mid-12th century). The Old Bushmills Distillery also claims to be the oldest licensed distillery in the world, having gained a license in 1608.
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Chef Murph
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