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If you’re in the market for the best Irish whiskey you can find, there are some factors to consider. The best known expressions are inexpensive blends, and while these are fine there are much more interesting options to explore. Irish whiskey has a range of styles, including single malt, single pot still and single grain, along with the aforementioned blends that can include any of these styles. The good news is that there are so many excellent choices of distilleries and brands from the Emerald Isle out there for you, so we’ve put together this list to help steer you towards some of the best bottles to buy in different categories. Happy hunting, and cheers.
Our Best Irish Whiskey Picks
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Best Overall Irish Whiskey: Redbreast 15
Image Credit: Redbreast Irish whiskey has exploded in popularity over the past few years, with blends from well-known brands like Jameson leading the way. But for a superior drinking experience try Redbreast, a single pot still Irish whiskey made at Midleton (the same distillery that produces Jameson). “Single pot still” means the whiskey is made at one distillery in a pot still from a mash bill of malted and unmalted barley (a small percentage of other grains is allowed). This 15-year-old whiskey is the pinnacle expression from Redbreast, aged in bourbon and sherry casks that infuse it with rich notes of dried fruit, vanilla, spice and a bit of fruitcake on the palate.
Buy Now on ReserveBar: $130
Buy Now on Total Wine & More: $133
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Best Ultra-Aged Irish Whiskey: Bushmills Rare Cask 04
This whiskey is the last and oldest of Bushmills’ Rare Cask series. It’s a 31-year-old single malt that spent 14 years maturing in ex-bourbon and sherry casks before being moved into new toasted American oak barrels. It’s an elegant and refined Irish single malt, with a palate bursting with fresh red berries, orange, apple, vanilla, black pepper, and chocolate.
Buy Now on Total Wine & More: $2,950
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Best Single Malt Irish Whiskey: Glendalough 7-Year-Old Single Malt Mizunara Finish
Glendalough claims to be the first Irish whiskey brand to use mizunara oak, and specifically wants to highlight how it affects the Irish single-malt category. This whiskey comes after 13- and 17-year-old mizunara-finished releases and holds its own with these prior bottles. After seven years in bourbon barrels and just a few months in mizunara oak, the liquid is transformed with notes of chocolate, cedar, incense and fruit on the palate.
Buy Now on Caskers: $93
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Best Single Grain Irish Whiskey: Teeling Single Grain
Image Credit: Teeling Irish single grain refers to the fact that the whiskey is made at a single distillery from a mashbill that is made up of a mixture of grains (most commonly in a column still as opposed to a pot still). Single grain is usually made with a large percentage of corn, and in this case the mashbill is 95 percent corn and five percent malted barley. Teeling Single Grain was matured in French oak barrels previously used to mature Cabernet Sauvignon, giving the whiskey big notes of fruit and spice with a nice tannic finish.
Buy Now on ReserveBar: $35
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Best Cask-Finished Irish Whiskey: Boann Single Pot Still Marsala Cask Finish
Image Credit: Boann This whiskey is part of a trio of new releases from Ireland’s Boann Distillery, which also produces The Whistler Irish Whiskey. The Marsala Cask Finish is the best of this collection, a single pot still whiskey aged for three years in ex-bourbon barrels from Brown-Forman distilleries, and then finished in French oak and marsala casks from Sicily. The resulting whiskey has notes of chocolate, spice, cherry, and vanilla on the palate.
Buy Now on the Whisky Shop: $75
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Best Blended Irish Whiskey: Tullamore D.E.W. 12 Year Old Special Reserve
Image Credit: Tullamore D.E.W. Tullamore D.E.W. makes one of Irish whiskey’s workhorse blends, alongside other mainstays like Jameson, Bushmills, and Slane. But this 12-year-old version is an elevated version of the core expression, a blend of pot still, malt, and grain whiskeys aged for a minimum of 12 years in a bourbon and sherry casks. This is a very easy drinking whiskey with notes of honey, ripe apple, and dried fruit on the palate.
Buy Now on ReserveBar: $65
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Best Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey: Drumshanbo
Image Credit: Drumshanbo This single pot still whiskey is made at a small distillery called the Shed from a mashbill of malted and unmalted barley and a small amount of oats. It’s aged in bourbon and sherry casks, there is no color added, and it’s bottled at 43 percent ABV. The most important detail—it’s a delicious example of the category, with notes of spice, fruit, oak, and caramel intermingling in every sip.
Buy Now on Caskers: $67
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Best Cask Strength Irish Whiskey: Natterjack Cask Strength
Image Credit: Natterjack These days it seems like everyone is looking for cask-strength whiskey–and for good reason, because it really allows you to experience flavors that you would not get from your average 80-proof bottle. One great example of cask-strength Irish whiskey comes from Natterjack, a blend of 20 percent malted barley and 80 percent corn that was aged in bourbon barrels and finished in virgin American oak. This whiskey is a strong 63 percent ABV, but that doesn’t hide notes of citrus, honey, spice, and butterscotch on the palate. Just add a little water if you’d like to proof it down to your taste.
Buy Now on ReserveBar $103
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Best Peated Irish Whiskey: The Muff
Image Credit: The Muff While peated whiskey is relatively uncommon in the world of Irish whiskey, it is certainly not unheard of. This new release from the Muff is a blend of malt and grain whiskeys aged in virgin oak, bourbon, and sherry casks that incorporates a peated malt whiskey into the mix to provide a subtle smokiness to the palate. Give this a try to see how it compares to your favorite Islay scotch whisky.
Buy Now on Master of Malt: $53
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Best Irish Whiskey Under $100: Green Spot
Image Credit: Green Spot Green Spot is another whiskey produced at Midleton, but sold under the auspices of the Mitchell family. Mitchell & Son filled wine casks with whiskey and aged them in their own warehouses starting in the late 1800s, but now everything is done onsite at Midleton. Green Spot is an excellent option for less than $100, a blend of pot still whiskey aged between seven and ten years in bourbon and sherry casks.
Buy Now on Caskers: $62
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Best Under $50: Jameson Black Barrel
Regular Jameson is all well and good, but the superior version of this blended Irish whiskey is Black Barrel—and it’s still a bargain at less than $50 per bottle. There is a higher ratio of pot still whiskey to grain whiskey in this expression, and it’s aged in barrels that have been double-charred to infuse it with extra flavor. Look for big notes of fruit, vanilla, and spice on the palate.
Buy Now on ReserveBar: $33
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Best Splurge: Midleton 40th Anniversary Ruby Edition
Image Credit: Midleton Very Rare This expensive whiskey was released to celebrate 40 years of Midleton Very Rare, the excellent blend that is produced at the eponymous distillery in Cork. It’s a blend of three barrels that were put into a port cask to finish for nine months, resulting in notes of dusty oak, leather, chocolate, tobacco, dark fruit, cedar, and cherry on the palate. This is an Irish whiskey that is worth the splurge if you can afford it.
Buy Now on The Whisky Exchange: $19,074
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FAQs
Image Credit: Charl Folscher/Unsplash What is Irish whiskey?
There are some key requirements for a whiskey to be called Irish whiskey. It must be made on the island, either in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. It must include malted barley in the mashbill, be aged at least three years in casks, and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. The main styles of Irish whiskey are blended, single malt (made from 100 percent malted barley), pot still (made from malted and unmalted barley), and grain whiskey (made from malted barley and another cereal grain).
How should you drink Irish whiskey?
The short answer is however you like it. There is no wrong or right way to enjoy Irish whiskey. If you prefer cocktails, there are plenty of options and certain whiskeys go well with other ingredients. But consider trying Irish whiskey on its own as well to explore the flavors. A Glencairn glass is a good way to nose and taste it neat, and some people like to add a splash of water. A tumbler works just fine if you’d like to add some ice. Just remember to drink it in the way that you like best.
How did we choose the whiskeys on this list?
We considered different factors when picking these whiskies, with the emphasis being on taste. Because after all, despite a bottle’s availability or the hype surrounding it, that is the most important thing. Tasting Irish whiskey involves a combination of sensations, including the nose, palate, mouthfeel, and finish. And each category has different characteristics, so part of the process is to consider how an individual pick fits into its style overall. The bottles on this list represent the best Irish whiskeys based on all of these options, providing a good overview of selections you can easily purchase in person or online that are good examples of each individual category.
Why should you trust us?
Jonah Flicker has been writing about whiskey and other spirits for nearly a decade, visiting distilleries around the world to meet the people behind the bottles and find out more about their stories. He is a judge for the John Barleycorn Awards and the New York World Wine and Spirits Competition, and his work has appeared in many national other lifestyle outlets besides Robb Report, including Esquire, Food & Wine, Men’s Journal, CNN, USA Today and more.
