At the IWSC Awards last month, it was an Irish Whiskey that won the Worldwide Whiskey Producer trophy. Redbreast is the largest selling single pot still Irish whiskey in the world and has been a part of Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers portfolio since 1991 when, after a 10-year hiatus, the brand was relaunched.
Under the care of Irish Distillers and its strategy to revive the Irish Whiskey industry, the Redbreast brand was supported financially, and a new program of wood was invested in, including sherry, bourbon casks and ruby Port casks.
At the IWSC competition, Redbreast 27-year-old and 21 year old expressions were both awarded 98 points.
IWSC said: “From amongst the range entered into this year’s competition, it was Redbreast’s 27-year-old that really caught the judges’ eye. This is the oldest bottling in the range. It’s made from exclusively pot-still distilled spirit which is matured in bourbon, sherry and ruby Port casks.”
Judges described it as “a rich, beautiful texture within its luxurious palate…A subtle fieriness punctuates the decadently long finish. Luxurious, and exceptionally made.”
Distilled at the Midleton Distillery in Cork, Redbreast was the main driver for Irish Distillers’ achieving 16 per cent growth in its ‘prestige portfolio’ this past financial year with sales of the Redbreast brand exceeding the 100K case mark for the first time.
Irish Distillers also distributes Jamesons- the fastest growing Irish whiskey brand in the world and one of the top 5 whisky brands in the world. Jamesons has just recorded sales of 10.4 million cases and volume growth of 22 per cent for the past fiscal year. In the US market, sales of Jameson represent more than 70 per cent of total Irish whiskey sales.
Jameson’s Black Barrel was on offer at the Irish Whiskey Association’s (IWA) tasting at Sydney’s Hickson House Distillery in late September. The Black Barrel is affordable, super approachable with sweet toffee and caramel notes. While it hails from Cork, most of the other whiskies on offer at the tasting were from Dublin: Dubliner, Tullamore Dew, Teeling Whisky and from Carlow: Walsh Whiskey’s Writers’ Tears – a fragrant, soft, floral and light expression and a favourite of our tasting host from the evening, Gemma Ford from Old Tom’s.
There was also Slane from Meath, McConnell from Belfast, Northern Ireland and Sliabh Liag Distillers’ Legendary Silkie Irish Whiskey and its sister, The Legendary Dark Silkie Irish Whiskey – smoky expressions from Donegal.
Today, there are 43 distilleries in operation around Ireland and the IWA and the Consulate General of Sydney are inviting people to get to Ireland and experience them, reminding visitors that Irish whiskey is not a singular proposition and that as the Irish Whiskey revival continues, so does the regionality of contemporary Irish whisky. Silkie’s smoky expressions are a case in point.
If visiting Ireland, the IrishWhiskey360°trail is your guide to finding the distilleries and exploring the many variations of Irish whiskey. Irish production has divided across four regions:
- Dublin
- The Wild Atlantic Way: 2500km of coastline and home to Europe’s most westerly distilleries
- Ireland’s Ancient East: From the plains of Meath to the coastline of Cork
- Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands
- Northern Ireland
The new IrishWhiskey360° Passport is available from any of the Irish distilleries and if you ever needed an excuse to travel to Ireland, surely a deep dive research trip into Irish Whiskey is a legitimate one?
