Spirits

Whiskey (Irish)

Irish whiskey is whiskey distilled on the island of Ireland and aged there in wood for three years or longer, and bottled at no less than 40% ABV. The Irish Whiskey technical file names four types, pot still, malt, grain and blended, and the soft blends are what our nine Irish recipes mostly use. The Irish Whiskey technical file calls triple distillation the traditional practice, not a rule, and specifies unpeated malt only for pot still whiskey.

Quick Facts

ABV40% ABVThe Irish Whiskey technical file sets a 40% minimum; our recipes count it at 40%.

Legal categorySpiritProtected name: Irish Whiskey Act 1980 and its GI specification

OriginIreland and Northern Ireland

Flavour Strengthmedium

Our keeping timeIndefinitely unopened. Once opened, years if kept sealed and upright out of the light, though the aroma fades slowly.

Storage

Sealed and upright, out of direct light.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens. Distilled from grain, but distillation removes gluten, so it is not labelled as a gluten allergen.

The ingredient

About Whiskey (Irish)

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

SmoothHoneyedOrchard Fruit

Tasting Notes

Soft grain sweetness, orchard fruit and gentle vanilla with no smoke anywhere: the friendliest voice in the whiskey family.

An island’s whiskey, under one set of rules

The Irish Whiskey Act 1980 sets the core: spirit from a cereal mash, converted by malt and fermented with yeast, distilled in the Republic or Northern Ireland and kept in wooden casks there for a minimum of three years. The protected-name specification adds the detail: no cask over 700 litres, a 40% minimum, water and caramel as the only extras, and no whiskey shipped abroad in cask. It names four types, and single on a label means one distillery. It also allows malt and grain whiskey to be double or triple distilled, so the triple distillation people associate with Irish whiskey is a house choice, not a rule.

Four types, and what each brings to a drink

The four types of Irish whiskey, as the Irish Whiskey technical file defines them; the recipe column is ours.

Pot Still

Mash: At least 30% malted and 30% unmalted barley, up to 5% other cereals; unpeated malt
Still: Copper pot still
In our recipes: Tipperary, The Emerald

Malt

Mash: Malted barley only, peated or unpeated
Still: Pot still
In our recipes: Not named on its own

Grain

Mash: Unmalted cereals with no more than 30% malted barley
Still: Column still
In our recipes: Not named on its own

Blended

Mash: Two or more of the other three
Still: Both
In our recipes: Irish Coffee, Dublin Mule, Irish Maid, Pickleback

Type	Mash	Still	In our recipes
Pot Still	At least 30% malted and 30% unmalted barley, up to 5% other cereals; unpeated malt	Copper pot still	Tipperary, The Emerald
Malt	Malted barley only, peated or unpeated	Pot still	Not named on its own
Grain	Unmalted cereals with no more than 30% malted barley	Column still	Not named on its own
Blended	Two or more of the other three	Both	Irish Coffee, Dublin Mule, Irish Maid, Pickleback

Soft blends for coffee and ginger, pot still for stirring

A light blend still shows through the coffee and cream of an Irish Coffee and the ginger beer of a Dublin Mule, which is why it, rather than vodka, is the base. The Pickleback is a shot of it chased with cold pickle brine. Pot still whiskey has the weight to meet Chartreuse and vermouth as an equal in the Tipperary, and in Cameron’s Kick it shares the base with an unpeated Scotch.

Using it

Using Whiskey (Irish)

Usage

50ml of a smooth blend is the usual measure: Irish Coffee, Dublin Mule, Irish Maid. The Pickleback takes 30ml as a shot, and the Tipperary and Emerald ask for single pot still for its weight. A batched punch uses 500ml.

Pro Tip

Whip the cream for an Irish Coffee only until it just pours. Float it over the back of a warm spoon, and the whiskey and coffee are drunk through it; stiff cream sits on top and never meets the drink.

Top Tips

For an Irish Coffee or a mule, a smooth blend at 40% is enough; coffee, cream and ginger hide the detail of anything dearer.
Pick single pot still for stirred drinks with vermouth or Chartreuse; its spice and weight stand up to them.
Single on an Irish label means one distillery, and only for pot still, malt or grain whiskey.
Do not assume every Irish whiskey is unpeated; the Irish Whiskey technical file specifies unpeated malt only for the pot still type.

Possible Substitutions

Whisky (Scotch): A soft, unpeated blend is the nearest swap
Whiskey (Bourbon): Sweeter and oakier; fine in a mule or a coffee

Production Method

Grain is mashed, its starch turned to sugar by malt, fermented and run through the still, coming off under 94.8% ABV, in the Republic or Northern Ireland. Under the Irish Whiskey technical file it ages on the island in casks holding at most 700 litres, for three years at least. Pot still whiskey needs 30% or more each of malted and unmalted barley and copper pot stills. Water and caramel are the only extras.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What makes a whiskey Irish?

Its place of making. The spirit has to come off a still in the Republic or Northern Ireland and then spend three years or more in wooden casks on the island. The Irish Whiskey Act 1980 and the protected-name specification set those rules, with a 40% ABV floor and caramel and water as the only additions.

Is Irish whiskey triple distilled?

Often, but the Irish Whiskey technical file does not require it: it calls triple distillation the traditional practice, says it produces a lighter, smoother spirit, and lets malt and grain whiskey be double or triple distilled, as each distillery chooses.

What is single pot still Irish whiskey?

Whiskey from one distillery whose mash holds 30% or more of malted barley and 30% or more of raw, unmalted barley, run through copper pot stills. The unmalted barley gives a spicy, creamy weight. The Oxford Companion links the larger Irish distilleries’ use of raw grain to a duty on malt imposed in 1785.

Which Irish whiskey is used in an Irish Coffee?

A soft blend at 40% ABV does the job: we use 50ml with 120ml of hot filter coffee, a spoonful of demerara and lightly whipped cream. Sugar, roast and cream hide the subtleties of an aged bottle, so the money is better spent on good coffee.

What is the difference between Irish whiskey and Scotch?

Where it is made, first: Scotland for one, the island of Ireland for the other. The time in cask, three years, the 700-litre cask limit and the 40% floor are the same. Irish pot still whiskey adds unmalted barley, a type Scotch has no equivalent for, and Scotch insists on oak where Irish rules say wood.

Is Irish whiskey ever peated?

Some may be. The Irish Whiskey technical file specifies unpeated malted barley for the pot still type, while the malted barley for malt whiskey may be peated or unpeated. Read the label rather than assume, since a peated bottle changes a citrus or coffee drink.

Sources.

Checked between 16 October and 20 October 2026.

Irish Statute Book, “Irish Whiskey Act, 1980”.
GOV.UK, “Irish Whiskey technical file”.
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails (David Wondrich), “whisky, Irish” (secondary source: a 1785 law favouring large stills and a duty on malt that year; the larger distilleries switched to a wash of some malt and raw barley, rye and oats).

From the Guides

Irish whiskey with ginger beer How to taste whiskey What is whisky? The rules behind each style

Make something

Made with Whiskey (Irish)

Featured In These Cocktails

Pickleback Dublin Mule Tipperary Irish Coffee Irish Maid Cameron’s Kick

Show all 9 cocktails

Green Batched Punch Shamrock Sour The Emerald

Often Used With

Updated 20 October 2026

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