Category: Ireland
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Sulfur Control in Sherry Casks Headed to Midleton Distillery
How the makers of Jameson and Redbreast keep whiskey-ruining sulfur out of their barrels.
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Why Sherry Cask Whiskies are Aged in Spanish Oak But Sherry is Aged in American Oak Casks
Answering a lingering question about the type of oak barrels used in Jerez for sherry exported to Scotland to age scotch whisky.
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The Great Decline in Irish Whiskey
Irish Whiskey was once one of the most popular spirits in the world and declined from thousands of distilleries down to just two by the late 1900s. Sales are once again skyrocketing on the back of Jameson's success, but things were pretty grim for a while. I knew many of the causes of the decline…
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A Visit to the Kilbeggan Distillery in Ireland
A while back I visited the Kilbeggan Distillery in the middle of Ireland. Kilbeggan is in partnership with the Cooley distillery, a much larger one (without a visitors' center) that was once independent but is now owned by Jim Beam. They make not only Kilbeggan Irish whiskey, but also Tyrconnell, Greenore, and Connemara. The distillery…
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Distillery Visit: Bushmills in Ireland
A while back I enjoyed a brief visit to the Bushmills Irish Whiskey distillery, located at the northern tip of Northern Ireland. Bushmills is located super close to the Giants' Causeway, a natural phenomenon that brings tons of tourists through town every day. Pretty much all the tours also stop at Bushmills, whether that's for…
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The Wide Variety of Irish Whiskey Made at Midleton
Jameson, Redbreast, Green Spot, Midleton Very Rare, Powers John Lane, Paddy: These Irish whiskeys and more are all made at one distillery: Midleton in County Cork, Ireland. On a recent trip the distillery for a big celebration (I wrote about that here), I learned more about the differences between various products, and gained some perspective…
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A Doubled Jameson – A Return Visit to the Midleton Distillery in Ireland
A couple of months ago I returned to the Midleton distillery in Cork, Ireland, for a party they were throwing to celebrate the newly-expanded facility. I wrote a one-page story about it for November's issue of Tasting Panel magazine, which you can read here (digital magazine, go to page 149), but I have more to…
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When Pot Distilled Whiskey Is Not Pot Still Whiskey
What is pot still whiskey? The obvious answer is "whiskey that's made in a pot still," but apparently that's not true if you're in Ireland. I was on a trip recently with whiskey writer/expert/class clown/author Dominic Roskrow and was showing off my sexy Irish whiskey distillery diagram, when he called me out on it. He…
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Where Irish Whiskey Really Is Really Made
In my story last week in the San Francisco Chronicle, I didn't get the chance to be as nerdy as I wanted to with the specifics of the three (and a half) distilleries in Ireland and which whiskies they make. So here are more details from an earlier draft of the story. Jameson, which accounts…
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Irish Whiskey History
I recently read the book Irish Whiskey: A 1000 Year Tradition, which is no longer in print but still available. It was originally published in 1980 and most recently reprinted in 1998. A lot has happened since then, but this book has some good historical information. Here are some facts and assertions from the book.…