Any Irish whiskey Drinkers Out There

[RonnieMac13]

I love most Scotch whisky, but I would like to try some Irish whiskey. Any recommendations which ones to try?

Thanks Ronnie Mac

[Zardoz]

Sure, While not as easy to find as Scotch, there are a lot of Irish Whiskey brands out there, they did invent it after all! Here's some that I've tried and liked; (your milage may vary)

Blends:
Jameson Irish Whiskey, the most popular, and one of my faves
Jameson 1780, 12yr
Tullamore Dew,
Erin's Isle
Bushmills 1608
Feckin Irish Whiskey, my favorite cheap Whiskey.

Single Malts:
I haven't tried that many, but Bushmills Sixteen Year Old was good .

Pure Pot Still:
Jameson 15 Year Old Pot Still, Great if you can find it!
Unique to Ireland, pure pot still whiskey is a type of whiskey traditionally made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley distilled in a pot still.

[B R Gordon]

Before our last trip to the UK, I felt compelled to do a little research on the subject of Irish whiskey. The one that became by favorite is Redbreast. It's one that is definitely would a try.

[Zardoz]

Before our last trip to the UK, I felt compelled to do a little research on the subject of Irish whiskey. The one that became by favorite is Redbreast. It's one that is definitely would a try.

Redbreast is a pure pot still whiskey as well, I'll have to look that one up!

[RonnieMac13]

How do they compare to scotch? Do they taste like scotch that has no smoke?

[piperdown]

I always have a bottle of Tullamore Dew around...for the price, its a great whisky.

I would like to try different kinds and types( didn't know there were single malts or pure pots)

[ForresterModern]

Those stated above are nice whiskeys, albeit mostly blends, and often all you can find here in the states for Irish whiskeys. Redbreast is very good. But for single malts try Clontarf, Knappogue, Michael Collins, and Old Middleton.

Most irish whiskey is somewhat smoother and lighter in flavor and color than scotch, as they do not typically use peat in the malting process in Ireland(rather typically oak charcoal) so not much if any peaty flavor, but still the smoky flavors come through.

There are far fewer distilleries in Ireland than Scotland, where nearly every little town used to have its own distillery, and many of those remain, albeit bought up generally by the bigger international conglomerates. They still bottle under their own names, usually, while also making batch whisky for use in the many scotch blends out there.

In Ireland there is basically all the varieties of Jamesons and Bushmills made by Jamesons, along with a few other brands made by them, then the dozen or so other smaller whiskey makers on the big island. The small town distillery concept got all bought up by the big guys a long time ago making Jamesons a near monopoly in the international Irish Whiskey market.

j

[Ayin McFye]

If you'd like to try an single malt whiskey, I'd suggest trying Tyrconnell single malt. Good stuff and not that expensive, about the same as a bottle of bushmills.

[Cynthia]

I remember trying Redbreast before and liking it. Good thread -- I've been needing to get some Irish whiskeys, but wasn't sure what I wanted to try.

[The Thing]

Almost every town and region in Ireland had a distillery at some stage there is a fantastic distillery located in the Cooley Mountains of County Louth called "The Cooley Distillery" they have brought back many defunct brands of Irish Whiskey. www.cooleywhiskey.com
For my money it has to be Blackbush as it's not overly expensive and tastes beautiful.
I can see the Irish Whiskey industry becoming important again at with the rise of new markets and a good brand image.