Irish Flashcards
What is the ideal ratio of Malted to Unmalted barley in a Single Pot whiskey?
60% UnMalted
40% Malted
What are the ‘Other grains’ in Irish Single Pot Whiskey?
Oats, wheat, and rye can currently make up to 5% of mash bill.
Although there is a move to raise that to 30% as it was in 19th century.
What were the main reasons for the collapse of the global market for Irish Whiskey in the first half of the 20th century?
1) The struggle for Irish Independence caused an Anglo-Irish Trade War in the 1930s.
2) American Prohibition took away Ireland’s largest non-Commonwealth export market.
3) Rise of blended whisky in Scotland.
4) World War I.
5) The Great Depression.
When Cooley opened in 1989, how many distilleries were there in Ireland?
4
Cooley - newly opened and independently owned; Midleton - Owned by Irish Distillers; Bushmills (NI) owned by Irish Distillers; Kilbeggan - Owned by Irish Distillers.
What happened during the ‘Truths About Whisky’ debate in 1878?
Dublin’s four main distilleries argued that real whisky was ‘distilled either from Malt or a mixture of malt and unmalted corn, from barley or oats, or malt, or from a mixture of them in a pot still.’
By the 1970s, what were the only single pot still whiskies left in Ireland?
Red Breast and Green Spot
What did the 2014 technical file define as single pot still whiskey?
Minimum of 30% malt, minimum of 30% unmalted barley, MAXIMUM of 5% other grains.
What was proposed in 2021 in relation to the official definition of single pot still whiskey?
Proposed to allow up to 30% of other grains - the most common recipe used in the 19th and early 20th century.
When was Bushmills said to have been founded? Is that really true? Why?
1608, but that was actually the date that James I issued patents for distillation. Bushmills legally became a distillery in 1784.
When were the distillation patents in Ireland removed in favor of distillation coming under excise control?
1666
What two Irish distilleries were established in 1757?
Kilbeggan (Matthias McManus) and Dublin (Peter Roe)
What were the early signs of the ‘new beginning’ in Irish whiskey?
In 1989 John Teeling bought Cooley; In 2010 Dingle Distillery opened.
What is the common reason stated for the rise of Single Pot Still whiskies in Ireland?
The Malt Tax of 1785 taxed the amount of Malt, not barley, leading to a way to pay less tax using unmalted barley.
Who was the excise officer tasked with getting control of illicit distillation in the north of Ireland in the late 18th century?
Aeneas Coffee, he also approved the founding of Bushmills legal distillery in 1784.
What happened to Comber, Connswater and Royal Irish distilleries in 1902?
They merged to form United Distillers Ltd, then sold to Scottish DCL, which shut them all down in 1922.
What historic Northern Irish distillery merged with Bushmills in 1953?
Coleraine - who also made Single Malt Whiskey
Who were the ‘Big Four’ in Dublin Whisky Distilling circa 1900?
John Jameson, William Jameson, George Roe, John Power
When did the Irish War of Independence begin?
-1916 Easter Rising
-1919-1921 War of Independence
-1922-1923 Bloody Civil War
How many Irish Distilleries did DCL buy and close in the 1920’s?
-A total of 7 including all of Ireland’s grain distilleries.
Who tried to make a deal with both Jameson’s and Power’s with a speculative ‘post prohibition’ order for whiskey?
-Joe Kennedy, they both declined.
What were the last distilleries in Ireland that formed United Distillers of Ireland (UDI) in March of 1966?
John Jameson, John Power, Cork Distilleries
Who convinced Jamesons, Powers, and Cork to close their individual distilleries and build one modern one?
-Kevin McCourt, the director general of UDI
When was the modern Midleton built?
-1975
Who actually bought Bushmills in 1972?
-Seagrams
