5 Great Irish whiskies for toasting St. Patrick’s Day

There’s no better way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day than with a toast of true Irish whiskey. With its signature smoothness, sweetness, and easy drinkability, you can see why the Irish style is the fastest growing in the whiskey market.

Irish whiskey is distilled three times, and the barley is usually kiln dried rather than being dried over burning peat for a smoother finish. (Most Scotch is distilled twice and the malt is often peated, giving it a smoky flavor with earthy overtones.) Traditionally, Irish whiskey is made from cereal grains and aged in wooden casks at least three years.

For your March 17 celebration, try one of these festive Irish whiskey options:

Green Spot

A favorite of whiskey critics, Green Spot has an aroma and taste of orchard apples and toasted wood with a sprinkling of clove. It is full bodied while balancing the fruity sweetness and toasted oak spiciness into a nicely malted finish with accents of vanilla.

Redbreast 12

Redbreast is a very special single pot still whiskey that is matured for a minimum of twelve years in sherry casks and bourbon barrels. It is robust, assertive, and highly praised among whiskey connoisseurs. Its nose is nutty and rich with notes of dried peels and spice. Its palate exhibits essences of spice and freshly cut citrus fruit with hints of marzipan and sherry. Redbreast has a delightfully long finish full of creamy custard and spice.

Teeling Small Batch

This small batch bottling consists of hand selected casks which are given further maturation in ex-rum barrels imparting extra character and smooth flavor unique to Irish whiskey. Bottling at 46% ABV with no chill filtration.

Slane Triple Casked

Slane Irish Whiskey is draws from a trio of casks–virgin oak casks, seasoned casks (which previously contained Tennessee whiskey and bourbon) and Oloroso Sherry casks. It has a nose of sweet oak and toasted barley with flavors of Victoria Sponge Cake and butterscotch with a toasted, lingering finish.

Jameson Caskmates

Emerging from a conversation between their head distiller and the head brewer of Cork’s Franciscan Well Brewery, Jameson Caskmates is finished in either IPA or stout-seasoned whiskey casks. While their triple-distilled smoothness is very much intact, notes of oak, vanilla, and butterscotch confirm the beer’s influence in the classic Irish whiskey.

You can find these, as well as many other types of whiskey, at Wyatt’s Wet Goods, where they offer you superior choice and selection for all your drinking desires.