If you don't enjoy a green beer on St. Patrick's Day, there are a variety of Irish whiskey brands that longtime connoisseurs and newcomers can sip on instead to celebrate the holiday.
Irish whiskey is one of the earliest distilled drinks in Europe that was first developed sometime in the 12th century.
Monks based in Ireland are believed to have introduced the technique of distilling the spirit after traveling across mainland Europe during the medieval centuries.
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Irish whiskey remains one of the most popular and fastest-growing spirits in the world, with dozens of distilleries arising across Ireland since the start of the 21st century.
The three brands below have some of the most significant name recognition on the Irish whiskey scene.
Redbreast is a beloved single pot Irish whiskey brand produced by distillers based in Ireland for well over a century.
It offers a wide range of product variations, including the Redbreast 12-Year-Old, Redbreast 12 Cask Strength, Redbreast 15-Year-Old, Redbreast 21-Year-Old, Redbreast Lustau Edition, and Redbreast 27-Year-Old.
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The Redbreast 12-year-old is particularly known for its sweet flavoring and dried fruit and spice ingredients that make it an easy whiskey for first-timers.
The brand was purchased by the same producer of Jameson Irish Whiskey, one of its longtime competitors. Redbreast has a dedicated following and is the largest-selling single-pot Irish whiskey on the globe. For St. Patrick's Day, this brand, regardless of variant, will surely be at the top of the whiskey best-selling list.
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Multiple Redbreast Whiskey variations have won a number of accolades and awards over the years, including a gold medal in the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a gold medal in the International Wine and Spirits Competition, and was named the Irish Whiskey of the Year in 2007.
Tullamore D.E.W. Irish Whiskey is another renowned whiskey brand originally established in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland, in 1829.
The most successful manager of the brand was Daniel E. Williams, the modern namesake of the D.E.W. part of the name.
General ingredients for the variations for this brand include honey, vanilla cream, caramel with toffee finishes and sherried peels.
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For St. Patrick's Day, the seven main variants you may say at your local Irish bar for 2023 include the Tullamore D.E.W, Original Irish Whiskey, 12-Year-Old Special Reserve, 14-Year-Old Single Malt, 18-Year-Old Single Malt, Old Bonded Warehouse Release, Cider Cask Finish, and the XO Caribbean Rum Cask Finnish.
Tullamore is the second best-selling Irish Whiskey in the world and is affordable compared to other competitors.
Jameson Irish Whiskey is one of the most recognizable Irish blended whiskey brands in the world and is a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, as well as one of the six original whiskeys produced in Jameson Disterlly in Dublin.
It is widely considered the most popular and best-selling Irish Whiskey in the world, beating competitors like Tullamore and Redbreast.
Every year Jameson sells millions of cases of whiskey.
It is available in over 130 countries.
Novices to whiskey may even recognize Jameson, which has been produced in Ireland for over two centuries since 1870 and is a fixture among most bars opened during St. Patrick's Day.
