What is Pot Still Irish Whiskey?

by Mark McLaughlin

Pot Still Irish Whiskey, Ireland’s unique style, has long been the most recommended and talked about styles of Irish Whiskey produced. Known for its oily textures, distinct spicy character and complexity of flavor, it is sometimes misunderstood but seldom disappoints.

Most easily described as:

Historically and to this day, malted barley has reigned supreme in the whiskey distilling world, from 1608 through to the mid-1700s, malt whiskey, made from malted barley (known simply as malt), dominated production throughout the distilleries of Ireland. In 1785, with the island of Ireland under British rule and in an effort to capitalize on Ireland’s burgeoning whiskey industry, our British (or Brutish) colonizers introduced The Malt Tax to generate wartime revenue from Ireland’s whiskey making prowess.

But alas there was a loophole, in 1759 an act had passed which allowed for malt, grain, potatoes or sugar to be used in whiskey production, this gave the Irish Whiskey distillers options to avoid this tax if they intended to continue to produce. By the late 1700s the use of grains other than barley for whiskey production had become the norm. Grain, meaning any cultivated cereal such barley, had become the main ingredient in distilleries throughout Ireland because of its relative ease of sugar extraction and the immense flavor potential it offered. The quality of the spirit being produced from barley saw the use of potatoes & sugar vanish from whiskey distilleries.

With the Malt Tax being firmly enforced, the resourcefulness of Irish distillers shone through, with many distilleries beginning to produce what would become known as Pot Still whiskey. The recipes, known as mash bills, they were creating used significant amounts of unmalted barley along with oats, wheat and rye (to a lesser extent) with each grain lending different characteristics to the spirit:

• Malted Barley: Known for its distinct fruity & nutty character, delivering generous alcohol yield to the spirit and consistency when using for brewing and distilling.
• Unmalted Barley: Delivering immense texture to the spirit with its oily, creamy character, and distinct spice notes, unanimously referred to as Pot Still spice.
• Oats: Again lending texture to the spirit, oats carry distinct grain forward notes through to the spirit, delivering a clear connection to the land where the grain was grown with sweet, vibrant floral notes.
• Wheat: Used in small quantities in pot still whiskey production but known for its silky, soft and sweet textures which has seen it become much more common in grain whiskey production.
• Rye: Vibrant and spicy, peppery and distinct, rye was used in small quantities as it had a tendency to burn the pots, but nonetheless deliver a recognizable impact each and every time.

You’d be correct in assuming that the flavor potential for Pot Still whiskey is huge because of these options but the current Technical File for Irish Whiskey, which governs what can be labelled as Pot Still Irish Whiskey, states that only 5% of these other grains (oats, wheat & rye) are permitted to be used in Pot Still production.

Revisions of the Technical File are currently being evaluated and we may see up to 30% other grains permitted in Pot Still whiskey if the industries suggestion are heard. This hasn’t stopped many distilleries throughout Ireland producing mash bills with varying proportions of grains adding significant depth to the array of flavors being produced throughout the country.

For now, we urge you to explore Pot Still whiskey with firm favorites such as Redbreast 12 & Green Spot and Powers Johns Lane from Midleton distillery (Malted & Unmalted Barley), Kilbeggan Single Pot Still (2.5% oats) or if you are fortunate enough, Dingle Single Pot Still. These whiskeys will showcase to you the oily, creamy textures of pot still whiskey, along with what’s referred to as pot still spice, a signature of the style which is near indescribable but undeniably obvious in many of the pot still whiskeys of Ireland.

We will explore these signature characteristics, the Technical file and some historic Pot Still sips in future articles in The Stillhouse. 

Enjoy a brief history of pot still whiskey in this video from Midleton Distillery: