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Irish Whiskey Month: Irish Blended Whiskey
You may have heard so-called connoisseurs of whisk(e)y claim that that blended whisky is inferior to single malt whisky, but we can tell you with absolute certainty that this is not the case - and countless whisky awards have proved it! The notion comes from a time in the late 1800s when distilleries were trying to create more financially beneficial products, but has come a long way since then and is now an artform in its own right. You can find out more about the history of blended whisk(e)y here!
So what exactly is it? In terms of Irish whiskey, this refers to a liquid which combines two or more kinds of whiskies - pot still, malt, or grain - and which is on or above the ABV (alcohol by volume) threshold of 40%. The liquids used in the combination can all come from the same distillery, or multiple distilleries. Although there is usually no distinction made between the different kinds of blends, they will fall into the following categories:
Pot Still and Grain blend - The most common kind of blended Irish whiskey, this blends pot still whiskey (only produced in Ireland, made with malted and unmalted barley) and grain whiskies (made from mixture of grains like barley, corn, wheat, and rye). Whisky brands who are famed for perfecting this style of blend include Old Comber, Jameson and Powers.
Malt and Grain blends - This is the most common type of whiskey blend worldwide, which mixes malt whiskies (made using only malted barley) with grain whiskies. The big names who have releases in this style include Bushmills, Clonakilty, and Teeling, to name a few.
The Triple blend - A combination of malt, pot still, and grain whiskies. This very cool-sounding style is fairly rare, with the few releases available made by Tullamore D.E.W and Paddy Irish Whiskey.
Malt and Pot Still blend - Another rare blend style, this liquid includes no grain whiskies, meaning it can be varied in character and hard to pin down to a general flavour profile. Walsh Whiskey is the most prominent producer of this blend style with their two releases Writers’ Tears Copper Pot and Irishman Founders Reserve.
