Irish whiskey was the biggest-selling whiskey in the world a century ago, collapsed to two distilleries by the 1970s, and has spent the last fifteen years roaring back, with Redbreast and the Spot whiskeys turning into cult bottles and dozens of new distilleries opening. Most people still only know Jameson. This guide covers the three styles of Irish whiskey and why pot still is the one worth caring about, then twenty bottles in stock right now, from a $30 pub pour to Redbreast 21, sorted by price.
Shop all Irish whiskey in stock at Chips Liquor
The Three Styles
Blended Irish whiskey (Jameson, Bushmills Original, Tullamore) marries lighter grain whiskey with malt or pot still whiskey; it's smooth, triple-distilled, and built for mixing and easy sipping. Single malt is 100% malted barley from one distillery, as in Scotland, and Bushmills makes the classic ones. Single pot still is Ireland's own invention: a mash of malted and unmalted barley, distilled in copper pots, which gives an oily, creamy texture and a peppery spice nothing else has. It was born in the 1700s to dodge a tax on malted barley and nearly died out; Midleton Distillery in County Cork kept it alive, and Redbreast, Green Spot, and Powers John's Lane are all pot still whiskeys from Midleton. If you want to understand why enthusiasts obsess over Irish whiskey, start there.
Under $45: Blends and the Entry Malts
Jameson ($29.99)
The world's best-selling Irish whiskey, from Midleton: pot still and grain whiskey, triple-distilled, at least four years in oak, 80 proof. Honey, vanilla, orchard fruit, a clean finish. It works everywhere, which is the point: neat, with ginger ale and lime, a shot with a pint, or an Irish coffee.
Bushmills Black Bush ($29.99)
A high proportion of triple-distilled malt matured in Oloroso sherry casks, blended with sweet grain whiskey, from the County Antrim distillery with a license dating to 1608. Dried fruit, nuts, dark chocolate. One of the best values in sherried Irish whiskey and a step up from Original for the same money.
Teeling Small Batch ($34.99)
The bottle that relaunched Dublin distilling in 2013: grain and malt whiskeys finished up to a year in Central American rum casks, non-chill-filtered at 46%. Vanilla, banana, honey, baking spice, white pepper. World's Best Irish Blended at the World Whiskies Awards, and the modern alternative to the green bottle.
Tullamore D.E.W. XO Caribbean Rum Cask ($35.99)
The triple-blend Tullamore finished in Caribbean rum casks at 43%. Banana, brown sugar, molasses over the honeyed core. A fun, affordable twist, and the Irish whiskey for a Hot Toddy or a ginger beer and lime.
Jameson Black Barrel ($43.99)
Jameson matured in bourbon barrels given a second charring, which draws out butterscotch, toasted wood, and dried fruit. The step-up Jameson that bartenders reach for in an Old Fashioned or Manhattan, and the best value in the range.
Bushmills 10 Year Single Malt ($44.99)
Triple-distilled single malt aged at least ten years mainly in ex-bourbon barrels, 80 proof. Honey, vanilla, ripe apple, milk chocolate. One of the most approachable single malts made anywhere, and the natural move from blends.
The Tyrconnell Single Malt ($44.99)
Named for a racehorse that won at 100-to-1 in 1876, made at Cooley: double-distilled malt in bourbon barrels at 43%. Floral, honeyed, creamy, light. A classic that's been on Irish shelves for well over a century.
$55 to $100: Single Pot Still, the Real Thing
Redbreast 12 Year ($59.99)
The benchmark single pot still whiskey and one of the most awarded in Ireland: at least twelve years in bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, 40%. Christmas cake, dried fruit, nuts, toffee, and the peppery pot still spice. The essential Irish whiskey for anyone moving beyond blends, and one of the best sellers in the shop.
Powers Three Swallow ($59.99)
Pot still whiskey matured mainly in bourbon barrels with a little Oloroso, 43.2%. Lighter and fresher than John's Lane: green apple, cereal, honey, gentle spice. The affordable step into pot still, and a superb pot still Old Fashioned.
Green Spot ($69.99)
The original of the Spot family, bonded by Dublin wine merchants Mitchell & Son since 1887, when they marked casks with a spot of paint by age. Pot still whiskey aged seven to ten years in bourbon and sherry casks, 40%. Green apple, pear, honey, vanilla, pepper. The textbook pot still whiskey and a perennial favorite at Chips.
Powers John's Lane 12 Year ($69.99)
The big, robust style of pot still: twelve years mostly in first-fill bourbon with some Oloroso, non-chill-filtered at 46%. Toffee, leather, dark chocolate, pepper. Often called one of the best-value age-stated pot still whiskeys made, and the serious drinker's Powers.
Drumshanbo Single Pot Still ($69.99)
From The Shed Distillery in Leitrim, the Gunpowder Gin people, and the only pot still on this list not from Midleton: malted barley, unmalted barley, and Irish oats, a nod to old recipes, in bourbon and Oloroso casks at 43%. The oats give it a velvety texture. For the drinker who wants to taste what the new distilleries are doing.
Redbreast PX Edition ($99.99)
Redbreast finished in Pedro Ximénez casks, the sweetest sherry, at 46% non-chill-filtered. Figs, raisins, dates, dark chocolate, toffee, and the pot still spice holding it all up. The after-dinner Redbreast, for sherry lovers.
$100 to $300: Age and Strength
Redbreast 12 Year Cask Strength ($112.99)
Redbreast 12 as it comes from the barrel: no water, no chill filtration, bottled by batch in the mid-to-high 50s ABV. Everything that makes the 12 the benchmark at full volume. Add water a few drops at a time. The enthusiast's Redbreast.
Redbreast 15 Year ($139.99)
At least fifteen years in a balance of first-fill and refill bourbon and sherry casks, 46%, non-chill-filtered. Spicier than the 12: orchard fruit, toffee, clove, pepper, with an oily texture and a drying finish. The Redbreast devotees' favorite.
Yellow Spot 12 Year ($159.99)
Green Spot's older sibling: pot still aged at least twelve years in bourbon, sherry, and Málaga wine casks, 46%. Mown hay, black pepper, honey, peach, crème brûlée, coffee. One of the finest age-stated pot still whiskeys available, and allocated.
Jameson 18 Year ($199.99)
The oldest in the core Jameson range, at least eighteen years in bourbon and sherry casks, relaunched at 46% and non-chill-filtered. Toffee, dried fruit, nutty sherry, vanilla. In a gift box, and the milestone bottle for someone who has loved Jameson their whole life.
Redbreast 18 Year ($249.99)
The newest permanent Redbreast and the first with cream sherry casks: eighteen years in bourbon, Oloroso, cream sherry, and ruby Port wood, 46%. Berry fruit, caramelized stone fruit, hazelnut chocolate. Slots between the 15 and 21, in a gift box.
Red Spot 15 Year ($269.99)
The oldest Spot, revived in 2018 after fifty years off the shelf: pot still aged at least fifteen years in bourbon, Oloroso, and Sicilian Marsala casks, 46%. Red berries, sherry, raisin, creamy spice. The pinnacle of the Spot lineup. Five bottles.
Bushmills 21 Year Single Malt ($289.99)
Nineteen years in bourbon and Oloroso casks, two more in Madeira drums, 80 proof, in a presentation box. Dark chocolate, dried fruit, toasted nuts, honeyed Madeira tang. A rare age statement from one of the world's oldest licensed distilleries.
Quick Picks
- The pub pour: Jameson or Black Bush.
- First pot still: Green Spot, or Powers Three Swallow for less.
- The one bottle: Redbreast 12.
- Best value age statement: Powers John's Lane.
- Enthusiast: Redbreast 12 Cask Strength or Yellow Spot.
- Milestone gift: Red Spot 15, Redbreast 18, or Jameson 18 for a Jameson loyalist.
For the very top of the shelf, Redbreast 21 and Midleton Very Rare are in our whiskey gifts over $250.
Shipping Irish Whiskey From Chips Liquor
Every bottle above is in stock at our Pacific Beach shop in San Diego and ships fast to most states. Browse the full Irish whiskey collection, or see our Scotch gifts under $150 for the other side of the water.