IRISH WHISKEY (USQUEBAUGH)
Ask an Irishman about the origins of whiskey, and you will likely end up in a fist-fight! Despite the current reign of Scotch as the King of Whiskies, Irish whiskey was its great-grandfather! Irish whiskey, originally in Latin as “aquavitae,” and the Gaelic “uisce beatha” or “usquebaugh” (water of life) was one of the earliest distilled beverages in Europe, tracing back to Irish monks in the 12th century.
WHAT MAKES WHISKEY “IRISH?”
Much like Scotch, the name “Irish Whiskey” is a protected European Geographical Indication (GI) under international law and treaty. As of 2016, production, labeling, and marketing of Irish whiskey must be verified as conforming to the Irish Department of Agriculture’s 2014 technical file for Irish whiskey.
The requirements are highly specific, and require that:
- Irish whiskey must be distilled on the island of Ireland
- Distilled from a mash of malted cereals (alone, or combined with whole grains of other cereals) which has been:
- Converted by the malt’s natural enzymes (with or without other natural enzymes);
- fermented by the action of yeast;
- distilled at an alcoholic strength of less than 94.8% (by volume), with the resultant distillate having an aroma and taste derived from the materials used;
- subject to maturation for at least three years in wooden casks (such as oak) not exceeding 700 liters (185 US gal) capacity
- The “distillate” (the resulting whiskey) must retain the color, aroma, and taste derived from the production process, to which only water and plain caramel coloring may be added
- The final product has a minimum of 40% alcohol (by volume)
- The use of the terms “single pot still”, “single malt”, “single grain”, and “blended” whiskey reflect the legally outlined definitions
- The use of the term “single” means that all included whiskeys are distilled on the site of a single distillery.
- Maturation (3-year minimum) takes place on the island of Ireland