Irish Whiskey News & Stories

Bushmills is making up for lost time with new core expressions and super premium releases. Can we call it a comeback? In the early days of the Irish Whiskey Society America, we often lamented (along with others in the industry) the lack of activity coming from Bushmills. While the Irish whiskey scene was booming with new distilleries and products, Bushmills was relatively quiet by comparison despite being an industry leader. With new owners, Bushmills is now making their presence felt by leaning on their storied history and quantity of aged single malt inventory.  Ironically, their relative absence during the early...

The legendary Celtic punk band "The Pogues" have a storied history of live performances, storytelling, and alcohol related exploits. Every year around the holidays one of their more popular songs receives increased airplay. To this day, "Fairytale of New York" is still the most played holiday song in the U.K. 35 years after its release. If enjoying a drink of the band's namesake Irish whiskey while listening to this song over the holidays, have a read about its origin. The Story and Meaning Behind The Pogues’ Drunken Holiday Classic “Fairytale Of New York” BY TINA BENITEZ-EVES It was Christmas Eve babe...

Carol Quinn is the archivist with Irish Distillers.  This recent article in the Irish Examiner is timely as it follows our "Celebration of Powers" event in November which featured Carol. Our videos from that event as well as the complete interview with Carol are located on the IWSA website and YouTube channel. Archivist is very proud to help preserve history of Irish distilling SAT, 17 DEC, 2022 - 11:05 COLETTE SHERIDAN   One of only about 200 archivists in Ireland, Carol Quinn is head of archives at Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard.  Based in the Distillers Cottage in Midleton (which is...

Icons of Whisky Ireland 2023 winners unveiled In a return to in-person awards ceremonies, Irish whiskey’s great and good gathered together at the Iveagh Garden Hotel in Dublin on 24 November for the Icons of Whisky Ireland 2023 regional awards, hosted by Whisky Magazine. The Icons of Whisky awards aim to celebrate the best and brightest people and places in the sector – not just the distilleries and the teams that work in them, but also the individuals and businesses that work to support and promote them and their products. Christopher Coates, Editor-at-large of Whisky Magazine, said: “The burgeoning Irish whiskey...

2022 Irish Whiskey Awards Announces The Best Irish Whiskies PHOTO, COURTESY CELTIC WHISKEY This year the Irish Whiskey Awards (IWA) celebrated its ninth anniversary. Since their creation in 2013 by Irish whiskey entrepreneur Ally Alpine, they have become the premier awards in the Irish whiskey industry, widely respected among consumers and industry participants for the scope and quality of their judging process. The award ceremony was held at Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin. Gerard Garland, Brand Engagement and Advocacy Team Manager at Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, presented the awards. The awards span 19 categories. They honor the very best of Irish whiskey...