Irish Whiskey

UNDER DEVELOPMENT Once upon a time, Ireland was the undisputed world champion of whiskey, with 60% of the global export market. But in the space of seventy years it dropped to 2%. Currently, Irish whiskey is staggering back, trying to find its footing after a great fall. A complete return to form will take some time, but the early results are promising enough to envision an exciting next round.

The story of whiskey in Ireland is one of loss and revival. Where Scotland and the U.S. can blame changing tastes in the 1970s for the fall of their respective whiskey industries, and Canada can point to corporate neglect during the same era, Ireland had already absorbed a punishing bout of internal and external body blows that dropped its whiskey industry to its knees. Irish independence, two world wars, and Prohibition in America cut down the number of Irish distilleries from about 150 at the beginning of the twentieth century to only three at the start of the twenty-first century. Ironically, the coup de grâce on top of all the uncontrollable factors—a stubborn reluctance to change—was self-inflicted.