In the 1980s there were only two distilleries on the islands of Ireland, now there are over 40.

Dublin’s ‘Golden Triangle’ in The Liberties area of the city was the largest production centre of whiskey in the world in the 1800s.

The Great Dublin Whiskey Fire of 1875 saw rivers of burning whiskey flow through the streets of Dublin like lava after a bonded whiskey warehouse in the ‘Golden Triangle’ caught fire. 13 people died, and 1,900 barrels of whiskey were lost to the blaze.

It is reported that Peter the Great, Tzar of Russia said “of all the wines, the Irish whiskey is the best”.

Whiskey in Ireland does not necessarily have to be spelled with an ‘e’. While historically Irish distillers adopted the spelling as a point of distinction from the then low-quality Scotch whisky, both spellings are still allowed under current rules.

The Irish whiskey industry’s use of unmalted barley (and the emergence of pot still whiskey), along with our tradition of using larger stills came about from rebellious distillers trying to get around British imperial taxes on malt and the number of stills used respectively.