Single Pot

Irish Single Pot Still Whiskey

The Irish single pot still category produces some of the most popular whiskey in the world. It differs from single malt in that it uses more than one type of grain in its mashbill. Single malt only uses malted barley, but Irish single pot still can use a mix of grains, which creates new flavour profiles. For example, many Irish single pot still whiskeys use 50% malted barley and 50% unmalted (or green) barley. The unmalted barley creates a creamy texture to the whiskey that is absent from single malt whiskey.

In addition, the traditional single pot still has whiskey mashbills that have a much more diverse mix of grains, and these are now becoming more popular. So you might have a mix of malted barley, wheat and rye in a mashbill, giving a much spicier flavour. Some distillers add oats to their mashbill also to create an even creamier texture. 

The best-known Irish single pot still whiskey is the Redbreast series. For many people, the youngest bottle in this range, Redbreast 12, is often the first that people try, so they become incredibly loyal to the brand. It’s a wonderfully complex 12-year-old pour matured in ex-bourbon and sherry casks to create a richly-flavoured and extremely smooth single pot still whiskey. 

There is also a cask strength edition of the 12-year-old available that has become a leading light in the range. Alongside these, its owners at Irish Distillers have introduced an ever-growing series of older and expertly cask-finished bottlings that continue to surprise Redbreast fans. These include a 15-, 18-, 21- and 27-year-old. Redbreast 27 is an exemplary bottle in the category. After almost three decades in oak this 54.6% single pot still is rich and intensely flavoured. Matured in ex-bourbon and sherry and then finished for a lengthy period in ruby port casks, it is a top-shelf pour that never disappoints.

Teeling Distillery has become best known for its single malts. However, it also produces an exciting range of single pot still whiskies, including the Wonders of Wood series, a release created in partnership with the Tree Council of Ireland. Teeling Wonders of Wood Portuguese Oak bottling is the third in the current series and creates a superbly spicey finish with lots of honey and black pepper layers.  

The Spot range from Irish Distillers is also a traditional single pot still. The family of whiskeys in this series includes Green Spot, Yellow Spot, Red Spot and Blue Spot.  Yellow Spot is a 12-year-old Irish single pot still that is triple matured in ex-bourbon, sherry and Malaga casks. This creates an incredibly sweet and deeply textured whiskey. A variant of the core family is the Green Spot Chateau Montelena.  This takes the entry-level Green Spot single pot still and finishes it for around 12 months in Zinfandel wine casks to give it an even more flavour-packed edge. Hugely popular, this 46% release has become a standard bearer within the Spot family.