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O nce there were many. Irish whiskey distilleries numbered well over 30 back in the early 1900s, and many illicit stills were making poteen, Irish for moonshine, at home. Now, there are few and all distilleries are owned by foreign com- panies. Yet Irish whiskey is as strong as ever. The Irish Difference Irish whiskey comes from malted and unmalted barley with small amounts wheat, oats and rye in the mash. The barley is dried in sealed ovens to maintain the pure malt flavor and to avoid the smoky notes found in many Scotch whis- kies. Irish whiskey is mostly triple-distilled, although some are double-distilled and lightly peated. To earn the name, Irish whiskey must have been matured in wooden casks in an Irish warehouse for a minimum of three years. Whiskey, of course, is a part of Irish heritage. It's nearly a right of passage for everybody in the world to drink Irish whiskey on St. Patrick's Day, but the category is no longer dependent on the day when everybody is Irish. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Irish whiskey is the fastest-growing category, with volume up 24 percent, to 1.7 million cases sold in 2011, and is now larger than single malt by volume. Although just three distilleries are responsible for most sales, last year Irish whiskey was respon- sible for $326 million in supplier gross revenues in the U.S. alone. "It's been the fastest-growing spirits category for the past five years," says Yvonne Briese, Vice President of Brand Marketing for Whisk(e)y at Diageo North America, owner of Bushmills. "This trend is really around male- bonding occasions. So where previously guys would have just gone out for a few beers, they're now going out and having a few beers and also choosing Irish whiskey." Research firm Datamonitor says that Irish whiskey appeals to "pre-commit- tal" young men who are adventurous and looking for spirits with smooth taste and affordability. Brand Profile: Bushmills In 1608, King James I granted Sir Thomas Phillips a royal license to distill uisce beatha, Gaelic for "water of life." According to Bushmills, this is the first officially recorded evidence of whiskey-making in the area. This facility would become known as Bushmills and has been called everything from "Protestant whiskey" (because of its Northern Ireland location), to the world's oldest distillery. Today, Bushmills is churning out great whiskey, including the Bushmills Original ($22.99) and Black Bush ($28.99) blends, and the 10 Year Old ($39.99), 16 Year Old ($74.99) and 21 Year Old ($124.99) single malts. All five give delectable notes of vanilla, rich fruits and almonds, getting more pro- nounced and elegant with age. These five very strong whiskeys give bars an opportunity to offer Bushmills flights. The Original also lends itself equally well to standards such as Manhattans as well as creative mixology, while the 21 Year Old is on nearly every shortlist for the top Irish whiskey. DIAGEO NORTH AMERICA march 2012 / the tasting panel / 75 PHOTO COURTESY OF DIAGEO PHOTO: RICK CAMARGO