It used to be the case that if you wanted great whiskey, you had to look to Scotland or certain regions of the U.S., and that whiskeys from places like Ireland were considered low quality and cheaply produced. But that isn’t the case any more, with Irish whiskies becoming more and more popular and building a reputation for flavor and quality. Recently, the results of the Irish Whiskey Masters 2024 were announced, with expert judges selecting and celebrating the very best of Irish whiskeys.
The competition judged a selection of offerings from the 45 distilleries in Ireland, which were tasted blind to identify the strongest expressions in the categories of blended, single malt, single grain, single pot still, and new make spirit. The categories were also divided by price bracket, to help show that good quality options can be found at every price point. Judges handed out silver, gold, and master medals for their top picks.
Among the favorites were McConnell’s Irish Whisky 5 Year Old, Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old Special Reserve, Method and Madness Rye and Malt, Teeling Crystal Malt, Bushmills 30 Year Old, Roe & Co Solera Cask Strength, Green Spot Leoville Barton, and Redbreast 15 Year Old. You can see a full list of the medal awarded in each category on The Spirits Business website.
The competition also included a category for poitín, a lesser-known traditional Irish distilled spirit that is similar to whiskey in taste. The brands Mad March Hare and Shortcross Irish Poitín were regonized in this category.
“Good representation of modern poitín, would’ve been nice to see some higher-ABV expressions,” said judge Graham McAteer. “In general I’d like to see more experimentation in poitín because it is Ireland’s native spirit.”
