How Irish Poitín Shaped The Global Whisky Industry

The spread of distillation in the 15th century had a dramatic impact on agriculture. Converting fruits and cereal grains into alcohol was a way of preserving the caloric and economic value of agricultural goods. Short of drying, pickling or salting, a remedy that didn’t work for many farm products, there was no way of preserving grain or produce for more than a few weeks or months.

At roughly the same time, Great Britain embarked on an existential struggle with France. The Anglo-French wars would span the period from Louis XIV to Napoleon. A struggle that began with the League of Augsburg in 1689, and would continue until Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. Wars are expensive, especially ones that continue, off and on, for more than a century. Hungry for tax revenue, Parliament imposed a tax on, among other things, malted barley.

Much the same thing happened in the Scottish Highlands. These small producers were technically illegal. They often operated at night by the light of the moon, hence the term moonshine for their resulting whisky. Their mash bills continued to rely on malted barley since wheat grew poorly in the Highlands. It was considered superior to the whisky being produced by the commercial distillers in the Lowlands, however, and was the whisky of choice in cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow.

In Ireland, however, the big whiskey producers that had emerged in Dublin, Cork and Belfast continued producing whiskey based on a combination of malted and unmalted barley. It was a popular style that would go on to become the world’s favorite whiskey, and would result in Irish dominance of 80% of the world whisky market during the 19th century.

Aging is also allowed, but only for a maximum of 10 weeks in casks and it must be labeled with the duration for which it was aged. At Mad March Hare, we don’t have plans to age at this time. The restrictions on aging limits create such a minimal impact that we’d prefer to allow the quality of our spirit shine on its own.DM & JR:

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