The 11 Finest Irish Whiskeys Recommended by Experts

These days, there are several different types of whiskey available: Scotch whisky, bourbon, and Japanese whisky, just to name a few. Everyone has their favorites, but when spring comes around, some switch their whiskey preferences to those distilled in Ireland. There’s just one problem: With so many Irish whiskeys on the market, which ones are the best to add to your bar cart? Do you want a single malt or a blend? A younger whiskey or something that’s been aged for decades? Should it be sipped neat, on the rocks, or mixed into a cocktail? 

According to the Irish Whiskey Act of 1980, an Irish whiskey must be made from malted barley, be aged a minimum of three years in wooden barrels, and be bottled at no less than 40% alcohol by volume (ABV). So, based on those requirements, we reached out to several people in the industry who know a thing or two about Irish whiskey to get their opinions on which ones are the best: Salt & Pearl’s beverage director Kenneth Gray; host and entertaining expert Paul Zahn; the owner of Houston-based whiskey bar Reserve 101, Sean Fitzmaurice; ARIA Resort and Casino’s beverage director Johnathon Baker; Fraunces Tavern’s creative director Barry Smyth; The Burren’s beverage director Brendan Quirke; and “Bar Rescue” mixology expert and co-founder of Soho House West Hollywood, Mia Mastroianni.

Some of these whiskeys can easily be found at a lower cost at your favorite liquor store, while others may take a little more digging and an ample amount of cash. But all of the following Irish whiskey bottles are definitely worth a sip.

A label anyone who’s ever enjoyed Irish whiskey will recognize, Jameson has been around since 1780, when Scotsman John Jameson moved to Dublin and started distilling the spirit. Yes, described by ARIA Resort and Casino’s beverage director Johnathon Baker as “the most recognizable and approachable Irish whiskey” on the market today, this bottle was created by a Scot. But Jameson, the person, had no problem distilling his whiskey in Ireland and making it from 100% Irish barley — malted and unmalted barley, to be exact, with both grains distilled three times.

According to Baker, “If you’re new to whiskey, this is the perfect starting point.” As a matter of fact, he says he got his start drinking Jameson when he was in the military by mixing it with a little ginger ale, adding that it “takes me right back to my 20s.”

“Bar Rescue” consultant Mia Mastroianni also has a personal connection to the spirit, since she was fortunate enough to visit and tour the distillery in Cork. “While some may not consider Jameson to be a high-end Irish Whiskey,” she explains, “it certainly provides an affordable value for the consumer, is very approachable, and blends incredibly well into cocktails.” Her cocktail of choice? Similarly to Baker, Mastroianni says, “You can’t go wrong with a classic Jameson/ginger ale highball.” 

When a handful of people in the spirit industry mention the same whiskey, you know it belongs on your shelf. That spirit is Redbreast 12. Having tasted it ourselves, we can understand why this whiskey was named over and over. While all of our experts cited Redbreast for different reasons, they all agreed with Fraunces Tavern’s creative director Barry Smyth’s assessment that it’s a bottle “for those looking to truly bring their whiskey drinking experience to the next level.”

Even though Redbreast goes through a similar triple distillation process like Jameson, that distillation happens in a single pot still. It’s then finished off in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. Calling it “an elevated option” when it comes to Irish whiskeys, entertaining expert Paul Zahn says this aging process “… yield[s] a fruity and spicy whiskey that will warm your soul.” Brendan Quirke, the beverage director at The Burren, agrees, telling us that those barrels make the whiskey taste both complex and smooth.

If you’re unsure how to indulge in a whiskey of this stature, Salt & Pearl’s beverage director Kenneth Gray says it’s his go-to for drinking Irish whiskey neat. Soho House West Hollywood co-founder Mia Mastroianni similarly suggests sipping it neat or over a single, large ice cube. Drinking the whiskey this way will not only guarantee that smoothness, but you’ll also be sure to taste all those notes that several of our experts mentioned. 

“This is the whiskey by which all other whiskeys should be measured,” Smyth says of Redbreast 12. He continues, “It stands toe to toe with any other drop or dram out there. It’s what Irish whiskey is all about — harmonious, yet complex; spicy yet fruity; with a long finish that stays with you.” 

While the original Redbreast was touted over and over again by our experts, it wasn’t the only Redbreast expression to make our list. The Redbreast 27 takes that respected, centuries-old triple distillation and maturing formula and adds a third barrel into the mix. After several years of aging in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, the Irish whiskey gets one final stint in ruby port casks. Just as the label suggests, this whiskey mellows for a nearly three decades before it’s poured into bottles. 

This extensive process doesn’t just add an impressive depth of flavor — it also adds to the price tag, as this bottle runs about $800. Calling it “a heavy weight in the Irish premium market,” Reserve 101 owner Sean Fitzmaurice says it’s the years in those sherry casks that give this whiskey its distinct flavor. “The sherry influence shines and lingers with rich dark fruits and tropical notes left dancing on the nose,” he notes, adding, “I personally have a weakness for all things sherry finished, and this batch, aimed at those discerning Irish whiskey palates, hits the mark.”

“If you’re looking to truly indulge, the Teeling 30-Year Single Malt might be one of the most eye- (and wallet-) opening Irish whiskeys I’ve been lucky enough to crack open,” declares Sean Fitzmaurice, who counts this bottle as one of his personal favorites. The whiskey bar owner isn’t kidding when he says this whiskey is indulgent. Clocking in at a whopping $2,000 per bottle, this is definitely the most expensive Irish whiskey on our list, but one that Fitzmaurice believes is well worth a sip.

While the Teeling name has been distilling whiskey ever since Walter Teeling built his small craft distillery in Dublin City back in 1782, it found new life in 2015 when his descendants, Jack and Stephen Teeling, opened a brand-new distillery nearby the first location. Since then, Jack and Stephen have released several vintages under the Teeling name, including the highly awarded 24- and 28-year single malt whiskeys, and decided to push the envelope with this 30-year bottle. 

First distilled in 1991, the whiskey was then aged in bourbon and Sauternes wine casks. “The result produced an incredibly unique apricot and peach marmalade profile on the palate, with rich fruits and chocolates blessing the nose,” Fitzmaurice says of this spirit. “A whiskey that delivers,” he adds, this Teeling expression “earns its place on the top shelf.” 

It’s rare that a distillery creates only one expression of its spirit. Usually the distillery, no matter what the spirit is, will have different vintages, different batches, or different blends. Within each of those creations, there will be one bottle that people will point to as their favorite. But every so often, there will be a distillery where everything it creates is a winner — that appears to be the case with Midleton Very Rare. 

This is a spirit that three of our experts recommended without pointing to a specific bottle. It didn’t seem to matter which year or version of the Irish whiskey was mentioned; they all agreed that, as long as the label reads Midleton Very Rare, it’s a winner. A winner that ARIA Resort and Casino’s beverage director Johnathon Baker says is “best enjoyed after a long day and in good company,” adding, “To mix this would be a sin — a splash of water at most.”

While some of the whiskeys on this list are single malts, Midleton is a blend of some of the company’s finest and rarest whiskeys. But don’t let the fact that it’s a blend deter you. “Even though it is a blended whiskey,” Brendan Quirke explains, “it’s masterfully blended. Each year, it has its own unique character, but [is] always exceptional.” 

Another high-end whiskey, both Baker and Fraunces Tavern’s creative director Barry Smyth agree that Midleton Very Rare whiskey, no matter which version you choose, should only be enjoyed on special occasions. In fact, Smyth reveals, “I myself gifted my best man and father-in-law a bottle to mark my own special year back in 2019.”

The youngest Irish whiskey on our list, Writers’ Tears comes from the brains behind Walsh Whiskey, Bernard and Rosemary Walsh, who established their company right at the turn of the 21st century. The couple started Walsh Whiskey in order to revive interest in the classic spirit while ensuring that it’s appreciated, as well, and have since created two different brands: Writers’ Tears and The Irishman. 

While both brands are award-winning whiskeys, it’s the Writers’ Tears that entertaining expert Paul Zahn reaches for again and again — specifically, the original expression Copper Pot. As a combination of single malt and single pot still, he says, “I always tell people this is a great entry Irish whiskey because it has a nice sweetness with notes of honey and apple to it. This makes great cocktails but also is great with just a nice big rock.” But it’s not just the flavor that Zahn appreciates, as he adds, “I love the name, too. It pays homage to some of the best writers in history — many who came from Ireland.” 

Indeed, as Writers’ Tears’ website notes, famous late-19th-century authors like Bram Stoker, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde could often be found sipping on Irish whiskey while thinking about their next masterpiece in local bars. Around this time, blended whiskeys that were distilled in copper pots were held in high regard among distillers, and it was this centuries-old spirit that inspired Writers’ Tears.

When it comes to Irish whiskey, two of the main styles are pure pot still and Irish blends. Barry Smyth’s favorite entry-level Irish whiskey, Powers Gold Label, just so happens to be both. His love for Powers started more than three decades ago at his first bar job in Dublin, where several of his regulars would come in and order a glass of Guinness with a Powers and a drop of water. “Powers Gold Label is a beautiful drop of whiskey,” he says. “Not only is it approachable, but it still has enough complexity to keep you engaged. It’s also the perfect accompaniment to a pint of stout.”

The Powers label got its start when James Power started distilling whiskey in the late 1700s as a side hustle to his innkeeping business. But that soon turned into a full-fledged business in its own right, with the spirit becoming so popular that Power had no choice but to open up a distillery in Dublin. Now, more than 200 years later, Powers continues to make whiskey the way its founder used to: by starting with a single pot still whiskey and then blending it with a fine grain whiskey.

The Gold label comes from the “heart” of the distillate, with the Powers company claiming on its website, “That means more top and tail gets thrown away than any other Irish whiskey.” It’s then matured for at least five years in American bourbon oak barrels, creating a whiskey that Smyth believes is simply great. 

He does have one warning, though: “Please don’t shoot it. Shots are meant for bad whiskeys, and worse mornings.”

“While pot stills are Ireland’s first love, you can’t go wrong with a single malt Irish whiskey,” Barry Smyth declares. And the single malt Smyth reaches for most is Dingle. A small distillery in the heart of Dingle County, Ireland, the people behind Dingle whiskey say the company’s always believed that quality was more important than quantity, and as such, focus on crafting the best, most flavorful spirit it can. That devotion to quality is partly why Smyth says, “Dingle Single Malt is close to my heart.” But it’s not just because of the whiskey’s flavor. 

Smyth has a personal attachment to the whiskey, as well, since he was married in Dingle, and it just so happens to be the first whiskey he ever shared with his wife. Smyth also believes in supporting smaller, independent brands — and since Dingle was the first independently owned distillery to open in Ireland in over 100 years, it makes sense that he was drawn to this spirit. 

There is one other reason Smyth recommends picking up a bottle, however. “One of the best reasons to buy a bottle of Dingle Single Malt is to sip it while plotting an expedition of your own to this uniquely beautiful part of the world,” he says.

One of the oldest and most recognizable bottles in Irish whiskey, it came as no surprise that Bushmills made our list. Named after the village it was originally created in back in the early 1600s, the folks behind the whiskey chose Bushmills, Ireland because of the two main ingredients that make up the spirit: water and barley. The water comes from the River Bush, and the Bushmills barley was considered top tier by those distillers. Even when taxes on barley during the mid-19th-century potato famine exploded, causing other distillers to instead use corn for their whiskey, Bushmills says it stayed the course and continued using the same malted barley it had been using since the whiskey’s inception. 

Today, all of those traditions still hold fast, and it’s why Salt & Pearl’s beverage director Kenneth Gray will reach for Bushmills every time he’s creating a cocktail where Irish whiskey is used. “When you ask a bartender a question like [‘What’s your favorite Irish whiskey?’], it’s contextual. … It’s not, ‘What do I like more?’ It’s, ‘What do I like using dot dot dot for?'” he explains. 

Adding that Bushmills is a “straight over home plate” kind of Irish whiskey, Gray tells us, “It’s just consistent. … It is going to give you a little bit more of that smoked, peaty, mossy, rustic feel than Redbreast might.”

The color always associated with St. Patrick’s Day is green. So, it seems fitting that the flagship of the Spot Whiskeys, Green Spot, made our list of top-tier Irish whiskeys. The spirit, which was recommended to us by two different experts, began its journey in the late 1800s at the Mitchell & Son bakery. Yes, a bakery. While the father-and-son duo started out selling sweet confections at the beginning of the century, by the end, the company was importing wine and using those wine barrels to mature pot still whiskey it had purchased from the Jameson distillery. 

With nine different colored expressions, it’s the Green Spot that The Burren’s beverage director Brendan Quirke says is one of the best single pot still whiskeys around. And it’s one that Fraunces Tavern’s creative director Barry Smyth says is perfect “for those looking to journey beyond the entry-level Irish whiskey.” 

As with all whiskeys, it’s all about the barrels in which they’re aged. The length of time each spirit spends in the barrel, coupled with the type of barrel, is what gives each whiskey its flavor and finish. Since Green Spot is matured in both wine and fortified wine barrels, you end up with flavors other than your typical vanilla and oak. Instead, you get a whiskey that Smyth says “… really offer[s] the drinker something to ponder over — deep, complex flavors of dark fruits and spice.”

Another in the Spot Whiskey line, the Blue Spot is a completely different whiskey from the Green Spot, and not just because it’s a different color. Like the rest of the Spot Whiskey line, Blue Spot got its name because the Mitchells would use colored paint to mark the company’s maturing whiskey casks to keep track of each one’s age. The Green Spot is aged anywhere between seven and 10 years, but the Blue Spot is aged for only seven years. 

What really makes this cask strength whiskey different from its Green Spot counterpart, though, is that it’s matured in a combination of bourbon, sherry, and Portuguese Madeira casks, and then placed directly into the bottle. It isn’t proofed or watered down, which means you end up with a stronger whiskey. 

It may be more expensive than the Green Spot, running at about $200, but Reserve 101 owner Sean Fitzmaurice doesn’t mind. Noting that it’s an Irish whiskey he often finds himself reaching for, he loves its flavors of bright green apple and ripe banana, as well as its baked apple and spice scents that linger long after he’s enjoyed his last sip. All in all, Fitzmaurice says, “The Spot Whiskey’s premium lineup genuinely leaves my Irish heart fulfilled.”