9 Best Irish Whiskeys to Drink This St. Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day is one of the biggest drinking holidays — No. 3 behind Mardi Gras and New Year’s Eve, per Alcohol.org. This year, St. Paddy’s Day falls on a Sunday, which is a bit of a bummer. Don’t worry, though. Jameson took the opportunity to start a new holiday: St. Patrick’s Day Eve.
Whether you’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Eve on Saturday or celebrating the traditional holiday on Sunday (do yourself a favor and call off work Monday), you’re going to need some good Irish whiskey to celebrate with. And if you’re a whiskey enthusiast in any way, shape or form, you know that you can and should do better than a traditional bottom-shelf Jameson or Bushmills bottle.
This St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve compiled a list of the eight best Irish whiskeys to enjoy on St. Patrick’s Day 2024.
For a deeper dive on these whiskeys, check out our accompanying YouTube video:
Editor’s note: These whiskies are listed from lowest to highest price.
9. Bunratty Premium Blend Irish Whiskey Gently Balanced With Peated Malt — $35
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A Double Gold Medal earner at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, this Irish whiskey from Bunratty is aged at least four years in bourbon, oloroso sherry and new oak casks. The blend is partially peated, adding a light smokiness to the flavor profile.
Tasting notes for this expression include apples, pears, toffee, butterscotch, oak, lemon curd, pepper and clove on the nose and honey, honeydew, citrus zest, cedar, charred wood, salinity and peat on the palate. The finish is long and layered with more peat, honey, citrus zest, cedar and pepper, plus sweet cream, almond and light oak.
A pleasant and enjoyable Irish whiskey, Bunratty Premium Blend is richer than you’d expect given its ABV of 43% and is quite affordable, usually found for between $30 and $45.
8. The Legendary Midnight Silkie — $48
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This is one of three core releases from The Legendary Silkie, an Irish whiskey brand produced by Sliabh Liag Distillers.
The smokiest of the core group, this is a blend of five triple-distilled single malts, one of which is peated. Here’s how the blend breaks down: 35% peated single malt aged in bourbon casks, 30% single malt aged in sherry and new oak casks, 20% single malt aged in imperial stout casks, 10% single malt aged in red wine casks and 5% single malt aged in Oloroso casks. The final blend is then finished in new oak and imperial stout casks and bottled at 92 proof.
The Midnight Silkie has notes of apples, pears, peach rings and caramel on the palate, with a hint of peat and ash. Caramel continues on the palate, joined by orange peel, fresh sourdough, a hint of salinity and light barrel char. The sip concludes with a long finish that’s satisfying and complex, with creamy sweetness, honey, almond, peaches, pear, char and peat.
If something complex with just a hint of smoke is up your alley, the Legendary Midnight Silkie is for you. Plus, at 46% ABV, it’s not too heavy but also not your everyday 80-proof light Irish whiskey.
The Legendary Midnight Silkie can be found in the U.S. for an average price of $49, according to Wine-Searcher.
7. The Busker Small Batch Single Pot Still — $50
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A brand-new release, The Busker Small Batch Single Pot Still debuted in late February. Priced at $49.99, this whiskey swings above the $30-ish price range that the rest of The Busker’s profile of Irish whiskeys rests at while remaining fairly affordable.
The Busker’s first small-batch offering, this 92.6-proof whiskey is aged in ex-bourbon casks and finished in oloroso sherry butts.
This is the best whiskey yet from The Busker, with notes of toffee, orange peel, apple butter, red berries, tobacco, oak, caramel, vanilla and honey on the nose; red berries, tobacco, orange peel, apples, pears and cinnamon on the palate; and light oak, toffee, blackberry, cherry, cocoa and pepper on the finish. The sherry cask plays a major, noticeable role on the flavor profile of this whiskey, and we’re here for it.
If you’re a fan of sweet sherry bombs, look no further than this Irish whiskey. Unfortunately, since this whiskey is so new and still rolling out, it may be a bit tough to track down, especially in the U.S. However, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for it.
In the meantime, if you can’t locate it, consider familiarizing yourself with The Busker with this three-pack comprising 200-milliliter bottles of the brand’s Single Grain, Single Malt and Single Pot Still expressions.
6. Clonakilty Single Batch Double Oak Finish — $50
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A blend of cask finishes, this Double Oak finish pairs initial aging in ex-bourbon casks with a combination of aging in virgin American oak and re-charred and toasted European red wine casks.
Bottled at 43.6% ABV, this expression is plenty sweet and a lot more bold and complex than your run-of-the-mill Irish whiskey. Clonakilty Single Batch Double Oak Finish delivers aromas of honey, toffee, cocoa and coffee on the nose, followed by a sweet palate bearing notes of honey, almonds, pepper, light oak, toffee, butterscotch and caramel candies. This whiskey exits pleasantly, leaving behind notes of sweet oak, toffee, honey, caramel and almond.
Priced at around $50, this whiskey can be purchased from Clonakilty’s website.
5. Natterjack Cask Strength — $90
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An up-and-coming Irish whiskey brand founded in 2019, Natterjack was started by a bourbon fan, and you can clearly identify the bourbon influences in Natterjack’s production. The brand’s Irish whiskeys are distilled from 80% corn and 20% malted barley — atypical for Irish whiskeys, which often stick to the single malt format (100% malted barley). Furthermore, this whiskey is aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 3.5 years prior to being finished for an additional year in American oak casks sourced from a cooperage in Napa Valley.
Natterjack Cask Strength has the whiskey world abuzz right now — and not thanks to that badass metal toad on the bottle. Renowned whiskey writer Jim Murray named Natterjack Cask Strength the Irish Whiskey of the Year 2024 in his annual Whisky Bible.
Natterjack Cask Strength is sweet on the nose, with notes of peaches, pear, honey, vanilla, pepper, ginger, rising bread and maple. The palate is rich and viscous with flavors including stone fruits, honey, oak, clove and pepper. Natterjack Cask Strength finishes long with sweet cream, apples, pears and oak.
4. Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength — $98
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The cask-strength edition of the beloved Redbreast 12 Year Old, this is a perfect choice for a powerful St. Paddy’s pour. Redbreast 12 Cask Strength is sweet and yeasty on the nose, with caramel, vanilla and tons of bread notes. The palate is malty and sweet with carmel, vanilla and some light floral fruit. The finish is long and somewhat hot but overall gentle for the proof. It concludes with honey, yeasty malt and spiced pears.
Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength is pretty easily findable and can usually be acquired for between $90 and $110.
3. Keeper’s Heart 10 Year Old — $100
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Highly unusual for a brand on this list, Keeper’s Heart is based not in Ireland but in Minnesota, USA. Keeper’s Heart more than makes up for its unusual location with its employment of a legend of the Irish whiskey industry. The brand’s master distiller is Brian Nation, who spent 23 years working for Pernod Ricard’s Irish Distillers. The final seven years and five months of his tenure were spent as master distiller, a highly coveted position at Ireland’s largest distillery.
Nation left his job producing whiskey for some of the world’s most famous brands — Jameson and Redbreast, for instance — and teamed up with a small Minnesota brand with dreams of blending together Irish and American whiskeys.
Under Nation’s guidance, Keeper’s Heart has found its niche and now sells a range of Irish-American whiskeys.
This expression, however, is not that. There’s nothing American about Keeper’s Heart 10 Year Old; it’s just Nation doing what Nation does best — Irish whiskey.
Voted the World’s Best Irish whiskey at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, this expression has complexity in droves.
Aged 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels, this complex malt whiskey is finished in Malaga wine casks.
Sweet and enticing, this expression delivers notes of cream, raisin bread, honey, toffee, dates, blackberry and icing on the nose. The palate brings forth pleasant oak, caramel, sweet cream, raspberry and toffee, joined by more raisin bread and honey. The finish on this whiskey is long and the highlight of the pour, with icing, honey, fresh pastries, toffee, oak, raspberry and dates.
This 86-proof Irish whiskey is a delight and an opportunity to experience the work of an industry legend.
2. Gold Spot — $270
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We’re getting into the true top-shelf whiskeys now. Whether you want to hunt down the brand-new 13-year-old Gold Spot or stick with the 2022-released 9-year expression, you’re sure to be in for a treat. Mitchell & Son has consistently nailed these Spot Whiskey releases, and these Gold releases are phenomenal high-end pours.
Distilled by Midleton and matured in a blend of bourbon barrels, sherry butts, Bordeaux wine casks and port pipes, the 9-year-old 2022 expression is bottled at 51.4% ABV.
This incredible whiskey features delicious notes of rich custard, buttercream, confectioners sugar, crème brûlée, coconut, orange peel, vanilla cream, almond and blackberry.
1. Redbreast 27 Year Old — $600
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This whiskey is incredible, and the price just keeps going up. It’s frankly tough to find Redbreast 27 for less than $800 or $900 these days. If you don’t want to shell out nearly a grand for a bottle of whiskey, we won’t blame you. But on the flip side — damn is this good.
The nose delivers a huge blend of pears, apples, honey, red berries, toffee, blackberries, oak, pepper and orange peel. The palate is rich, decadent and honey-driven with mandarin, cherry, blackberry, toffee, peaches, vanilla, apricot and pepper. The finish is long, opulent and layered with toffee, apricot, cherry, blackberry, pepper and sweet oak.
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