What makes Irish whiskey Irish? A master distiller explains

RAPID CITY, S.D. — Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day and with the luck-of-the-Irish comes huge celebrations with meals, enjoyable, and typically alcohol. Irish whiskey is the drink that always involves thoughts, however what makes the proper whiskey?

I sat down with a master distiller to search out out.

“I labored for over 23 years in Ireland at Irish distillers and, you already know, I spent the final seven years earlier than I left as master distiller for Jamison, Red Breast, and the Spot Range and Midleton Very Rare,” says Master Distiller Brian Nation. “During that point you develop plenty of expertise. My background is chemical and course of engineering, so you already know, [I] introduced that with me into the enterprise.”

Nation moved to Minneapolis from his residence in Ireland again in 2020, and has spent the final couple of years because the master distiller at O’Shaughnessy Distilling.

“My position as master distiller is de facto being liable for producing some unbelievable tasting whiskeys utilizing totally different types of grain, utilizing totally different mash bottles, and in addition utilizing totally different types of distilling and maturation.”

He says it takes time and abilities to develop a brand new whiskey. “There’s a knack to the craft and doing that to get the right stability and complexity right into a whiskey if you’re doing the mixing.”

Reporter: “Tell me in regards to the variations between Irish and American whiskey.”

Nation: “Well, by way of the variations between Irish and American whiskey, Irish whiskey, you already know, the quintessential model of Irish whiskey is utilizing that mash of malted barley, 9 malted barley, after which distilling it 3 times of copper fixed. And that creates a wonderful spiciness, creaminess and a few pretty fruity traits. It’s distilled 3 times within the copper pots. And in order that’s actually the sort of quintessential model of Irish whiskey.”

And that style is necessary for greater than the plain cause.

“Gone is a day the place a whiskey is simply drunk, neat or underneath rocks. People need to use it now in cocktails, and so they need, and if you wish to play in that house, it’s a must to be sure that your whiskey has sufficient taste attribute to face by itself and nonetheless be the hero within the cocktail,” Nation says.

Nation can be excited to have fun his first St. Patrick’s Day now that COVID restrictions have began to chill out.

“It’s a terrific day to be Irish. We’re all pleased with our heritage. It’s superb to see so many individuals right here that I’ve encountered which have Irish heritage with them and are actually pleased with it.”