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Pure pot still whiskey is a type of whiskey traditionally made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley distilled in a pot still. It is unique to Ireland. Not to be confused with blended whiskey, which is a mixture of column still unmalted grain whiskey and pot still single malt whiskey, "pure pot still" is a single whiskey made from a batch of grain composed of both unmalted and malted barley that has been distilled in a pot still.

Although the drink was once widespread in Ireland, a number of historical factors including the The Irish War of Independence, the Irish Civil War, and prohibition in the United States led to a drastic reduction in the number of Irish distilleries. With this reduction in Irish whiskeys available came the loss in recognition abroad of the pure pot still style itself. The majority of the surviving distilleries began to produce blends and single malts. Due to recent attention from prominent whiskey critics such as Jim Murray and the praise given to surviving Pure Pot Still whiskeys such as Redbreast and Green Spot, the style has seen a revival in recent years. In late 2008, the Irish company Porterhouse Brewery announced that they would be investing 8 million euros in the creation of a new distillery in Dingle, Kerry that will be devoted to the production of pure pot still whiskey in the traditional style.^[1]

Unlike "single malt," "pure pot still" is not a protected term. Under modern Irish law, any whiskey distilled in a pot still can be termed "pot still whiskey." Therefore, it is not legally necessary for a distiller to add unmalted barley to his or her grain mix. Some whiskeys produced by the Cooley Distillery break from tradition and do not use unmalted grain. Thus, they are actually single malt whiskeys, but can be legally labelled "pot still whiskey" if the distiller so chooses. The majority of pot still whiskeys conform to the traditional definition.

[edit] See also

• Blended whiskey
• Green Spot Irish whiskey
• Irish whiskey
• Redbreast
• Poitín

[edit] References

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