Whether you’re celebrating with family or friends this Paddy’s Day, what better way to toast the patron saint of Ireland than with a glass of one of these adventurous Irish whiskeys.

A sample of our selection of unconventional Irish whiskeys to celebrate St Patrick’s Day

Most revellers this 17 March will likely head for one of two classic Irish drinks – a pint of Guinness, or a glass of Jameson, likely from the brand’s annual specially-designed bottle.

While the latter is the largest-selling Irish whiskey brand in the world, there are also a myriad of out-of-the-ordinary drinks that would be just as fitting to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

From a wine-focused Irish whiskey to a “boundary-pushing” range of expressions from Irish Distillers, here are some high quality spirits alternatives to the more traditional Irish drams.

Click through the following pages to discover our selection of Irish whiskeys for St Patrick’s Day, which have all launched in the last 18 months.

Do you have a favourite we haven’t mentioned? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Method and Madness

Price: Single Grain (€49/ US$60) Single Pot Still (€69/ US$85), Single Malt (€79/ US$97), 31 Year Old Single Grain (€1,500/ US$1,853)

Jameson maker Irish Distillers designed its new range Method and Madness last year to “push the boundaries” of Irish whiskey, releasing a range of styles under the one title.

The collection currently consists of four bottlings: Single Grain Irish Whiskey Finished in Virgin Spanish Oak; Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Finished in French Chestnut; Single Malt Irish Whiskey Enhanced With French Limousin Oak; and the final bottling, the limited-­edition Single Grain Irish Whiskey 31 Year Old, matured in an ex-Bourbon casks.

For more information, click here.

Teeling Whiskey Brabazon

Price: €78.00 ($US96.00)

The team at Teeling have been experimenting to see how fortified wines influence Irish whiskey, releasing two expressions last year under the Brabazon Bottling banner: Brabazon Series No 1, which focuses on the use of ex-Sherry casks in maturation; and Brabazon Series 2, which examines the effect of ex­-Port casks on Irish whiskey.

The name Brabazon comes from a family synonymous with a trading square in the Liberties area of Dublin.

For more information, click here.

The Sexton

Price: US$27.99

Proximo Spirits launched single malt Irish whiskey The Sexton in November last year. The expression has been aged for four years in oloroso Sherry butts.

The Sexton has been created using liquid distilled at the Old Bushmills Distillery, which was acquired by Jose Cuervo in 2014 in exchange for giving previous owner Diageo full control of Don Julio Tequila.

The whiskey has been triple-distilled in copper pots and then aged in first-, second-, and third-fill oloroso Sherry casks, giving it an “approachable” profile.

For more information, click here.

Glendalough 13 Year Old

Price: £85 (US$120) 

Glendalough Distillery launched what it claims is the first Irish whiskey finished in Japanese mizunara oak earlier this year: Glendalough 13 Year Old.

The single malt expression spent 13 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, before being finished in mizunara oak casks. It is bottled at 46% abv and is said to have notes of sandalwood, honey and citrus.

The 13-year-old is one of a trio of new whiskeys released by Glendalough this year.

For more information, click here.

Roe & Co

Price: £29.45 (US$41.00)

Released in March last year, Roe & Co blended Irish whiskey marked Diageo’s return to the Irish whiskey category, following the sale of Bushmills in 2014.

Created by Diageo’s master blender Caroline Martin and her team – who had trialled more than 100 prototype blends since December 2014 – Roe & Co combines hand-selected stocks of Irish malt and grain whiskies, aged in Bourbon casks.

The brand pays homage to George Roe, who is credited with building the golden era of Irish whiskey in the 19th century.

For more information, click here.

Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition

Price: €38.00 (US$47.00)

The expression was first created in 2013 when Jameson teamed up with Irish microbrewery Franciscan Well, located in Cork, to see what effect used oak whiskey barrels from the Midleton distillery would have on stout beer.

Afterwards, the now stout-seasoned barrels were returned to the distillery and refilled with Jameson Original to create Jameson Caskmates, which is said to have the triple-distilled “smoothness” of Jameson with added notes of coffee, cocoa and hops.

In December 2017, the range expanded to include the Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition, an Irish whiskey finished in IPA beer barrels from Franciscan Well.

For more information, click here.

Peaky Blinders Irish Whiskey

Price: £25 (US$33)

Craft brewery Sadler’s Ales extended its spirits portfolio last year with a range of Peaky Blinders-inspired products.

The Stourbridge-based brewery celebrated the launch of the latest series of the hit BBC show with a new range of spirits, which included a spiced London Dry gin, Irish whiskey and spiced black rum.

Peaky Blinders Irish Whiskey is described as “a bold, smooth and triple-distilled Irish whiskey” – a nod to the TV gang’s favourite spirit.

For more information, click here.

J.J. Corry The Gael

Price: £60.00 (US$83.00) for 500ml, £80.00 (US$111.50) for 250ml

Chapel Gate Irish Whiskey Co, the first modern whiskey bonder in Ireland and the country’s only all-female Irish whiskey company, launched its first product in October last year.

Chapel Gate’s first product is J.J. Corry The Gael, a blend comprising 5% 26-year-old single malt, 27.5% 11-year-old single malt, 27.5% 15-year-old single malt and 40% seven-year-old single grain whiskey.

The Gael is described as having “fruit-forward flavours”. It is non-chill-filtered and has no artificial colourings.

For more information, click here.

Prizefight

Price: £50.00 (US$69.00)

Pugilist Spirit launched an American rye-finished Irish whiskey called Prizefight last year – a collaboration between Ireland’s West Cork Distilling and New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling.

Flor Prendergast, of Pugilist Spirit, and industry maverick Steven Grasse, teamed up with West Cork Distilling to create the whiskey, while Grasse’s own distillery, Tamworth, arranged the finishing.

Inspired by the connection, Grasse named the whiskey Prizefight to pay homage to the Irish men who journeyed to America and became the “greatest” fighters of the time.

The label depicts the fight between John Morrissey and Yankee Sullivan – two of the most famous Irish-born fighters of their day – which took place at Boston Corners, New York, on 12 October 1853.

For more information, click here.

Midleton Very Rare 2017

Price: €180 (US$222.50)

Midleton Very Rare Vintage 2017 has been blended from a batch of ex-Bourbon barrels ranging in age from 12 years to 32 years.

The 2017 edition also marks a redesign for the brand, with the bottle inspired by a writer’s ink well, creating a subtle link to Ireland’s literary legacy.

The expression is made with 32-year-old Midleton grain whiskey and 26-year-old single pot still whiskey.

For more information, click here.