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Ten top-quality Irish whiskeys for $50 or less

New Irish distilleries are coming into operation at a rapid pace – but which whiskeys are worth spending your hard-earned cash on? Here, we present 10 expressions that offer high quality at an affordable price.

Expression from Tullamore Dew and Writers’ Tears make up our list of affordable Irish whiskeys

The Spirits Business held its annual Irish Whiskey Masters last month, where an experienced panel of judges recognised some of the best bottlings in the business.

For as little as US$36, drinkers can purchase a range of high-quality expressions that were bestowed with Gold and Master medals from our recent blind-tasting.

From a five-year-old whiskey created by the founders behind one of the world’s top bars to an Irish whiskey finished in Caribbean rum casks, there’s something to suit every palate in our pick of top bottlings from the Emerald Isle.

Click through the following pages to see a selection of Irish whiskeys priced at US$50 and under.

Redbreast 12 Year Old

Price: £40 (US$48.24)

The Single Pot Still – Premium flight saw a Master go to Irish Distillers’ Redbreast 12 Year Old with its “great, fat oily nose” full of “olive oil and linseed”.

Redbreast 12 Year Old has been matured in a combination of Bourbon and Sherry casks.

Last month, Pernod Ricard-owned Irish Distillers updated the look of its Redbreast Irish whiskey range, more than a century after the brand was first introduced.

Roe & Co

Price: £29.99 (US$36.16)

Diageo’s Master-winning Roe & Co was described by judges as “smooth, with all the complex fruit flavours working in harmony” in the Blended – Standard category.

The UK drinks group announced its return to the Irish whiskey category in 2017 with the launch of the Roe & Co brand. Diageo exited Irish whiskey with the sale of Bushmills to Jose Cuervo’s parent company in 2015.

Roe & Co combines hand-selected stocks of Irish malt and grain whiskies aged in Bourbon casks. The brand pays homage to George Roe, who was credited with building the golden era of Irish whiskey in the 19th century.

In June this year, Diageo kicked off production at its Roe & Co Distillery in Dublin, marking another stage in the capital’s Irish whiskey renaissance.

Slane Irish Whiskey

Price: £30 (US$36.74)

Scoring a Gold medal in the Blended – Standard round was Brown-Forman’s Slane Irish Whiskey.

The expression is made using a triple-cask maturation process that uses virgin oak, seasoned oak and Sherry casks. The method is said to impart a more complex and robust flavour than traditional Irish whiskeys.

US drinks group Brown-Forman acquired the Slane brand in 2015, with plans to invest US$50 million in building a new Irish whiskey distillery on the historic Slane Castle estate.

In September 2017, Brown-Forman opened its Slane Irish whiskey distillery and visitor centre in County Meath – the company’s first distillery based outside of the US.

Tullamore Dew XO Caribbean Rum Cask Finish

Price: £36.95 (US$45.25)

One of four Gold medallists in the Blended – Premium flight was Tullamore Dew XO Caribbean Rum Cask Finish, which has been finished in first-fill XO Caribbean rum casks previously used to age Demerara rum.

Bottled at 43% ABV, the expression is produced by Scottish spirits group William Grant & Sons. It was launched in October 2017.

The packaging was inspired by antique Caribbean trade maps, passport stamps and travel journals.

Teeling Single Grain

Price: £41 (US$50)

Teeling Single Grain was given the Master accolade in the Single Grain – Premium flight. It was praised for its flavours of “sweet, buttery shortbread” on the nose and “characterful palate” of “vanilla and wood”.

Released in 2013, Teeling’s Single Grain Whiskey has been matured in Californian Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrels.

Powers Three Swallow Release

Price: £33 (US$40.42)

The Single Pot Still – Super Premium contingent produced a Master in Powers Three Swallow Release – “a perfect example of skilled whiskey-making”, according to one judge.

Powers Three Swallow is made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley, then tripled-distilled in copper pot stills. It is matured in Bourbon barrels before being finished in aged Sherry casks.

The Quietman 8 Year Old

Price: US$49.99

The Single Malt – Standard flight saw a Gold medal go to the “bright, but slightly acidic” The Quiet Man 8 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey.

Produced by Niche Drinks, the single malt has been aged for eight years in ex-Bourbon casks, then transferred to newer, first-fill Bourbon casks for finishing.

In April 2018, US-based spirits group Luxco purchased a controlling interest in Derry-based Niche Drinks for an undisclosed sum.

Dublin Liberties Oak Devil

Price: £36.95 (US$45.28)

Quintessential Brands Group scored a Gold medal in the Blended – Premium flight for its Dublin Liberties Oak Devil Irish whiskey.

Inspired by the eponymous area of the Irish capital, the expression has been aged in Bourbon casks. It is bottled at 46% ABV.

Writers’ Tears Red Head

Price: £38 (US$46.58)

The “bold, rich, caramel, salty” Writers’ Tears Red Head was bestowed with a Gold medal in the Single Malt – Standard flight.

The no-age-statement single malt has been matured exclusively in oloroso Sherry casks and is bottled without chill-filtering at 46% ABV.

The expression was released in August 2016, following the opening of the Walsh Whiskey distillery at Royal Oak in Ireland’s County Carlow.

The Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey

Price: £38.95 (US$47.73)

Nabbing a Gold medal in the Blended – Premium flight was The Dead Rabbit Irish Whiskey, a five-year-old blend of Irish single malt and grain whiskeys.

The expression was first aged in seasoned Bourbon casks for five years, and then finished in small virgin American oak barrels.

The Irish whiskey was launched by Sean Muldoon and Jack McGarry in partnership with The Dublin Liberties Distillery in 2018 to mark the five-year anniversary of The Dead Rabbit bar in New York.

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