The Irish Whiskey Awards took place in Dublin recently and a slew of delicious native tipples took home new titles.
Irish whiskey is having a real moment right now, with more than 35 distilleries now dotted around the country, which is the most that the country has had since the whiskey boom of the 1800s. Sales to the US alone exceeded more than one billion dollars last year, showing how financially rewarding the sector is right now.
The event highlighted the very best of Irish whiskey in a number of different categories, including Best Irish Single Pot Still, Best New Irish Whiskey and Best Irish Single Grain. Other spirits and outlets were also highlighted in a variety of categories, including Best Irish Gin, Best Irish Poitín and Best Irish Whiskey Bar.
The big winners of the night were Bowe's in Dublin, which won Best Irish Whiskey Bar, The Irishman 17 Year Old Single Malt, which was named Best Irish Whiskey Overall, and The Dead Rabbit in NYC, which was named Best Irish Whiskey Bar International.
See below for the full list of winners.
Congratulations to @Walshwhiskey for winning Irish Whiskey of the Year with their incredible Irishman 17 Year Old Single Cask #IWA19 ! #irishwhiskey #WINNER #WHISKEYOFTHEYEAR pic.twitter.com/j8wuDKlYVg
— Irish Whiskey Awards (@WhiskeyAwardsIE) October 17, 2019
READ MORE: The New Limited Edition Egan's Irish Whiskey Celebrates 100 Years Of History
Best Irish Single Pot Still
Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy
Gold medal winners: Redbreast 15 Year Old & Green Spot.
Best Irish Single Malt (12 years and younger)
Dunville's PX Cask 12 Year Old
Gold medal winners: Tyrconnell 10-Year-Old Port Finish & Tyrconnell Single Malt
Best Irish Single Malt (13 years and older)
Teeling Brabazon Volume 1
Gold medal winners: Dublin Liberties Keeper's Coin & Knappogue Castle 16-Year-Old
Best Irish Blended Whiskey (RRP of less than €60)
Jameson Black Barrel
Gold medal winners: Slane Triple Casked Irish Whiskey & Tullamore D.E.W. 12-Year-Old
Best Irish Blended Whiskey (RRP of more than €60)
Jameson 18 Year Old Bow Street
Gold medal winners: J.J. Corry AN FA & Writers' Tears Copper Pot Japanese Mizunara Finish
Best Irish Single Cask
The Irishman 17 Year Old
Gold medal winners: Sonny Molloy's Redbreast 16 Year Old & Celtic Cask 27
Best Irish Cask Strength
Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength
Gold medal winners: The Whistler 7-Year-Old Cask Strength & Writers' Tears Cask Strength 2019 Release
Best Irish Single Grain
Method & Madness Single Grain Virgin Spanish Oak Finish
Gold medal winners: Glendalough Triple Barrel & Kilbeggan Single Grain
Best New Irish Whiskey
Kilbeggan Small Batch Rye
Gold medal winners: Dingle Single Malt Batch 4 & Teeling Single Pot Still Batch 3
Best Irish Whiskey Overall
The Irishman 17 Year Old
Best Irish Vodka
Lough Ree Zesty Citrus Vodka
Gold medal winners: Assaranca Vodka & Loch Measc Vodca
Best Irish Poitín
Mad March Hare Poitín
Gold medal winners: Straw Boys Poitín & Bán Poitín
Best Irish Gin
Beara Ocean Gin
Gold medal winners: Echlinville Single Estate Irish Pot Still Gin & Dingle Gin
Best Irish Liqueur
DV8 Gold Cream Liqueur
Gold medal winners: Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur & Coole Swan
Best Irish Barrel-Aged Beer
Dingle Celebration Stout
Gold medal winners: Crann Beatha Imperial Stout & DOT Brew Easy Malt Dipa
Best Irish Whiskey Bar Munster
Dick Mack's, Dingle
Gold medal winners:The Shelbourne Bar, Cork & The Folk House, Kinsale
Best Irish Whiskey Bar Leinster
Bowe's, Dublin
Gold medal winners:The Palace Bar, Dublin & The Sky & The Ground, Wexford
Best Irish Whiskey Bar Connacht
Garavan's, Galway
Gold medal winners: Sonny Molloy's, Galway & Sean's Bar, Athlone.
Best Irish Whiskey Bar Ulster
The Duke of York, Belfast
Gold medal winners: Bittle's Bar, Belfast & Madden's, Belfast.
Best Irish Whiskey Bar International
The Dead Rabbit, New York
Gold medal winners: Milroy's of Soho, London & Vermont & The Dillon, Iceland
Best Irish Whiskey Bar Overall
Bowe's, Dublin
Bowe's, Fleet St. Winner Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year. @Bowes_Lounge @WhiskeyAwardsIE #IWA19 #irishwhiskeybar pic.twitter.com/PqcG8Gs1Hz
— AllthepubsinDublin (@allthepubsin) October 21, 2019
