Water of Life: How Irish Whiskey Came to Be

In 1608, 12 years before the Mayflower dropped its anchor in Plymouth, Massachusetts, something big was brewing in Ireland. One of the oldest distilleries, Old Bushmill Distillery, received license from James I to distill whiskey. But that’s not to say they weren’t doing it already. The technology to produce this fermented beverage is thought to have arrived on the continent around 1000 CE, when monks brought over perfumes they’d distilled using a similar process. A hundred or so years later in the mid 12th century, the monks’ process had been transformed to make a drinkable spirit.

Soon enough, Irish whiskey, aka “the water of life,” was a favorite to many. Even Queen Elizabeth I was said to love it, and had stocks of it delivered to her court. So it’s no surprise that by 1880, there were approximately 160 distilleries in Ireland. Also helping the rise of whiskey were years of bad grape crops in France. Traditionally, the French had been pretty into cognac, but in the late 1880s, the entire crop of grapes failed, leaving the French to seek out other spirits – and they found whiskey. Across the ocean, Irish whiskey found its second largest market in America. Before 1919, Jameson was the best selling whiskey in America and the four largest Irish distilleries had a combined output of 5 million gallons a year. However, by the onset of the 20th century, Irish whiskey’s reign had ceased.

In 1919, Ireland began its fight for independence from England. As the Brits were their largest market, the demand for the Irish’s drinkable spirit was reduced and, their second largest market, America, was closed to buying whiskey due to prohibition. To make matters worse, much of the moonshine that was in circulation during prohibition was being passed off as Irish whiskey – basically turning generations of Americans off of the real thing. And (worse yet) the Coffey still was taking over instead of the pot still – a method of distilling which to this day sets Irish whiskey apart from the rest. The Coffey still was created in 1826, and gradually, its popularity increased. It allowed Ireland’s competitors to produce whiskey more quickly and cost effectively. And so, by the end of the WWII, only 7 distilleries hung on in Ireland, eventually whittling down to the 4 that remain today: Old Bushmills, Cooley, Midleton, and Kilbeggan.

More recently, Irish whiskey has made a steady comeback, with a little help from Jack Koeppler, the owner of San Francisco’s famous Buena Vista Café. He came back from Ireland completely obsessed with Irish Coffees in 1952. So, his café began offering them and was eventually serving up to 2000 Irish Coffees in a single day, mostly to travelers, who would then go home to their local bars, asking for the same drink. This domino effect created a nationwide phenomenon and helped the once beloved drink regain its place on the shelves of liquor stores.