“Irish Whiskey is Back” for Napa Spotlight Magazine
I submitted a piece to a local neighborhood magazine here in Napa recently to coincide with St. Patrick’s Season on the resurgence in Irish Whiskey. The good folks at Napa Spotlight Magazine published the piece where I do my best to cram as much info as possible into just 400 words.
So I didn’t get to explore Irish whiskey history, what is single pot still and why is it so unique, nor did I get to share a cocktail for St. Patrick’s. I did get to talk about some whiskeys to try and was able to give a shout-out to the great folks at my locally-owned independent liquor store, Lawler’s, in addition to the whiskey bar at Sky & Vine at The Archer Hotel in downtown Napa.
Here’s the text from the article , all 400 words of it, with some hyperlinks that I’m able to add in here on my site.
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Irish whiskey is on the rise again. Having once been the pre-eminent spirit globally in the late 1800's, a long and slow decline led to a time in the 1990's when there were just three distilleries on the island.
The last decade has seen a resurgence with distilleries popping up all over the island and there are now over 50 distilleries at various stages of construction and production.
Style-wise Irish whiskey offers the consumer variety - Single Grain, Single Malt, Single Pot Still, and Blended - a blend of any of the aforementioned, and is generally considered to be approachable and smooth on the palate.
America is the biggest export market for Irish whiskey with over 50% of all Irish whiskey production making its way across the Atlantic. California sees many of the new releases and locally here in Napa, Pete Lawler, owner of Lawler’s Liquors on Jefferson St. [2232 Jefferson St, Napa, CA 94559 | (707) 226-9311] has seen sales of Irish whiskey increase and it now takes up more shelf space.
Green Spot, a single pot still style, is his favorite while the old reliables of Jameson and Tullamore DEW make up the bulk of sales. “There’s more choice than ever for our customers when it comes to Irish whiskey,” says Lawler “and every other week I‘m offered a new brand or label from Ireland.”
Irish whiskey has recently seen a new innovation with the launch of the first-ever 100% Irish Rye Whiskey under the historic Powers brand. Founded in 1791 Powers gave us the Baby Powers in 1889, which we know today as the mini, the nip, or the airline size. Their rye whiskey which is now on sale is looking to target the cocktail market and will offer mixologists a whiskey base for cocktails with a fascinating flavor profile.
For those looking to sample some Irish whiskey offerings by the flight, The Whiskey Bar at the Archer is the place to go. The rooftop bar offers a journey through some of The Spot Irish whiskey range - Green, Blue, and Yellow - a selection of Irish whiskeys of varying age statements finished with different barrels.
For those of you looking to try some “Irish” start with the Powers Gold Label which sells for just under $30 a bottle.
Irish whiskey now offers something for everyone whether it’s served neat, over ice, with water, or in your favorite cocktail. Sláinte (the Irish for “to your good health, pronounced “slawn-cha”)
