The 14 Best Irish Whiskey Worth Drinking Right Now!
I’ve been drinking some of the best Irish whiskey for the past 16 years, experiencing the good, bad, and ugly. In my opinion, Redbreast and Teelings are the best Irish whiskey brands I have come across.
As a young man who grew up in Nigeria but does Ireland research, my first experience with Irish whiskey was memorable, but not in a good way: we got the cheapest thing on the market, and it ripped your tastes apart.
As I grew older and my palette (and budget) developed, I began to sample a variety of Irish whiskeys. Over the years, I’ve curated a list of my best Irish whiskey brands, ranging from inexpensive to premium, which you can find below.
The List of 14 Best Irish Whiskey 2025
1. Bushmills 12 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
We expect a lot from our “best all-rounder” spirits, including mass-market appeal to both novices and seasoned drinkers, widespread availability, affordability to the point that they can be used neat or in cocktails, and, most importantly, adaptability.
Bushmills’ 12-year-old single malt crosses all of those boxes, and one of its characteristics is startling. One component that may raise some eyebrows is its bottling strength of 40% ABV, which is the legal minimum for the category and is often lighter than you’d anticipate from a spirit that can be enjoyed plain as well as in cocktails.
But it works; and then some! thanks to its exceptionally concentrated flavor profile, which is undoubtedly due to triple-cask aging (oloroso sherry, ex-bourbon, and Marsala) as well as decades of institutional knowledge at one of the world’s oldest distilleries.
More precisely, this single malt offers rich sherry, dried fruit, and exquisite wood flavors. If you want to combine it into a cocktail, the suggested retail price is around $2.50 per ounce, or $5 to $7.50 per cocktail, depending on your beverage of choice. That means you can easily make two or three drinks at home for the price of one at a bar.
2. J.J. Corry ‘The Flintlock’ 21 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey (Batch 5)
This isn’t the most expensive expression on this list, but with only 1,200 bottles available worldwide, it certainly lives up to its “seek out” designation. So why should you do this?
Aside from the basic economics of supply and demand, there are also significant technological considerations: This single malt was bottled at 21 years old, without chill filtration or additions, and with a strong 46 percent ABV. In the Irish whiskey world, a bottle with those stats normally costs much more than the MSRP of this release. More important than any of the production technicalities, this is a superb single malt.
Its principal appeal is its tropical, floral profile; an ethereal sweet spot that only a few of the world’s greatest whiskeys reach on their way from fresh youthfulness to dry, nuanced, and savory maturity. There is no indication of a bitter finish or an overreliance on oak, nor is there any heavy-handed influence from fancy finishing casks or complex mash bills. Simply said, less is more in this excellent single malt.
3. High N’ Wicked ‘Rose Tattoo’ Single Malt Irish Whiskey
The tenth expression in High N’ Wicked’s Limited Singular Series, this non-age-statement release uses ex-Amarone casks for an eight-month finishing period as its USP. Typically, heady red- and fortified-red-wine-finished products have a brusque and frequently awkward impression.
However, if you blind-tasted us on this whiskey, red wine would not be one of our top five selections for finishing the cask, thanks to the appealing and approachable orchard and stone fruit flavor on the aroma. We’d be similarly perplexed by the 59.9 percent ABV, with cask-strength heat hardly registering after each sniff.
If the aroma is all about what this whiskey isn’t, or doesn’t appear to be; the palate snaps back into place in a way that makes sense while still defying expectations. We’d be lying if we said we didn’t appreciate it much more with a liberal splash of water, or that the Amarone red wine influence didn’t become much more unique and noticeable. But at this point, it’s a milestone to be proud of, as well as a dram to geekily experiment with, tweaking ABV to taste and savoring the ever-richer depth of flavors and nuanced texture.
4. Roe & Co Blended Irish Whiskey
Roe & Co.’s Blended Irish Whiskey is a blend of malt and grain distillates matured entirely in ex-bourbon casks. While its oak-forward, sweet, and rich taste lacks some of the finesse of a full-fledged sipping whiskey, those features, together with its 45 percent ABV, make it a reliable cocktail component, at home in a wide range of classics.
At $30, it also provides more than similarly priced competitors, including the liquid definition of concepts such as flexibility, approachability, and soft temperament. When mixing cocktails, we never want our base spirit to take over, but we also don’t want it to fade into the background. Roe & Co achieves this equilibrium without ever threatening to break the bank.
5. Northcross Triple Wood Irish Whiskey
As the name implies, this blended Irish whiskey matures in three different types of oak: ex-bourbon, oloroso sherry, and new American oak. At $25 and a bottling strength of 43% ABV, it’s also an excellent choice for cocktails, with its oak-forward flavor and forceful taste making it suitable for both American whiskey classics and the considerably limited variety of Irish-based classics.
6. Slane Triple Casked Irish Whiskey
Look for Slane Triple Casked for a widely available, dependable weeknight sipper. With substantial wood influence from sherry casks, new oak, and former Tennessee whiskey barrels, the latter contributes a strong dose of banana and caramel, as seen in its Brown-Forman-owned stablemate Jack Daniel’s. At 40% ABV, we’d skip the ice and opt for a different cocktail; instead, this whiskey smells fantastic and sips very smooth.
Fercullen Falls’ Small Batch Blended Irish Whiskey
This whiskey combines malt and grain distillates, with the former maturing in first-fill, ex-bourbon barrels and the grain component resting in ex-bourbon and fresh charred oak casks. It’s another option for casual sipping – an excellent complement to a great, creamy Irish stout that continues to impress as it exposes new notes of stone fruit, sweet oak, and prickly pepper heat. The palette never strives to be overly academic or sophisticated, letting a well-paired pint or simple meal pairing shine.
7. Busker’s Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
The Busker’s “Single Collection” has three of Ireland’s signature styles: single grain, single malt, and single pot still, all bottled at a precise 44.3 percent ABV and priced between $30 and $40. The most expensive of the lot, but also the most expressive and delicate, this single pot still release was triple distilled and matured in ex-bourbon and sherry casks. It’s fruity, sweet, and oaky, with just a hint of subtlety, making it an economical present for the whiskey enthusiast in your life who’s been drinking for a year or two.
8. Midnight Silkie Irish Whiskey
This release is a blend of triple-distilled whiskeys, with five single malts matured in various barrel types, the most prominent of which were imperial stout and red wine casks. While only one of the five base spirits was peated, it accounts for more than a third of the formula, creating an appealingly smokey profile evocative of great malt whiskies from Islay, Scotland. Caramelized vanilla poached pears meet bonfire smoke on the nose, followed by luxurious richness on the taste.
9. West Cork Glengarriff Bog Oak Charred Barrel
This single malt spends four years in sherry casks before being aged for an indeterminate length in charred bog oak casks. Even seasoned whiskey drinkers may be unfamiliar with that vessel, which normally refers to wood that has been buried, stored, and matured in peat bogs before being used to make barrels. They have a major influence on the whiskey, giving it a characteristic oxidized, savory character. With juicy, sour apple aromas, this is one for cider aficionados who are willing to step outside their comfort zones.
10. Boann Single Pot Still Madeira Cask Irish Whiskey
This combination, which is first aged in ex-bourbon barrels and then completed in Madeira casks, results in a notably rich and concentrated single-pot still whiskey with an appealing flavor that balances savory aromas with sweetness. A bottling level of 47 percent ABV only adds to its richness and lingering finish, which features light sprinklings of peppery heat. Enjoy its evolution with a huge single ice cube or neat from a Glencairn.
11. Drumshanbo Marsala Cask, Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
Drumshanbo is a skilled all-rounder among Irish distillers, creating gin, vodka, and distinctive Irish whiskeys. This expression is distilled using malted barley, unmalted barley, and Irish barra oats and spends some time in Marsala casks, but it’s unclear if this is the entire maturation process or simply a portion of it. In any case, it enhances the flavor profile of the brand’s distinctive pot still whiskey with savory accents and nuanced oxidation overtones. We’d enjoy it even more if it had a little more oomph than its 43 percent ABV, which has little effect on the nose or taste but leaves the finish rather thin.
12. Shortcross Distiller’s Duo 5-Year Old Irish Whiskey
This artisanal, proprietary combination of single malt and single pot still distillates is full of flavor. (For the curious, the latter component is fermented and distilled from 66% malted barley unmalted barley.) The nose combines both styles, with a cereal- and fruit-forward flavor and just the appropriate amount of oaky sweetness. The palate amps up the intensity of everything, sipping at a manageable but not overpowering 46 percent ABV.
13. Irish Whiskey Bonding Co. Merchants Malt 15 Years Old
This 46-percent ABV single malt is 15 years old and was matured completely in ex-bourbon casks. It is expensive for the age statement, but its remarkably pale hue will immediately grab the eye of expert whiskey consumers, implying a lack of added colorants and a deft hand throughout maturation. The aroma initially smells faintly fruity and fragrant but evolves in glass to deliver tropical notes and unexpected oaky richness on the palate. Overall, this is a fascinating and extremely satisfying dram.
14. Redbreast 18-Year-Old Single Pot Still Irish Whisky
This 18-year-old single pot still releases, the first new permanent expression added to Redbreast’s inventory in over four years, will be available in the fall of 2024, among the brand’s 12-, 15-, and 21-year expressions. It costs over $100 more than the already outstanding 15-year release, which is a significant premium for an extra three years in barrel.
But profile-wise, it delivers a significant change, completely converting fruits that straddle fresh and dry in the 15 to decadently stewed, dried (again), and enjoyably booze-soaked. Savory nuts and baking spices add complexity, and the palate oozes a rich, almost greasy mouthfeel that lingers well after the finish. It may not be our all-time favorite Redbreast expression, but it is a welcome addition to one of Irish whiskey’s most enduring classics.
Conclusion
I do not doubt that we have mistakenly left out some of the best Irish whiskey brands from the list above. If you have any Irish whiskey recommendations, please share them in the comments section below; I’d love to hear them!
