What a difference a few years can make in the fast-moving world of spirits.

And few spirits have been as fast-moving as Irish whiskey over the past decade, with double-digit growth a regular occurrence. While this has mostly been driven by the phenomenal growth of Jameson, that stalwart has carried other brands along in its slipstream.

But first, those brands had to exist. In 1987, there were two distilleries operating in Ireland, and by the start of the 21st Century, there were four. Since then the growth in distillery numbers and gallons produced can only be described as explosive.

It’s four years since we last looked at the best Irish whiskeys, and even since then the change has been nothing short of astonishing. Back then, the number of operating distilleries stood at 32; today, there are 43. That’s pretty good going for a country smaller in area than Indiana and with the population of Minnesota.

But the real story of Irish whiskey in the 21st Century is not simply one of survival, recovery and revival in terms of volumes, but also in terms of quality.

What has driven the resurrection of Irish whiskey has not been simply marketing, it has been quality. Irish whiskey has always been well made and rich in flavor, but as more people tried it, more of them realized just how good it is. It becamse a virtuous circle, where success bred success.

Versatility has also helped win over consumers. Irish whiskey offers everything from heavily peated expressions through exquisitely aged single pot still bottlings to vibrant, flavorful blends that make great mixed drinks.

And as Irish whiskey has won over consumers, it has also won over critics, with more Irish whiskeys getting a fairer reward for their quality, as we shall see shortly. That’s no easy achievement, either. Spirits writers (and especially whiskey writers) tend to be more sparing in their scores – at least when compared to wine writers, who fling 98-point scores around like confetti at a wedding.

Instead, spirit critics tend to base their scores in a more realistic appraisal of what each score means. Traditionally, a score in the high 80s meant your whiskey was very good indeed and anything in the 90s meant it was a classic. Let’s see how the Irish have been getting on.

The World’s Best Irish Whiskeys on Wine-Searcher:

The first thing to notice might not be all that apparent, but it is important. That is the fact that all but one of these whiskeys comes from the fabled Midleton distillery in the heart of County Cork. Only the Bushmills (from the world’s oldest licensed distillery, in County Antrim) comes from beyond the Cork distillery’s gates.

But the really interesting thing is the scores. Four years ago, the top Irish whiskey had an aggregated critic score of 91. Back then, just two whiskeys (the Midleton Very Rare Vintage and the Barry Crocket Legacy bottlings) achieved that feat. There were seven 90-pointers on the list and Bushmills Black Bush crept into 10th place with a score of 89. 

Those scores were more than respectable, as mentioned earlier. However, the change is beyond surprising. There are now four 95-pointers on the list, and the lowest-ranked whiskey boasts an aggregated score of 93. That’s proof that, not only has Ireland always been producing good whiskey (none of these whiskeys is remotely a “new kid on the block”) but that critics are finally waking up to just how good Irish whiskey is and can be.

And it isn’t just the top 10; the scores for the whiskeys in the wider top 25 start at 90 and go up – the Black Bush that managed a very respectable 89 back in 2020 now has an aggregated score of 91.

Sadly, one thing has changed and that’s price. In 2020, the highest global average retail price (GARP) on this list was $293 for the Midleton Dair Ghaelach (pronounced “dorr gway-loch”, it means “Irish oak” and refers to the various places where the distillery planted oak trees to be used to age the whiskeys) Grinsell’s Wood. This whiskey will now set you back arolund $440, while the prices on the current list are way higher. In 2020, the average GARP for each of the top 10 was $137.50; today – even excluding the $48,000 bottling – it is $594.65, or more than quadruple.

Irish whiskey is, thankfully, more popular and better quality than ever – and it is also, finally, getting the returns it deserves. Sláinte.