If the 19th century were Rocky 2 of the Irish Whiskey saga, the 20th Century was definitely Rocky 3.
“In this corner, Clubber Lang.”…and Lang would proceed to beat the sh*t out of Irish Whiskey for the better part of 70 years. That’s a looooooong ass beating!
Civil wars…down goes the Irish.
Trade wars…down goes the Irish!
U.S. prohibition…DOWN goes the Irish!
An Independence Wars…throw the towel!
Poor Irish export policies…throw the damn towel!!!
Irish whiskey production would plummet to near extinction.
By 1966 three of the surviving distilleries (John Jameson, Cork, and Powers) would consolidate under the name Irish Distillers. Six years later Bushmills would join the group. In the 1970’s there were on two distilleries cranking out whiskey; a far cry from 28 when Irish Whiskey was king a mere 8 decades previously.
The period between Woodstock and, ironically, Rocky 1, was the darkest time for Irish Whiskey.
Slowly, the Spirit made a comeback in the 80’s. Then in 1988 spirits giant, Pernod Ricard, purchased Irish Distillers and began marketing the hell out of Jameson. This has proven quite effective as the popularity quickly caught hold of whiskey lover’s palettes again. Perhaps it was in our genes, just waiting for us to awaken the taste buds.
Today the Irish continues its rise. Like a Phoenix, it has emerged from the ashes to be the fastest growing spirit in the world.
Boom! 600 years of Irish Whiskey History in 3 Daily Shots!