Photo by Jeff Harris/Food and drink styling by Duncan Fitzpatrick
Single pot still is the quintessential expression of Irish whiskey, known for its rich array of textures ranging from creamy to oily, and typically accompanied by a delightful array of spicy notes. It’s made in copper pot stills—by rule at a single distillery from a mash of both unmalted and malted barley, with small proportions of oats, rye, or wheat (known as adjunct grains) permitted.
Until recently, there wasn’t a lot of single pot still available, so this style remains unfamiliar to many whiskey lovers. But that has been changing lately, with more volume coming to market. The most familiar names include Redbreast, Powers, Green Spot, and Method and Madness, but there are many others, such as Teeling, The Busker, Writers’ Tears, Kilbeggan, and Drumshanbo.
While spice is single pot still’s signature, it isn’t one single flavor, as it can range from ginger and spiced fruits to licorice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. The expression of the spices in your glass will depend on a number of key steps in the whiskey-making process.
The most important aspect of Irish single pot still is the inclusion of the unmalted barley, and then the ratio of unmalted to malted barley, and then the proportion and type of adjunct grains. Single pot still is triple distilled, but the triple distillation process can be individualized by each distiller. By varying the cut points as well as how the different portions of each run are collect- ed, combined, and redistilled, distillers can enhance or downplay certain characteristics in the flavor and texture of the final whiskey. A major distillery like Midleton, the home of Irish Distillers, makes a variety of single pot still whiskeys—light, medium, and the heavier traditional. These can then be combined to produce different single pot still whiskeys, or married with grain whiskeys to make blends. Maturation can also enhance the pot still spices, with distillers favoring the wood-derived spiciness that can sharpen and focus the spices into specific flavors through maturation in bourbon barrels, oloroso sherry casks, or new oak. The layering of different component single pot still whiskeys and the resulting interactions can help produce finished products that range from light, creamy creations with gently spiced fruity notes to oily, nutty, leathery heavyweights bristling with spice and chewy textures.
FIND YOUR FAVORITE SPICE
From subtle to strong, single pot still spice flavors surface in many whiskeys. Here are a few examples.
The Busker Small Batch
Blueberry pancakes, spiced apple, black cherry, cinnamon, ginger, chocolate muffins
Teeling Wonders of Wood Virgin Swedish Oak
Caramel, ginger, stroopwafel, orange taffy, gingerbread, nutmeg
Midleton Very Rare Barry Crockett Legacy
Toasted oak, vanilla, wood spices, green apple, citrus, toffee
