By the late 1970s Ireland was down to two working whiskey distilleries, Bushmills and Midleton. The picture has changed a good deal since, with Teeling opening the first new distillery in Dublin in over 125 years in 2015, and single pot still returning as a category after coming close to disappearing altogether. Irish whiskey has been experiencing a resurgence, and The Spirits Business recognized this at their latest Irish Whiskey Masters competition.
Eight Irish whiskeys took Master medals at this year’s contest. Five went to Irish Distillers at Midleton, across the Powers and Spot ranges. The other three were an independently bottled Bushmills from Atom Brands, The Donn from The Craft Irish Whiskey Co, and a 33 year old from Teeling.
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Here is a closer look at all eight, and let us know in the comments what you make of the results.
Powers Gold Label
Award: Master
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Category: Blended – Ultra-Premium
Tasting Notes: Cinnamon, clove oil, white pepper, russet apples, ripe pears, charred oak, green peppers, nutmeg, orchard fruits, vanilla, crisp barley, spices, honey
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READ THE STORYFind Your Next Bottle: $35 / £27
James Power started distilling in Dublin in 1791, and the business became John Power & Son in 1822 at its John’s Lane site. Powers was one of the first Irish distilleries to sell whiskey in bottles rather than by the cask, and the gold label used on those bottles gave the whiskey its name. The company merged into Irish Distillers in 1966, and production moved to Midleton in County Cork.
Gold Label is a blend of pot still and grain whiskey matured in American oak, bottled at 43.2% ABV without chill filtration. Irish Distillers does not publish the ratio of pot still to grain.
The judges called it “just lovely,” with “freshly baked bread, baking spices, lots of raisins and deep plummy character.”
Powers Irish Rye
Award: Master
Category: Blended – Ultra-Premium
Tasting Notes: Burnt orange, maraschino cherries, toffee banana, freshly baked rye bread, buttered croissants, charred oak, clove, white pepper, ginger, vanilla, sugar cane, peppermint, caramelized apples, brown sugar, sweet cereal, red liquorice, chili oil, honey glazed fruit, cereal
Find Your Next Bottle: $40 / £35
Irish Distillers archivist Carol Quinn went through the company’s old mash bills and recipes, which showed that Powers had worked with rye at various points in its history. The whiskey that came out of that research was announced in 2023, and Irish Distillers describes it as the world’s first 100% Irish rye whiskey.
The rye itself was grown at Cooney Furlong Farm in County Wexford. Maturation takes place in a mixture of virgin, first fill, and refill American oak, and the whiskey is bottled at 43.2% ABV with no age statement.
At the time of launch, Quinn said: “Throughout the history of the famous Powers John’s Lane Distillery there was a willingness to challenge the old ways of doing things and experiment with new ideas, from urban farming on the distillery roof in the 1940s, to bottling in-house and the introduction of the world’s first miniature Irish whiskey, the ‘baby Power’. This has fed very much into the DNA of Powers Irish Rye today, both in the use of rye and in the method of distillation.”
The judges found it “so complex,” with “green apple skin, Calvados personality, and pure, fresh Nordic rye bread.”
That Boutique-y Whisky Company Bushmills Single Cask
Award: Master
Category: Single Malt – Ultra-Premium
Tasting Notes: Sweet, milky black tea or chai, buttery shortbread, ripe mango, milk chocolate, syrupy sultanas, creamy caramel, banana, soft peach, dark plum, antique cigar box
Find Your Next Bottle: $338 / £249.95
That Boutique-y Whisky Company is part of Atom Brands, the group that also owns the retailer Master of Malt, and it has been releasing single cask and small batch bottlings since 2012. Independently bottled Bushmills does not come around often, which the company notes on its own product page.
This one is 22 years old, triple distilled, and was laid down in October 2002 before being re-racked into an ex-Maury wine cask in January 2023 for an extended finishing period. There are 390 bottles. It came out as part of a five-bottle limited edition collection released in early 2026, all of which were bottled at 45.8% ABV.
The judges noted a “pronounced aroma of dried red fruits and citrus,” and a palate that was “smooth, textural and rich, with an explosion of juicy red currants, wild strawberries and cherries.”
The Donn
Award: Master
Category: Single Malt – Ultra-Premium
Tasting Notes: Orange zest, digestive biscuits, caramel, pecan nuts, marzipan, dark chocolate, caramel, toasted walnuts, prunes
Find Your Next Bottle: Join the waitlist
The Craft Irish Whiskey Co was founded in 2018 by Jay Bradley and does not run its own distillery. The company is probably best known for The Emerald Isle set, one of which sold for $2.8 million in January 2024.
The Donn takes its name from Donn, a figure in Irish mythology who is the god of the dead and, in mythology, is the first ancestor of the Gaelic people.
The 2023 Inaugural Edition was bottled at 46.15% ABV. Maturation takes place in ex-bourbon, Tawny Port, heavily toasted virgin Hungarian oak, and a series of Pedro Ximénez casks. In April 2026 the company said the whiskey is 6.9 years old.
The judges described an aroma that was “rich and heavily Sherried” and a palate that was “beautiful, rich, silky” with “black cherries, chocolate, and vanilla fudge.”
Teeling 33 Year Old Single Malt Rum Cask
Award: Master
Category: Single Malt – Ultra-Premium
Tasting Notes: Earthy notes, dried fruits, toffee, burnt sugar, fruit, molasses, wood influence
Find Your Next Bottle: €3,480
Jack and Stephen Teeling founded the Teeling Whiskey Company in 2012, and their Newmarket distillery in Dublin opened in 2015. A 33 year old therefore predates the distillery by some margin, and the whiskey comes from what Teeling calls its Very Rare Cask Collection, drawn from the oldest single malt stock in the company’s warehouses and selected by master distiller and blender Alex Chasko.
The bottling is cask 546, limited to 141 bottles at 52.1% ABV, finished in a rum cask, and sold exclusively through Dublin and Cork Airport Duty Free.
The judges picked out a “touch of maritime” on the nose along with “caramel notes. The palate has a nice sweetness, baked banana, fudge, and a pleasant woodiness.”
Green Spot
Award: Master
Category: Single Pot Still – Super-Premium
Tasting Notes: Fresh aromatic oils, spices, orchard fruits, barley, toasted wood, cloves, green apples
Find Your Next Bottle: $55 / £46
Mitchell & Son has been trading in Dublin since 1805, and the family matured whiskey in a network of underground cellars beneath the city’s streets. Casks filled with spirit from the old Bow Street Distillery were marked with a daub of paint indicating how long they would be aged, with blue for seven years, green for 10, yellow for 12, and red for 15, hence the colored Spot Whiskey names. The whiskey is now produced at Midleton by Irish Distillers, though Mitchell & Son still owns the brand.
Green Spot is a single pot still whiskey with no age statement, made up of whiskeys aged between seven and 10 years and matured in a combination of new and refill bourbon casks alongside sherry casks. It is bottled at 40% ABV.
The judges found it “rich and full-bodied, spiced apple and cinnamon”. It also, according to Spot Whiskey, has some famous fans including Daniel Day Lewis, Mick Jagger, and Michael Parkinson.
Yellow Spot
Award: Master
Category: Single Pot Still – Ultra-Premium
Tasting Notes: Mown hay, cracked black pepper, red bell peppers, nutmeg, clove oil, green tea, honey, peaches, fresh coffee, creamy milk chocolate, crème brûlée, red apples, toasted oak, red grape, dry barley
Find Your Next Bottle: $100 / £83
Yellow Spot is the 12 year old in the range, matching the paint color Mitchell & Son used for casks held back that long. Production stopped in the middle of the last century and the whiskey returned in 2012, made at Midleton like the rest of the Spot whiskeys.
Where Green Spot uses bourbon and sherry casks, Yellow Spot adds a third element. It is matured in American bourbon barrels, Spanish sherry butts, and Spanish Malaga casks, and is bottled at 46% ABV.
The judges picked out “honey, nutmeg, crème brûlée and rich fruit.”
Powers Three Swallow Release
Award: Master and Irish Whiskey Taste Master
Category: Single Pot Still – Ultra-Premium
Tasting Notes: Pot Still spice, crisp barley, herbs, green banana, grapefruit, marzipan, green apple, citrus, cedar wood, sherry, crisp cereal, toasted oak
Find Your Next Bottle: $48 / £39.99
Powers Three Swallow Release was the only whiskey to take two honors, having also been voted the overall Irish Whiskey Taste Master by all of the judges, a title given to the product they considered the most deserving across the entire competition.
The name refers to the three swallows that appear on the Powers crest. It is a single pot still whiskey made at Midleton, matured mainly in American oak bourbon barrels with a small proportion of Oloroso sherry casks, carrying no age statement and bottled at 43.2% ABV.
The judges described the aroma as “bright, peachy, fresh and lively,” and liked the palate for its “creaminess, good texture – peaches and cream.”
What Do You Make of the Results?
Five of the eight Master medals went to whiskeys made at Midleton, across the Powers and Spot ranges, and the top honor of the competition went to Powers Three Swallow Release, which sits at the more affordable end of the eight. The others cover a lot of ground, from an independently bottled Bushmills and a young single malt from a company that does not distil, through to a 33 year old down to its last 141 bottles and sold only at Dublin and Cork airports.
Have you tried any of these eight? Are there any you would like to get your hands on, and what do you make of the awards? Let us know in the comments.
