Eire’s Division of Agriculture, Meals and Marine has launched a public session to overview the foundations that govern Irish whiskey.
Final Friday (26 June), the federal government opened a session inviting events to submit observations or objections relating to the Irish whiskey technical file.
Open for 10 weeks, the general public session invitations stakeholders to share a abstract of not more than 300 phrases, which can be thought of as a part of the division’s analysis of the product specification for Irish whiskey.
Martin Heydon, minister for Agriculture, Meals and Marine, stated: “This session supplies an essential alternative for producers, companies, shoppers, and different events to contribute their views on the technical file.
“Geographical indications (GIs) assist defend regional meals heritage, help native economies and supply shoppers with confidence relating to product authenticity.”
The minister for Agriculture, Setting and Rural Affairs of Northern Eire, Andrew Muir, known as Irish whiskey “a globally famend product, rooted in custom and very important to our agri-food and drinks sector”.
He added the session would “be certain that it continues to guard the integrity, high quality, and status of the geographical indication”.
The Irish Whiskey Affiliation (IWA) has submitted its proposed adjustments forward of the general public session.
The IWA is proposing a rise within the ‘different cereals’ allowance from 5% to 30%. Presently, the mash invoice for pot nonetheless Irish whiskey should comprise a minimal of 30% malted barley and a minimal of 30% unmalted barley. Solely as much as 5% of different cereals could also be added.
The IWA believes that the 5% restrict, established in 2024, “doesn’t replicate the total variety of pot nonetheless’s heritage”. The organisation pointed to historic distilling data that confirmed pot nonetheless Irish whiskey historically used mash payments steadily that includes as much as 30% adjunct grains.
The present specification additionally permits for ‘different cereals’ with out particularly naming or proscribing the forms of grain used. The IWA wish to see this restricted to rye, wheat and oats to “protect traditions” from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Additionally it is calling for a rise on the malted barley restrict for grain Irish whiskey from 30% to 40%, which might permit distilleries to implement extra energy-efficient processes, comparable to the usage of undried malt.
The IWA additionally needs to take away the emphasis on oak, permitting any wood cask, which it describes as a “key differentiator” between Irish whiskey and different whiskies comparable to Scotch.
Moreover, the affiliation is asking for the elimination of the phrases ‘presently non-peated’ from the pot nonetheless definition, because it has traditionally seen “clear proof of peated malt being utilised in pot nonetheless distillation”. It says there are actually peated pot nonetheless whiskeys in the marketplace, and eradicating the time period would remove any ambiguity.
The general public session closes at 4pm on 4 September 2026.
Exports of Irish whiskey declined by 5% in worth final 12 months after the US hindered the class’s efficiency.
The EU-India free commerce settlement might open up “vital alternatives” for the class, Heydon stated in January.
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