IRISH WHISKEY BRANDS for St. Patrick's Day Reveling

What better way to celebrate all things Irish than with a glass of Irish whiskey this St. Patrick's Day. With the notorious holiday fast approaching, it's time to start thinking about your Irish whiskey game plan.

The Irish whiskey industry, one of the fastest growing spirits categories, is best known for major name brands. Ahead of March 17th, consider these four unique, high-quality whiskeys off the beaten path that are priced between $25 and $50. They are all designed to please your nose and palate and are wonderfully suited for a St. Patrick's Day crowd of whiskey lovers. The websites are included for your convenience.

The Busker Irish Whiskey Triple Cask Triple Smooth (SRP: $ 24.99): The Busker Triple Cask Triple Smooth is an extraordinary blend made with a high-quality Single Grain and a very high percentage of Single Malt and Single Pot Still. Matured and finished in three different casks (Bourbon, Sherry, Marsala), this whiskey brings a new meaning of smoothness to Irish whiskey. This blend, namely the Busker Blend, is a beautifully yellow gold colored whiskey, full with an unmistakably rich body. The nose leads with tropical fruits and vanilla notes. The journey continues with notes of malt, sweetness and dark chocolate, while more subtle notes of toffee, fudge and cinnamon add intensity. The whiskey concludes with a mellow, well balanced, sweet finish.

Proclamation Blended Irish Whiskey (SRP: 34.99): Proclamation Whiskey honors both the history and the people behind the birth of the Proclamation and the pivotal role they played at the turn of the 20th century, coupled with their enduring importance in the 21st. This Irish whiskey is a blend of the finest grain whiskies from across Ireland, timely crafted in small individual batches, offering a liquid of complex yet refined character. The liquid is triple-distilled and aged in new American Oak, then matured in bourbon casks and blended with a touch of sherry-finished malt, offering up a singularly smooth whiskey with a clean taste and a rounded, toasted finish.

Grace O' Malley Blended Irish Whiskey (SRP: $36.99): Grace O'Malley, the first Irish whiskey named after a woman, honors the legendary 16th century Irish pirate queen. To #BelieveinGrace is to celebrate good whiskey and share the untold stories of women inspired by Grace's rebellious spirit around the world. Grace O'Malley excites the senses with its premium blended whiskey, boasting one of the highest malt contents in the blended whiskey category, providing for a smooth complexity never tasted before. The resulting blend delivers a whiskey perfectly balanced between flavour, age character, complexity and smoothness.

Clonakilty Distillery Single Batch Double Oak Irish Whiskey (SRP: $49.99): Over the past nine generations, the Scully family has farmed the coastal land overlooking the Atlantic Ocean to create Irish whiskey utilizing the best resources, including prime land, pristine water and salt sea air: the perfect ingredients for Ireland's maritime distillery. Clonakilty Distillery has produced numerous award-winning spirits, namely its Single Batch Double Oak Irish Whiskey, matured in ex-bourbon casks and finished in virgin American oak, before finally being shaved and toasted in ex-red wine European oak casks. When you receive a bottle of Clonakilty, you know it is something special: a spirit crafted by nature and kissed by the sea.

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