WHAT'S HOT! Best Irish Whiskey Under $50 To Drink Now

all turning out whiskey to quench the thirst of local and distant populations (including the United States). Then two things happened. The first was World War I, which limited the grain used to make the whiskey. The second was America’s prohibition on alcohol, depriving Ireland of one of its biggest markets. The result was a landscape of shuttered and broken distilleries. Luckily all that’s changed, and Irish whiskey is back. And just in time for St. Patrick’s day, we bring you our favorites from the old country, all under $50.

Limavady is a single malt, single barrel Irish whiskey distilled with Irish grown barley and presented by former Bushmills master distiller Darryl McNally. While these first bottles of Limavady are sourced, McNally is planning to build his distillery outside of Belfast in a town by the same name near the original distillery site that operated from 1750 to 1910.

McNally’s creation is complex whiskey that will please even the most discerning tastes. Expect peach and dark spices to the nose with caramel, baking spice, and apple flavors on the palate.

Connemara is the original peated single malt produced in Ireland and certainly the most widely available in the United States. Comprised of juice aged between four and six years, the mellow smokiness of this nicely balanced and unique Irish sipper plays a supporting role, not the lead. So if a smoky whiskey reminds you of the taste of an ashtray, Connemara might change your mind.

Look for burned sugar, caramel, dark spices, and coffee; a dark and moody whiskey for end-of-night sipping.

Slane is a malt and grain whiskey aged in a trio of cask types: lightly charred, heavily toasted virgin oak, ex-Tennessee whiskey and bourbon barrels, plus Oloroso Sherry casks. For this limited edition, virgin oak is ramped up, resulting in a whiskey to put a smile on the face of scotch, Irish, and bourbon lovers alike at a price anyone can swallow.

Fruitcake nose with caramel and soft ginger spice notes of burned sugar, more caramel plus fruit and baking spice, followed by a toasty, lingering finish.

While most Irish whiskeys combine grain, malt, and unmalted barley, this Teeling expression focuses only on grain distillate. From there, Teeling master blender Alex Chasko skips the expected ex-bourbon maturation in lieu of California Cabernet Sauvignon casks to strike upon something truly unique.

Dark and deep, this whisky is full of sweet fruitiness and spice, leaving behind a long, peppery finish.

In homage to the 70 million people of Irish descent worldwide, the producers of Lost wanted their Irish whiskey to embody the spirit of a wandering vagabond. Cofounder Tim Herlihy aged a combo of grain, malt, and pot still whisky in casks sourced from six continents to achieve that. He would have gone with all seven, but there’s not much oak in Antarctica.

A tasty vagabond of a whiskey, indeed. Complex, with a myriad of flavors and a dark, spicy depth. The floral aromas and citrus are balanced by cinnamon and burnt sugar.

Named for a distillery shuttered in 1925 (called for a famous racehorse), Tyrconnell is single malt whiskey double distilled in copper pots, bringing effortless drinkability to a flavorful malt barley mash. This bright and crisp whiskey is perfect for a middle-of-the-day glass, especially outside with the sun shining.

Beautiful straw color and hints of lemony citrus, this is a bright and crisp whiskey.

Bushmills is best known as a single malt distillery, but Black Bush is a triple distilled blend of malt and grain whiskeys, aged in Oloroso Sherry casks between 8-10 years. The result is a lighter version of its age-stated single malt cousin, with a familiar dark fruitiness of malt and sherry that’s lightened up by the sweet cereal notes of the grain distillate.

Aromas of honey, peach, and gentle spice. The taste is sweet with aforementioned dark fruit and a peppery finish flecked with hints of caramel.

This oh-so-macabre Sexton single malt is triple distilled in copper pot stills and aged in used sherry butts for four years. Why Macabre? How else would you describe a whiskey named after grave diggers, featuring a top-hat-wearing skeleton on the bottle. Right now you can score a limited-run Walking Dead Edition featuring the same juice in a zombie-adorned bottle.

This easy-drinking Irish is light but flavorful with tastes of dried dark fruit, peach, nuts, and honey.

To make this expensive tasting whiskey at a modest price, the wizards at Glendalough (pronounced glen-da-lock) mature a single grain distillate in American oak ex-bourbon barrels. From there, Glendalough Double Barrel is finished in sweet Oloroso sherry casks for an additional six months.

The best attributes of each barrel-style shine here, imparting extensive notes of vanilla and caramel from the ex-bourbon barrel and backed and sweet dark fruit and spices from the sherry cask.

This limited-run Single Pot expression is only the second release to be distilled and matured at Kilbeggan Distillery since its restoration in 2010. What we have here is a grain combo of malted barley, raw barley, and a pinch of oats, a mash the company says harkens back to the original Kilbeggan recipes of the 19th century.

Fruit-laden aromas of pear melon, tie together with honey and hazelnut. More fruit and citrus mingle with gentle spice on the palate, concluding with a minty note on the long, creamy finish.

Jameson wanted to do something different with this whiskey, and so they looked to their wood to figure out how to get more intense flavors. Their trick is in charring and then re-charring each barrel to produce intense barrel influence and heavier, more pronounced flavors.

Aromas of chocolate and coffee, and tastes of nuts and allspice, raisin, and burnt sugar.