Top 10 Distilleries in Ireland
Irish whiskey was, for most of the 20th century, a category in decline — reduced from hundreds of operating distilleries in the 19th century to just two production sites by the 1980s. The revival that followed has been comprehensive: by 2024 Ireland has over 40 active distilleries, a new generation of independent craft producers alongside the established industry giants, and a category defined by triple distillation, single pot still style, and a lightness that distinguishes it clearly from Scotch. Every distillery below is on the map.
1. Midleton Distillery, Cork
The Irish Distillers mega-distillery in Midleton, County Cork — operated by Pernod Ricard — is the single most productive Irish whiskey facility in the world, responsible for Jameson (the global volume leader), Redbreast, Powers, Green Spot, Yellow Spot, and Spot series, Method and Madness, and much of the Teeling and Tullamore supply. Master distiller Kevin O'Gorman oversees a complex that runs both column stills (for light grain whiskey) and a range of large copper pot stills (for pot still and malt whisky components), blending these in an almost infinite permutation of grain types, distillation strengths, and cask types. Redbreast 12 Year Old — triple-distilled single pot still whiskey in first-fill oloroso sherry and ex-bourbon casks — is the benchmark expression of the traditional Irish pot still style, with its distinctive oily, full-bodied, orchard fruit character derived from the unmalted barley component in the pot still mash.
2. Bushmills, County Antrim
Old Bushmills Distillery in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, holds the world's oldest whiskey distilling licence, granted in 1608, making it the oldest licensed distillery in the world by that historical claim. Bushmills produces triple-distilled single malt whiskey (unlike Midleton's pot still tradition, Bushmills uses malted barley only) and ages in a combination of ex-bourbon American oak casks and ex-Oloroso sherry butts. Master distiller Colum Egan oversees the range from Original (blended) through Bushmills 10, 12, 16, and 21 year old single malts. The 21 Year Old, finished in Madeira casks, is the prestige expression. Bushmills was sold by Diageo to Jose Cuervo's Beckmann family in 2014, returning the brand to family ownership.
3. Teeling, Dublin
Teeling Whiskey Distillery, opened 2015 in the Liberties district of Dublin, was the first new distillery in the city in 125 years — the Liberties being the historic heart of Dublin's 18th-century whiskey industry, where over thirty distilleries once operated. Founded by brothers Jack and Stephen Teeling, the distillery uses small copper pot stills and produces both malt and blended expressions. The Teeling Small Batch, finished in rum casks, was the debut release and remains the flagship. Teeling's Brabazon Bottings series — long-aged single malts finished in Sauternes and Port casks — have attracted collector interest. The distillery's location is historically symbolic and practically a significant tourist destination within Dublin.
4. Tullamore D.E.W., Offaly
Tullamore D.E.W., now produced at a purpose-built distillery in Tullamore, County Offaly opened in 2014, is Ireland's second-largest whiskey export after Jameson. The brand's heritage dates to 1829 and the initials in the name reference Daniel Edmund Williams, a superintendent of the original distillery who became its owner. The current triple-blended style — a blend of grain, malt, and pot still whiskeys — produces the characteristically light, accessible Irish profile that has driven the category's export growth. The Cider Cask finish and the 18 Year Old Small Batch are the premium expressions. The new Tullamore distillery, operated by William Grant & Sons since 2010, has a visitor centre that has become a major Offaly tourist attraction.
5. Cooley and Kilbeggan, Westmeath
Cooley Distillery in County Louth and the associated Kilbeggan Distillery in County Westmeath were purchased by Beam Inc. in 2011, bringing them under what is now Beam Suntory ownership. Cooley was notable for producing double-distilled (rather than triple-distilled) Irish whiskey when it was independent, arguing that the lighter, peatier character this allowed was a valid alternative to the triple-distilled convention. Connemara Peated Irish Whiskey — Cooley's most distinctive expression — remains the only mainstream peated Irish malt. Kilbeggan, distilling from the restored historic pot still at the old Brusna Distillery site, produces Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey and the single malt range. The Kilbeggan visitor centre is one of Ireland's most visited whiskey heritage sites.
6. Dingle, Kerry
Dingle Distillery, in the town of Dingle in County Kerry, was one of the first new Irish craft distilleries of the modern revival when it opened in 2012. The distillery operates copper pot stills producing both single malt whiskey and Irish pot still expressions. Their early limited releases — the Original Single Malt Whisky batches from 2015 and 2016 — were among the most eagerly anticipated expressions of the craft revival, demonstrating that small Irish pot stills could produce distinctive, complex spirit. The Dingle Single Malt and Dingle Single Pot Still are now the core range expressions, both aged in ex-bourbon with finishes in a variety of wine and sherry casks.
7. Waterford, Wexford
Waterford Distillery in Waterford city is the most conceptually ambitious Irish whiskey producer of the current era. Founded by ex-Bruichladdich director Mark Reynier in 2016, Waterford's central project is Terroir: single-farm Irish barley, each farm's malt distilled separately and matured in identical cask configurations, then compared side-by-side as Arcadian Series bottlings. The thesis is that barley varietal, soil type, and farm practice produce detectable differences in finished whiskey — a claim more typically made about wine grapes than cereal grains. The GAIA (organic and biodynamic barley) and Quercus (Irish oak) series extend the terroir concept. Waterford's methodology requires extensive record-keeping and has generated substantial debate within the whisky world about the limits of terroir perception in distilled spirits.
8. Slane, Meath
Slane Distillery, within the grounds of Slane Castle on the River Boyne in County Meath, was built by the Conyngham family (owners of the castle, also well known for hosting the Slane concert series including U2 and The Rolling Stones) in partnership with Brown-Forman, the American spirits company that owns Jack Daniel's. Slane Irish Whiskey, launched 2017, is a triple-casked blend of grain, malt, and pot still whiskey matured across three cask types simultaneously: ex-Virgin American oak, ex-Tennessee whiskey barrels, and ex-Oloroso sherry butts. The visitor experience at Slane — within a working castle estate — is among the most atmospheric of any Irish whiskey tour.
9. Echlinville, County Down
Echlinville Distillery in Kircubbin, County Down, Northern Ireland, is a farm distillery producing from its own barley grown on the Echlinville Estate — the first farm distillery in Northern Ireland. Dunville's VR Irish Whiskey, reviving a Belfast brand that closed in 1936, is produced at Echlinville alongside the estate's own label expressions. Echlinville operates pot stills and has pursued single malt, blended malt, and pot still styles. The farm provenance and the Northern Irish location (outside the Republic's distillery revival narrative) give Echlinville a distinctive identity within the Irish category.
10. Boann, Meath
Boann Distillery in Drogheda, County Meath, founded 2019 by the Cooney family, is among the newest entrants in the Irish craft scene. The distillery produces The Whistler brand of Irish whiskey (blended and single malt expressions) and has invested in a comprehensive cask finishing program using ex-bourbon, sherry, port, and wine barrels. Boann's Marble City and Whistler Blue Note (finished in PX sherry and rum casks respectively) represent a craft approach to the Irish premium segment. The Meath location on the River Boyne connects the distillery to Ireland's ancient landscape.
The Irish category in context
Irish whiskey's regulatory framework requires a minimum three years maturation on the island of Ireland, the use of water and cereals, and specific still types depending on the style designation. Use the map to see how the current distillery landscape — dominated by the Cork and Dublin axes but spreading across every province — compares with the historic concentration that the 19th century produced and the 20th century destroyed.