Irish Whiskey - The Secret That Makes it Different

Irish whiskey, you may of heard of it. From Tommy Shelby of Peaky Blinders fame always insisting on his whiskey being Irish to the images of the Powerscourt waterfall crashing against rocks mirroring the whiskey hitting the ice in a glass.
In the Irish language, whiskey is called Uisce Beatha with a direct English translation of "Water of Life".
Beautiful. Refreshing. Unique. But it is that last point, is Irish whiskey unique?

you may know the brands. Jameson, Middleton, Bushmills, Tullomore Dew or Teelings. But what sets them apart from say a Scotch or an American bourbon like Jack Daniels?

Is the something practical like the type of ingredients like say rye or wheat? Well no.
Is it the taste? Is Irish whiskey more "oaky" or harsh on the tongue. Not so.
Is it the process of making the delicious blend? Say maybe Irish whiskey is made by a unique combination of distillation of copper pots? Completely inaccurate.

Dear reader, it is nothing quite as sophisticated nor revolutionary. It is simply the Irish mentality of pure ingenuity.

It all comes down to how long its been aged in the barrel. You see Scotch is Scotch because it was A) made in Scotland and B) held in the barrel for exactly 3 years before bottling.
Bourbon is bourbon because its made in Kentucky and has again been aged for exactly 3 years.

Now, when the Irish saw what the Americans and the Scots were doing with their whiskey, they wanted to make their own whiskey stand out. So what did they do? the Irish, age their whiskey in a barrel for exactly 3 years and.... one day.

Yes you read that correctly. The only real distinction between Irish, Scotch and Bourbon whiskey bar the obvious geological difference is the fact the Irish said "fuck them, we'll age our whiskey for an extra day."

So the next time you're swirling some delicious Jameson while sitting around the fire with friends, take a moment and appreciate the extra day that went into making the best whiskey in the world.

@MadMan198