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Irish whiskey ((アイルランド語:Fuisce) or ''uisce beatha'') is whiskey made on the island of Ireland. The word "whiskey" is an Anglicisation of ''uisce beatha'' or ''uisge beatha'', a phrase from the Goidelic branch of languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx) meaning "water of life" (see aqua vitae). Most Irish pot still whiskey is distilled thrice, while most (but not all) Scotch whisky is distilled twice. Peat is rarely used in the malting process, so that Irish whiskey has a smoother finish as opposed to the smoky, earthy overtones common to some Scotches. There are notable exceptions to these rules in both countries; an example is Connemara peated Irish malt (double distilled) whiskey from the Cooley Distillery in Riverstown, Cooley, County Louth. Irish whiskey was once the most popular spirit in the world, though a long period of decline from the late 19th century onwards greatly damaged the industry.〔 Although Scotland sustains approximately 105 distilleries, Ireland has only seven in current operation – only four of which have been operating long enough to have products sufficiently aged for current sale on the market as of 2013, and only one of which was operating before 1975. Irish whiskey has seen a great resurgence in popularity since the late twentieth century, and has been the fastest growing spirit in the world every year since 1990. The current growth rate is at roughly 20% per annum, prompting the construction and expansion of a number of distilleries. == History == The word 'whiskey' (or whisky) comes from the Gaelic ''uisce beatha'', meaning water of life. Irish whiskey was one of the earliest distilled drinks in Europe, arising around the 12th century (see Distilled beverage). It is believed that Irish monks brought the technique of distilling perfumes back to Ireland from their travels to the Mediterranean countries around 1000 A.D. The Irish then modified this technique to obtain a drinkable spirit. Whiskey was first recorded in Ireland in 1405. It was later recorded in Scotland in 1494. The Old Bushmills Distillery claims to be the oldest surviving licensed distillery in the world (the distillery claims a heritage to a licence from James I in 1608, and the Bushmills distillery company was established in 1784). A statute introduced in the late 16th century introduced a viceregal licence for the manufacture of whiskey. In the early twentieth century Irish whiskey was the most popular whiskey in the United States,〔Needs attribution〕 however prohibition between 1920 and 1933 greatly upset the export market and forced many distilleries out of business. The Irish War of Independence and subsequent civil war also made exporting whiskey difficult and following independence a series of trade disputes with Britain cut off export to all Commonwealth countries, greatly hampering the industry. By the 1960s there was only a handful of remaining distilleries in Ireland, and in 1966 they amalgamated under the name of Irish Distillers to combine their resources. By the mid-1970s there were only two distilleries in Ireland, those of New Midleton and Bushmills, both owned by Irish Distillers. Production reached a nadir at about 400,000 - 500,000 cases per annum during the seventies, from a height of 12 million cases around 1900.〔 The takeover of Irish Distillers by Pernod Ricard in 1988 led to increased marketing of Irish whiskeys, especially Jameson. Since the early 1990s Irish whiskey has undergone a major resurgence and has for over 20 years been the fastest growing spirit in the world. Production rose from 4.4 million cases in 2008 to 6.5 million in 2013, with growth projected to rise to 12 million cases by 2018. As of 2013, roughly 800 people were employed full-time in the whiskey industry in Ireland. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Irish whiskey」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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