Paddy Whiskey

Paddy is a brand of blended Irish whiskey produced by Irish Distillers, at the Midleton distillery in County Cork, on behalf of Sazerac, a privately held American company.[1] Irish distillers owned the brand until its sale to Sazerac in 2016. As of 2016, Paddy is the fourth largest selling Irish whiskey in the World.[1]

Paddy
TypeIrish whiskey
ManufacturerIrish Distillers (Pernod Ricard)
Country of originIreland
Introduced1879, renamed as Paddy in 1912
Proof (US)80
Related productsJameson, Powers, Tullamore Dew

History

The Cork Distilleries Company was founded in 1867 to merge four existing distilleries in Cork city (the North Mall, the Green, Watercourse Road, and Daly's) under the control of one group.[2] A fifth distillery, the Midleton distillery, joined the group soon after in 1868.[3]

In 1882,[4] the company hired a young Corkman called Paddy Flaherty as a salesman.[5] Flaherty travelled the pubs of Cork marketing the company's unwieldy named "Cork Distilleries Company Old Irish Whiskey".[5] His sales techniques (which including free rounds of drinks for customers) were so good, that when publicans ran low on stock they would write the distillery to reorder cases of "Paddy Flaherty's whiskey".[6] In 1912, with his name having become synonymous with the whiskey, the distillery officially renamed the whiskey Paddy Irish Whiskey in his honour.[6]

In 1920s and 1930s in Ireland, whiskey was sold in casks from the distillery to wholesalers, who would in turn sell it on to publicans.[7] To prevent fluctuations in quality due to middlemen diluting their casks, Cork Distilleries Company decided to bottle their own whiskey known as Paddy, becoming one of the first to do so.[7]

Present Day

In 1988, following an unsolicited takeover offer by Grand Metropolitan, Irish Distillers approached Pernod Ricard and subsequently became a subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate, following a friendly takeover bid.[8]

In 2016, Pernod Ricard sold the Paddy brand to Sazerac, a privately held American firm for an undisclosed fee.[9] Pernod Ricard stated that the sale was in order "simplify" their portfolio, and allow for more targeted investment in their other Irish whiskey brands, such as Jameson and Powers.[9]

At the time of the sale, Paddy was the fourth largest selling Irish whiskey brand in the world, with sales of 200,000 9-litre cases per annum, across 28 countries worldwide.[9]

Blend

Paddy whiskey is distilled three times and matured in oak casks for up to seven years.[10] Compared with other Irish whiskeys, Paddy has a comparatively low pot still content and a high malt content in its blend.[11]

Jim Murray, author of the Whiskey bible, has rated Paddy as "one of the softest of all Ireland's whiskeys".[11]

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References
  1. "Irish Distillers completes sale of Paddy Irish Whiskey to US company". RTE. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  2. McGuire, E.B. (1973). Irish Whiskey: A history of Distilling, the Spirit Trade, and Excise Controls in Ireland. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 375–381. ISBN 0064947017.
  3. Townsend, Brian (1999). The Lost Distilleries of Ireland. Glasgow: Neil Wilson Publishing. ISBN 1897784872.
  4. "Paddy Irish Whiskey". www.paddy.ie. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
  5. "Spiritual Following: Cork Distilleries Company". Paddy.ie. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  6. "Spiritual Following: Train Station". Paddy.ie. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  7. "True Spirit". Paddy.ie. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  8. "Pernod-Ricard Prevails in Battle for Irish Distillers". The New York Times. 25 November 1988. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  9. "Irish Distillers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, has confirmed the sale of Paddy Irish Whiskey to US-based spirits producer Sazerac". The Drinks Business. 18 May 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  10. "Timeless Spirit". Paddy.ie. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  11. "Paddy". Paddy.ie. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
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