Ireland is home to the world's oldest licensed distillery, Bushmills, which was established in 1608. Many people believe that Ireland is where whiskey distilling as we know it today began. To be considered Irish whiskey, both the distillation and maturation processes must occur in Ireland. Irish whiskey is usually triple distilled, making it lighter in style than Scotch, which is typically only distilled twice. Although not entirely absent, peat is less commonly used in the production of Irish whiskey. The pot still is also a crucial aspect of Irish whiskey production, as early Bushmills distillers utilized a large example of it to create a consistently smooth whiskey.
