I always wondered why Waterford Whisky was whisky with no “e”. It seems the brand was distinguishing itself from other Irish whiskeys. The distillery only uses Irish barley and keeps grain from different farms separate to make single-origin whiskey to allow for different flavours to come through from each farm.

Terroir is the concept that the weather, soil type and landscape where the barley is grown affects the flavours of the final product.

Happily for Irish barley growers, Teagasc last week published a scientific paper proving that terroir exists in Irish barley and whiskey production.

The development might force other producers to at least reduce some of the maize, barley or malt imports being used to produce certain “Irish” drinks, and whiskey, in particular.

It seems Waterford Whisky is ahead of the game with a premium product that is in high demand by the ever-growing number of whiskey/whisky tasters and bloggers all around the world.