WHISKEY TALK
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Whiskey of the Week
Writers Tears Irish Whiskey
ABC - $39.99
TW - $48.99
Class VI - Not Available
ABV - 40%
NAS
8 Dec 25
From the VA ABC website: “This light, sweet Irish whiskey is made using a mix of single pot still and a single malt whiskey, resulting in honey and fruity notes. This Irish whiskey is triple distilled, non-peated and matured and aged in American Oak bourbon casks. It is gently spiced with a burst of ginger, butterscotch, and background notes of toasted oak. The result is a long, elegant finish with subtle notes of milk chocolate and almonds.”
From the Walsh Whiskey website: Back in the late 19th and early 20th century, “Ireland was then the leading whiskey producing nation in the world and the birthplace of literary giants, including writers such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Bram Stoker.” And many of the great Irish writers of the day enjoyed Irish whiskey so much, it was said that when they cried, their tears were of whiskey. Hence the name, ‘Writer’s Tears’.
We’ll be highlighting the Pot Still expression, but it’s worth noting that Writer’s Tears offers several distinctive releases:
Pot Still – A balanced blend of malted and unmalted Irish whiskeys.
Double Oak – Matured in two different wood types: American Oak bourbon barrels from Kentucky and French Oak Cognac casks from the Cognac region.
Red Head – A rich, sherry-forward whiskey matured exclusively in hand-selected Spanish sherry butts seasoned with premium Oloroso.
Single Pot Still – Triple distilled, first aged in bourbon barrels, then finished in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks from Spain and Florio Marsala hogsheads from Sicily.
Cask Strength – A limited vintage release combining select Single Pot Still and Single Malt Irish whiskeys, aged in exceptional American Oak casks and bottled at a bold 54.8% ABV.
Writer’s Tears and The Irishman are both under the Walsh Whiskey umbrella. Like most Irish whiskeys, Writer’s Tears is triple distilled, giving it a lighter, more refined, and more complex profile.
As Distiller Magazine notes, “this whiskey is produced at an undisclosed distillery. It blends single pot still and triple-distilled malt whiskeys, all aged in ex-bourbon casks.
I used to travel to Dublin frequently for work, and the Dublin Airport’s Irish Whiskey Collection in Duty Free is legendary. If you travel to Dublin, leave some extra room in your luggage - you’ll find plenty of rare and unusual bottles worth bringing home. Writer’s Tears was one of my impulse purchases there, chosen simply because the name caught my eye, and it turned out to be a great pick. With its balance of malted and unmalted whiskey and its light color and flavor, it’s an excellent option for someone new to Irish whiskey—and the price is very approachable. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Sláinte!
AI was used on original content to polish the language for readability, fix grammar and punctuation issues, and slightly adjust structure where needed for smoother flow.
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What is whiskey?
Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from fermented grain. Various grains are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden casks, which are typically made of charred white oak. Uncharred white oak casks previously used for the aging of port, rum or sherry are also sometimes used. Sometimes the distiller uses a ‘malted’ grain. That is grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and is then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air. In the case of scotch and many single-malt whiskies, the hot air is made by burning peat from the local area. That peat smoke is then infused into the grain. That is how scotches get that ‘peaty’ flavor.
At Whiskey and Politics, we’re going to explore the entire world of whiskey and whisky. That will include the three biggest types, scotch, bourbon, and Irish whiskies, but also the less-well known whiskies like Japanese and Indian brands as well as. If it’s whiskey/whisky, we’ll happily enjoy it.
‘Whisky’ or ‘Whiskey’?
All whiskies have the common characteristics listed above. Certain countries favor one spelling over the other—for example, Scotland and Canada always use “whisky,” while Ireland and the United States tend to favor “whiskey.” But even that can vary. For example, it’s ‘Maker’s Mark Whisky’. The bourbon maker prefers to without the ‘e’.
Obviously, at Whiskey and Politics we prefer to stick with the more-traditional American version. It’s what we all grew up with. But on some occasions, like featuring a Whiskey of the Week, we’ll spell it as the distiller does.
Whisky Advocate Magazine has a great tutorial covering all aspects of whiskey production. To learn more about how whiskey and whisky is made, click here!