Pure pot still whiskey

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Pure pot still whiskey is a type of whiskey which contains only "pot still whiskey". It is unique to Ireland.

Traditionally "pot still whiskey" was made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley, distilled in a pot still as opposed to a Coffey still. The ratio of unmalted to malted barley can vary, but there tends to be more unmalted barley in a pure pot still whiskey blend. For example, the various Jameson blends have a 60:40 (unmalted:malted) ratio.

Under modern Irish law, any whiskey distilled in a pot still can be termed "pot still whiskey". Therefore, it is not legally necessary for a distiller to add unmalted barley to his or her grain mix. Some whiskeys produced by the Cooley Distillery break from tradition and do not use unmalted grain. Thus, they are actually single malt whiskeys, but can be legally labelled "pot still whiskey" if the distiller so chooses. The majority of "pot still whiskeys" conform to the traditional definition.