Irish Whiskey and the Irish Revolution.

So here we have the Irelands Crown, nominal – 1/2. The year of issue of this coin is 1964, mint: Royal mint, Tower Hill, London, UK. Total circulation – 3.200.000.

In the years leading up to the Rising, Irish Whiskey distillers banded together to oppose the mass production of cheap blended whiskey. Initially they were successful as there was a number of court cases in which the producers of blended Scotch were successfully prosecuted for fraud, for advertising real malt whiskies with cheap grain alcohol. However these makers of blended whiskey were able to lobby for an Act of parliament to define whiskey.

In 1909, after arguing for two years, the parliamentary commission opted for a compromise that permitted grain alcohol to be sold as Whiskey provided that it had been flavored with some whiskey matured in a barrel for at least three years. With the outbreak of World War 1, exporting Irish Whiskey became difficult as a blockade of German U-Boats around Britain and Ireland made it dangerous to export to the U.S. and the British Empire.

During the Rising distilleries such as George Roe’s Whiskey distillery in Thomas Street and the William Jameson Distillery in Marrowbone Lane were occupied by rebel forces. Heavy fighting meant that by the end of the Rising several major Whiskey distilleries and storage warehouses were destroyed or badly damaged.

After Ireland gained Independence, trade tariffs set by Britain, a civil war and the prohibition of alcohol in the U.S. crippled the Irish Whiskey industry which has only now seen a revival in recent years.