Welcome to Ireland's Whiskey Guide

Details: Created: 18 February 2019

In the 17th century as Charles II sat on the throne, the British crown suffered as always, from a scarcity of funds. There is not much difference between today's government and the Monarchy in those days, although the methods to come by more money are a little different today than they were then. The Chancellor of the Exchequer was constantly trying to find new sources of income. In those days, it was already known that there was frequent illegal distilling and since there was no tax paid on that alcohol, therefore they were losing a lot of potential income.

They also wanted to control the distillery industry more carefully so that they could be sure they were getting all of the tax possible. Tax paid on each bottle of whisky did not disrupt the fact that barrels could be bought illegally. By the taxing of barrels, you couldn't be sure if you had managed to encompass all the potential product from a tax point of view. Therefore, the monarchy decided on the 24th of December 1661 to bring in a new tax on a special part of the production process. There was to be a tax on Barley malt which is used for the fermentation process, the thoughts behind this was that was one way to ensure that distilleries would pay their tax no matter whether they sold the product or not.

Details: Created: 10 February 2019

Located just beside the borders of Wicklow, Wexford and Carlow, Egans Bar sits in a picturesque area in the South East of Ireland. The Egan name was added to the premises in 1912, the pub having been formerly owned by the Doyle family who held it in operation since well before the 1800’s, making it a contender for one of the oldest family run country pubs in the country. The pub and attached grocery are currently run by Larry and Mary Egan. Drop by and have a drink and a chat next time you are in the area.

Egans Bar, Parkbridge, Clonegal, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, +353 5394 29144, www.egansbar.com