Station One:

BEFORE OAK. AFTER OAK.

This pair begins with a clear, unaged Irish spirit and moves into whiskey made entirely from malted barley. The big variable is time in wood. Poitín is a protected Irish spirit that need not spend three years in oak. Single malt is whiskey from one distillery, made entirely from malted barley in pot stills.

Featured pour: Smuggling Nun Poitín

Without years in a cask, its flavor comes chiefly from the raw materials and distillation. Not vanilla, caramel or oak.

45% ABV · Irish Poitín · County Down, Northern Ireland

Production: Malted barley, beet and molasses · Double distilled · Unaged

Look for: Fresh cereal · Earth and minerals · Pepper · Light molasses sweetness

The story behind it: Founder Maura Clare named it for her cousin Sister Mary, an Irish Franciscan nun said to have smuggled the spirit to America in a holy-water bottle. Poitín itself went underground after a 1661 ban and was legalized again in 1997.

Featured pour: Bushmills 10-Year-Old

“Single” means one distillery, not one barrel. “Malt” means its grain recipe is 100% malted barley.

40% ABV · Single Malt Irish Whiskey · County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Production: 100% malted barley · Triple distilled · At least 10 years

Look for: Orchard apple · Honey · Vanilla · Milk chocolate · Light toasted oak

What the wood adds: Bourbon-seasoned casks bring vanilla, honey and caramel; sherry casks add dried fruit, chocolate, nuts and spice.

The story behind it: Bushmills traces its licensed distilling heritage to 1608 and represents the light, smooth Northern Irish style that long dominated legal production.

Optional alternate: Dingle Single Malt

Try this if Bushmills 10 is already familiar. PX supplies raisin, fig and treacle; Oloroso adds nuts, orange peel and dry spice.

46.5% ABV · Single Malt Irish Whiskey · Dingle, County Kerry

Production: 100% malted barley · Triple distilled · Non-chill filtered

Look for: Caramelized apple · Dark fruit · Fruitcake · Honey · Soft spice

What the wood adds: 47% bourbon, 31% Pedro Ximénez and 22% Oloroso casks make this richer and more sherry-led than Bushmills 10.

The story behind it: Founded in 2012, Dingle was among the independent distilleries that helped spark Ireland’s modern whiskey revival.