Paddy is produced by Irish Distillers, at the Midleton Distillery in Cork city. In 1868, Midleton Distillery joined the Cork Distillers Company, a group of four other Irish distilleries. In 1882 the company hired a young Cork man, Paddy Flaherty, as a traveling salesman. Flaherty traveled around the pubs of southern Ireland promoting the distillery group’s products under the name Cork Distilleries Company Old Irish Whiskey. His marketing gimmicks included offering free samples to pub clients. The customers liked the whiskey and the pubs started ordering “Paddy Flaherty’s whiskey” over and over again. At the end of Flaherty’s long career, the distillery decided to change the name of its whiskey to Paddy Irish Whiskey. Around the 1930s, when they switched from selling whiskey in barrels for bottles, the name of the whiskey was shortened to simply Paddy.
1988 Irish Distillers was sold to French beverage giant Pernod Ricards. 2016 The Paddy brand was bought by the American Sazerac, when Pernod Ricards wanted to focus more on the marketing of its Jameson and Powers whiskeys. Today, Paddy is the fourth best selling Irish whiskey in the world. It is said to be one of the smoothest Irish whiskeys. A 70 cl bottle cost €18.99 in Estonia.
Paddy is the color of straw in the glass, just slightly brown. The nose is grainy and floral. Caramel, wheat biscuits and dried fruits. The taste is smooth and sweet. Mostly grainy notes stand out, it’s not so fruity and flowery than the nose promises. However, there is caramel and vanilla. And honeyed sweetness. Clearly softer and lighter than Jameson. However, the sweetness at the beginning vanishes quickly and at the end it is already dry and a slightly bitter note tends to push up. The aftertaste is short, with a slightly grainy aroma and light spiciness. Paddy is a good product and better than the name and appearance of the bottle might suggest. Very easy to drink, easy to approach. Due to sweetness and softness it might be suitable for those who don’t usually tolerate whiskey. Not a particularly interesting sipping whiskey, but goes well with a couple of ice cubes poured into a tumbler after a hard working day.
78/100
