The most popular spirits in Ireland are Guinness and Whiskey. Ireland has its own whiskey. The Irish learned to make whiskey from monks. They came to Ireland from the continent of Europe in the fifth and sixth centuries. They knew a lot about the way to make spirits. Irish whiskey is made differently from Scotch whisky. It is also usually spelled differently - Scotch whisky has no "e". Irish whiskey tastes lighter and smoother than Scotch whisky. Just now more people in the world drink Scotch whiskey. But some people like Scotch whisky and some like Irish whiskey. In the American Civil War someone said to President Lincoln that General Grant was drinking too much Irish whiskey. Lincoln knew that Grant was a good general, and he knew that Irish whiskey was a good drink. So Lincoln's answer was: "Find out the make of General Grant's whiskey. Then give it to the other generals".

Another popular spirit is Guinness. It's a kind of beer. Guinness is made from barley, hops, yeast and water. Everything in it is quite natural; there are no chemicals. The Irish have made or "brewed" it in Dublin since 1759. The Guinness brewery in Dublin is bigger than any other brewery in Europe. Today there are also Guinness breweries in Britain, Nigeria, Malaysia. People drink more than seven million glasses of Guinness every day around the world.

Irish coffee is another interesting drink. This is how to make it. First you put very hot coffee in a glass, with some sugar. Then you add whiskey. Then very carefully you add some cream, which stays on top of the whiskey and coffee. It is a very good way to drink whiskey!