Powers Irish Whiskey

Powers is one of Dublin's founding whiskey names, a single pot still label whose flagship expressions are today distilled at the New Midleton Distillery in County Cork rather than at the Dublin distillery whose name it carries.

History & Heritage

The brand traces to 1791, when James Power, a Dublin innkeeper, began distilling at his premises on Thomas Street. The operation moved to a dedicated site at John's Lane, and by 1822 the firm traded as John Power & Son. Through the nineteenth century it grew into one of Dublin's largest distilleries, and in 1886 it became the first Dublin distiller to bottle its own whiskey rather than sell it in cask to merchants. The flagship Powers Gold Label was historically a single pot still whiskey.

In 1966 John Power & Son merged with the Cork Distilleries Company and John Jameson & Son to form Irish Distillers, a response to a long decline in the Irish whiskey trade. Production at the John's Lane Distillery in Dublin ceased in 1976 after the new Midleton distillery opened in County Cork. Irish Distillers became a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard in 1989, and remains so as of July 2026.

The Whiskey

Powers is defined by single pot still Irish whiskey, the style made from a mash of both malted and unmalted barley and triple-distilled in copper pot stills. The two expressions The Sentinel Room carries reflect this identity.

Powers Three Swallow Single Pot Still is bottled at 43.2% ABV. It is matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels with a finishing period in oloroso sherry casks, and shows pot still barley spice with green apple, citrus, herbal notes and a marzipan sweetness over a crisp, cereal-driven finish. The name references the three swallows on the Powers family crest.

Powers John's Lane Release is a 12 year old single pot still whiskey bottled at 46% ABV, named for the original Dublin distillery. It carries a sweeter, richer profile, with brown sugar, toffee and coconut giving way to ginger, nutmeg and deeper spice over a full, chewy body.

Where It Is Made

Powers whiskey is produced at the New Midleton Distillery in County Cork, Ireland, operated by Irish Distillers, a subsidiary of Pernod Ricard as of July 2026. Although the John's Lane Release is named for the historic Dublin distillery that closed in 1976, no Powers whiskey is distilled in Dublin today. Both the Three Swallow and John's Lane expressions are distilled and matured at Midleton alongside Irish Distillers' other pot still and blended labels.