The Impact and Consequences of the Excise Act 1823 on Distilling in Ireland

Abstract

This paper considers the impact of the Excise Act 1823 on the development of the Irish whiskey industry. A feature of early nineteenth century Ireland, and to a lesser extent Scotland, was the high incidence of illicit distilling. The Act aimed at encouraging compliance amongst these ‘men of little capital’ and instead set up small distilleries. In doing this it incorporated the existing regime for still licensing in Scotland and the recently introduced duty free storage in Crown warehouses already in Ireland. This resulted in the transformation of the industry in both Ireland and Scotland. Ultimately the industry was more successful in Scotland than in Ireland and the divergent paths followed over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are discussed.