The Banished ‘E’ of Inisherin … why sign in Oscar nominated movie is causing whiskey storm

Irish whiskey distillers, including the likes of Jameson, Midleton, Tullamore, Paddy and Bushmills all spell their products with an ‘e’, compared to their Scotch counterparts who spell their ware ‘whisky’.

When Colin Farrell’s character Padraic has his pint of stout in his local bar in the film he’s frequently seen next to a sign for ‘H.S. Persses Irish whisky’.

“The thing with whiskey, with an ‘e’ or without an ‘e’, some brands chose to spell without an ‘e’ and that’s the case today,” explains Kevin Pigott, global brand ambassador for Tullamore Dew.

“There’s one or two brands who don’t, it doesn’t have to be spelled with an ‘e’.

“I think an ‘e’ was added essentially after a book was released in 1878, ‘The truths about whisky’, you started to see more brands add an ‘e’ as a sign of authenticity that it was authentically Irish and for brands that didn’t want to be confused with scotch and Irish whiskey being bootlegged, that was why people put the ‘e’ in but it wasn’t something that had to be done.”

He added the makers of the whiskey featured in the film have since ceased.

“Persse’s were a Galway brand and they chose not to use the ‘e’,” he explains.

Persse’s distilled their whisky in Nun’s Island from 1846 (on the site of an existing distillery) until 1915 when it closed down. Bottles of their product can sell today for up to €3500.

American whiskey brands such as Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam also spell their products with an ‘e’, whereas in Canada distillers there use it without an ‘e’.

The Banshees film is set in 1923 during the Irish civil war.

Originally, the term 'whisky' is derived from the Scottish Gaelic 'uisge beatha' or Irish Gaelic ‘uisce beatha’, which means water of life.

Some historians maintain the difference in spelling is the result of a dispute between Irish and Scottish producers.

Until the 19th century, whisky was produced exclusively in pot stills. This original Pot Still Whisky was spelled without 'e' before the 'y'.

In 1826 the Column Still was invented. This allowed continuous distillation, which was cheaper, while producing a mellow whisky.

However, Irish whisky manufacturers were of the opinion that the distillate from the Column Still was not a proper whisky. The dispute over the production of whisky led to a dispute that finally escalated in 1905.

The dispute over the 'correct' way of making whisky led so far that a 'Royal Commission' was established to check whether this column distillate could also be called 'Whisky' or whether it was just some kind of brandy.

In 1909, the Commission concluded that blended whisky or column still whisky may also be called whisky.

It is maintained that in In Ireland, people were dissatisfied with this decision because their call to the Commission had been lost.

To distance themselves from others, Irish whisky producers have since spelled their Irish Whisky with an 'e' before the 'y'.