It was a favourite tipple of Queen Elizabeth I of England, who had casks of it delivered to her court in the 16th century.

爱尔兰威士忌是英国女王伊丽莎白一世(Queen Elizabeth I)十分喜爱的烈酒。16世纪，她曾命人将一桶桶的爱尔兰威士忌运到她的宫廷。

Dr Samuel Johnson, the writer, was also a fan of its “pleasant and mild flavour”. Now, after 100 years of near terminal decline, Irish whiskey is making a comeback.

作家塞缪尔·约翰逊(Samuel Johnson)博士也为这种酒“宜人而温和的口味”陶醉不已。如今，在100年近乎销声匿迹的沉寂之后，爱尔兰威士忌又回来了。

Exports of the spirit are surging in key markets, multinationals are investing in the main brands – Jameson, Bushmills and Tullamore Dew – and the number of distilleries is set to triple over five years. The resurgence of whiskey, known as uisce beatha, or water of life, in Irish, is part of a wider growth in food and drink exports that is helping Dublin emerge from its financial crisis.

这种烈酒在重点市场的出口量正在急剧增长。跨国公司正大举投资于几个主要品牌——尊美醇(Jameson)、布什米尔斯(Bushmills)和图拉多(Tullamore Dew)。五年内，酿酒厂的数目将增加两倍。威士忌这种在爱尔兰语中被称为“生命之水(uisce beatha)”的烈酒再次复苏，从更大范围看应该算是食品饮料出口增长的一部分，这种增长正在帮助都柏林从金融危机中复苏。

“Interest in Irish whiskey is huge, particularly in the US, Russia and eastern Eur-ope. Forty of the 130 markets where we sell Jameson are seeing double or triple-digit sales growth,” said Peter Morehead, production director at Irish Distillers, which is owned by Pernod Ricard and makes the top-selling Jameson brand.

爱尔兰制酒公司(Irish Distillers)生产总监彼得·莫尔黑德(Peter Morehead)表示：“人们对爱尔兰威士忌有着浓厚兴趣，特别是在美国、俄罗斯和东欧。我们销售尊美醇威士忌的130个市场中，有40个市场的销量增速达到了两位甚至三位数。”爱尔兰制酒公司是保乐力加(Pernod-Ricard)旗下的酿酒公司，销量第一的尊美醇威士忌就出自该公司。

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Last week, Irish Distillers cut the ribbon on a €200m expansion of its distillery in County Cork, to double production to 16m nine-litre cases a year. Pernod Ricard said Jameson sales grew in value by 17 per cent in the year to the end of June, making it the second largest brand contributor to its growth.

上周爱尔兰制酒公司为其位于科克郡的酿酒厂扩建工程举行了剪彩仪式，工程规模为2亿欧元，建成后酒厂的产量将翻一番，达到每年1600万箱（每箱9公升）。保乐力加表示，在截至6月底的一年里，尊美醇销售额增长了17%，是为该公司增长做出贡献的第二大品牌。

Scottish spirits group William Grant & Sons, which bought Tullamore Dew for €171m in 2010, is investing €35m in a new distillery. More than a dozen other distilleries are either in construction or in planning. Overall Irish whiskey sales grew 10.5 per cent last year to 6.2m nine-litre cases, faster than all other types of brandy, Scotch, US whiskey, tequila and cognac.

2010年以1.71亿欧元收购图拉多的苏格兰制酒集团格兰父子洋酒公司(William Grant & Sons)，目前正投资3500万欧元建设新的酿酒厂。此外，还有超过十二家酿酒厂在建设或规划中。去年，爱尔兰威士忌的总销量增长了10.5%，达620万箱（每箱9公升），增速超过了其他各种类型的白兰地、苏格兰威士忌、美国威士忌、龙舌兰酒和干邑白兰地。

The surge in whiskey sales is being driven by changing US consumer tastes, where brown spirits have become more popular among younger drinkers. A similar trend is occurring in eastern Europe and Russia, says Mr Morehead.

威士忌销量突然增长是美国消费者口味的改变推动的。在美国年轻的饮酒人士中，棕色烈酒越来越受欢迎。莫尔黑德表示，在东欧和俄罗斯也出现了类似潮流。

Irish whiskey is att-racting young women drinkers. Pop singer Lady Gaga declared her love for Jameson at a recent Dublin show, while Rihanna named the brand in her party track “Cheers (Drink to That)”.

爱尔兰威士忌还吸引了许多年轻女性饮酒人士。流行歌手Lady Gaga最近在都柏林演出时就曾宣称她喜欢尊美醇威士忌，而蕾哈娜(Rihanna)则在其派对歌曲《Cheers (Drink to That)》中提到了尊美醇这一品牌。

The main difference between Irish whiskey and Scotch is in the distillation. Scotch is distilled twice while Irish is distilled three times, giving it a more mellow flavour. Last year, 96m nine-litre cases of Scotch were sold.

爱尔兰威士忌和苏格兰威士忌的主要区别在于蒸馏工艺。苏格兰威士忌只需蒸馏两次，而爱尔兰威士忌则要蒸馏三次，这使得爱尔兰威士忌的口感更柔和一些。去年，苏格兰威士忌的销量为9600万箱（每箱9公升）。