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Ireland is an island off the west coast of Britain, divided into two distinct parts: the Republic of Ireland, an independent state; and Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom. The following description refers to Northern Ireland.

The distinctions between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, however sensitive and political, are not reflected in the nature of the alcoholic beverages produced in either area. What is true of the whiskeys of the Republic of Ireland is largely true of those from Northern Ireland. This is almost a moot point, though, as there is only one remaining distillery in Northern Ireland: Bushmills, in County Antrim.

The question of whether Ireland or Scotland was the first to produce a spirit distilled from malted barley is hotly debated. The lack of resolution to this question is reflected in the two spellings which currently exist for what is essentially the same beverage. The Scotch (Scottish), Japanese and Canadian spelling is 'whisky' (plural 'whiskies'), while the Irish and American spelling is 'whiskey' (plural 'whiskeys'). The American spelling was no doubt brought to the United States by Irish migrants, and consolidated by the success of Irish whiskeys in America during the 19th century. Ironically this success caused the collapse of the Irish whiskey industry in the early 1900s, when the American prohibition era (1919–1933) cut off Ireland's key export market.

Irish whiskeys are generally distilled three times (twice is more common for Scottish whisky), must be produced in Ireland and must be matured in wooden casks for three years or more. A uniquely Irish category of whiskey is pure pot still whiskey, which is distilled from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley in a copper pot still. This style is distinguished by its slightly spicy character. Very few Irish whiskeys are produced using peat-fuelled fires, so they do not have the smoky character associated with their Scotch cousins made 50 miles (80km) away, across the Irish Sea.

There is no commercial wine production in Northern Ireland.