What Brand Is Pure Irish Butter? Beyond the Famous Kerrygold

January 13, 2026 •

4 min read

In 2019, Kerrygold became the first Irish food brand to reach €1 billion in annual retail sales, solidifying its place as the most famous brand of pure Irish butter. However, while Kerrygold is a globally recognized powerhouse, it is certainly not the only producer of authentic Irish butter, with numerous other brands offering equally high-quality, flavorful dairy products.

Quick Summary

This article explores the brands that produce authentic pure Irish butter, detailing the farming practices and unique characteristics that distinguish them. It covers prominent international brands like Kerrygold and highlights other excellent options available within Ireland and abroad, including Connacht Gold, Avonmore, and Glenilen Farm, comparing their unique attributes.

Key Points

Kerrygold is the most famous: Kerrygold is the internationally recognized and top-selling brand of pure Irish butter, known for its quality.
Not the only brand: Several other brands like Connacht Gold, Avonmore, Ór, and Glenilen Farm also produce high-quality pure Irish butter, especially within Ireland.
Distinguished by grass-fed cows: The unique rich flavor and golden color of pure Irish butter are due to the beta-carotene from the grass that Irish dairy cows eat year-round.
Higher butterfat content: Pure Irish butter contains at least 82% butterfat, which makes it creamier and more spreadable compared to standard American butter with around 80% butterfat.
Ideal for baking: Its higher fat and lower water content make Irish butter excellent for baking, producing flakier pastries and richer flavors.
Supermarket alternatives exist: Brands like Aldi's Countryside Creamery offer a similar grass-fed Irish butter experience at a more budget-friendly price point, though with potentially less complex flavor.

The Iconic Standard: Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter

When most people think of pure Irish butter, Kerrygold is the brand that immediately comes to mind. As Ireland's most successful food export, its popularity is built on a strong reputation for quality derived from its traditional production methods. Kerrygold butter is known for its distinctive deep golden color and rich, creamy flavor, which are a direct result of the specific diet of the dairy cows. The cooperative, which includes thousands of Irish family farms, ensures their cows are predominantly grass-fed, grazing on the lush pastures for most of the year. This natural diet provides the milk with a high beta-carotene content, giving the butter its signature hue and nuanced, complex flavor profile.

Why Kerrygold Stands Out

Flavor Profile: The taste is consistently praised as rich, savory, and with a fresh, grassy quality that reflects the pasture-raised diet of the cows.
High Butterfat: Kerrygold butter adheres to European standards, containing a minimum of 82% butterfat. This higher percentage contributes to its creamy texture and superior spreadability, even when cold.
Versatility: Available in both salted and unsalted varieties, it is highly valued for both cooking and baking. The unsalted version, in particular, is a favorite among bakers for producing flakier pastries and richer baked goods.
Natural Ingredients: All Kerrygold products are 100% natural, free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives.

More Than One Choice: Other Authentic Irish Butter Brands

While Kerrygold may dominate the international market, several other excellent brands produce high-quality pure Irish butter, particularly within Ireland. These brands also leverage the nation’s unique climate and traditional, pasture-based dairy farming to create delicious products.

Here are some of the other key players in the Irish butter market:

Connacht Gold: As one of Ireland's fastest-growing butter brands, Connacht Gold is also known for its quality, sourced from Irish-farmed milk. The brand has been recognized for its innovation while maintaining high-quality butter.
Avonmore: A top dairy brand in Ireland, Avonmore maintains its strong position with a commitment to quality and understanding consumer needs. Their butter is another classic example of traditional Irish dairy production.
Ór–Real Irish Butter: This newer brand has quickly gained traction by combining traditional slow-churning methods with milk from over 250 local family farms, ensuring a high-quality, local product.
Glenilen Farm: Produced on a family farm in West Cork, Glenilen Farmhouse Butter uses fresh, locally sourced milk from grass-fed cows. This focus on local sourcing and minimal ingredients delivers an authentic farm-fresh taste.
Dromona: A long-standing Irish butter brand, Dromona is a staple for many locals and is made from locally sourced milk.
Abernethy Butter: A premium, handmade option that offers unique variations like smoked butter and seaweed butter, showcasing artisanal Irish butter-making.
Cuinneog: This brand specializes in traditional farmhouse country butter and natural buttermilk, known for its distinct, high-quality flavor.

The Supermarket Savior: Aldi's Countryside Creamery

For budget-conscious shoppers, some retailers offer private-label Irish butters. Aldi's Countryside Creamery Pure Irish Butter, for example, is often compared to Kerrygold. While it offers a similar rich and salty flavor and grass-fed origin at a lower price point, some taste tests indicate it lacks the complex flavor evolution of Kerrygold, though it remains a highly palatable and affordable alternative.

Comparison: Popular Butters

To help you decide which butter is right for you, here is a comparison of characteristics between a few popular options.


Feature	Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter	Connacht Gold Irish Butter	Standard American Butter	Aldi Countryside Creamery
Butterfat Content	~82–83%	High (Meets European Standards)	~80%	Meets European Standards
Cow Diet	Primarily grass-fed year-round	Primarily grass-fed	Mixed diet (grain, hay, silage)	Primarily grass-fed
Color	Rich, golden yellow	Golden yellow	Pale yellow to white	Golden yellow
Flavor Profile	Rich, creamy, complex, nuanced	High-quality, authentic dairy taste	Milder, more neutral	Creamy, salty, but less complex
Primary Market	Global	Ireland	United States	International (Retailer's Brand)

Conclusion: The Richness of Irish Dairy

While Kerrygold is undoubtedly the most well-known and widely available brand of pure Irish butter globally, the market is rich with other quality producers. From artisan brands like Abernethy to local favorites like Connacht Gold and Avonmore, the characteristic creamy flavor, golden color, and high butterfat content are common threads running through them all. This distinction comes from the traditional practice of grass-fed dairy farming, which is central to Ireland’s dairy heritage. For consumers, this means more choices for experiencing the rich, authentic taste of Irish dairy, whether for spreading on toast, enhancing a sauce, or creating flaky, buttery baked goods. For more on Kerrygold's farming heritage, visit their official website.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, Kerrygold is not the only brand. While it is the most well-known internationally, other brands like Connacht Gold, Avonmore, Ór–Real Irish Butter, and Glenilen Farm also produce high-quality pure Irish butter, particularly within Ireland.

The distinct golden color of pure Irish butter comes from the beta-carotene found in the lush, green grass that Irish dairy cows graze on for most of the year. This pigment is transferred from the grass into the cow's milk and butter.

Pure Irish butter differs from standard American butter primarily in its higher butterfat content (at least 82% vs. 80%) and the fact that it comes from grass-fed cows. This results in a richer flavor, creamier texture, and golden color.

Irish butter's higher butterfat content and lower water content make it an excellent choice for baking, especially for recipes where a flaky or rich, buttery flavor is desired, such as pastries, cookies, and scones.

Yes, some supermarkets offer their own private-label versions of Irish butter. For instance, Aldi's Countryside Creamery is an affordable, grass-fed Irish butter often cited as a budget-friendly alternative to Kerrygold.

The superior creaminess and spreadability of pure Irish butter are due to its higher butterfat content. The increased fat percentage and lower water content create a softer texture that remains more spreadable than American butter, even at colder temperatures.

Irish dairy cows spend an average of 240 days a year grazing on fresh grass, and their diet consists of about 95% grass. While some grain supplementation may occur, the predominance of grass in their diet is a key characteristic of Irish dairy farming.