Jameson Irish Whiskey

You’d have to have been living under a rock not have heard of Jameson Whiskey. It’s the world’s best selling Irish Whiskey and is available pretty much everywhere. Jim Murray also awarded it 95 points in his 2013 Whisky Bible.

Although a large proportion of this whiskey will be consumed with ice, coke or ginger beer, I’m tasting the standard expression neat to see how I get on.

Colour

Pale honey.

Nose

Very light nose – freshly cut grass and cereal.

Some slightly synthetic sweetness, Madeira light honey and barley sugar.

Taste

The spicy grassiness from the nose is there along with green barley and cooked green apple.

A little creaminess comes through before the slightly spicy finish.

Quite a thin mouthfeel and be very careful if adding water as it will wash away easily.

Overall

I’m not sure about the award-winning status of Jameson’s, however it is a perfectly drinkable whiskey and pretty decent value. It’s bottled at 40% and there is no doubt it will have been heavily chillfiltered to ensure the clean spirit; unfortunately this processing undoubtedly knocks out some of the flavour.

With the resurgence of Irish Whiskey in the market, there are now plenty of other brands and expressions which will give a more authentic flavour, however it’s worth trying Jameson for a benchmark if nothing else.