Jameson 2011 Review

Country: Ireland
Brand: Jameson

Age: NAS. The distillery puts it between 3 and 7 Years.

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Light Gold

Nose: Light nose. Malt and Sweet Grain take the lead. Breakfast Cereals with Sugar. Alcohol and oak are prominent as well. There is some Spice there and a bit of Sherry as well. In the back of the glass I pick up some Floral tones and sweet Peaches.

Taste: Slightly Oily delivery. Not too much going on there. Basically Sugared Grain, some Caramel and a bit of Spice (Ginger). The taste reminds me somewhat of Gin.

Finish: Short. The alcohol burns a bit. Sweet Grains, Vanilla, light Spices. Slight nutty bitterness but in the end the sweet Grain and Peaches return.

Rating: 77.5

Nose: 20.5 – Taste: 19 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 19

General Remarks: This is the first Irish whiskey I’m tasting for the Whisky Paradise! The Jameson distillery was founded in 1780. The production process is slightly different from Scotch whisky in that Jameson uses both malted and un-malted barley. The wash is also distilled three times instead of the usual 2x in Scotland. Today, Jameson is the best selling Irish whiskey worldwide.

I added half a teaspoon of water but it doesn’t make a lot of difference. It brings out some Honey.

Drinking Experience Neat: Average

Conclusion: The good thing about the Jameson Standard Expression is that it’s not an expensive whiskey. It’s also better in my opinion than most of the cheaper blends such as Johnny Walker Red Label, White Horse, Grant’s Family Reserve, Ballantine’s Finest, Chivas 12 Years and Dewar’s White Label. So it scores high when it comes to value for money. On the other hand, I like to see things happen in a whisky and that’s not the case here. Too much Sweet Grain and Wood and Alcohol and a bit of Spices and very little else. That’s not enough to make the Jameson standard a whiskey I will look for again. 

Jan van den Ende                                                                December 3, 2011