Best from Ireland: #JamesonWhiskey Tasting

Tasting Jameson’s range of whiskeys for celebrating St. Patrick day. A wonderful sweet and delicate pot still experience like only Irish know how to do. It is about time for a Jameson whiskey review!

Ouch! I am seriously lagging behind. I were going to do this tasting for St. Patrick’s day with Steve from The Whisky Wire but unfortunately was ill and couldn’t attend. So Miss Whisky stood up and manned this tasting with a lot of great whisky friends.

To be fair, I tasted some of the Jameson on the old days when I began drinking whisky and the experience wasn’t nice or interesting at all. I am curious to revisit some of them about 1,200 whiskies later.

Jameson Original

“Better than I remember to be fair. It is sweet and delicate maybe too delicate”

85

Jameson is carefully distilled 3 times from the finest barley and crystal clear water and matured for long years in oak casks to produce an exceptionally smooth whiskey.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (86): more than average. honey, citrus, vanilla, corn.

Palate (85): light, smooth. honey, herbal, corn, candies, cinnamon, vanilla.

Finish (84): average. honey, vanilla.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Jameson with 85 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Irish Whiskey online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on The Drink Shop for £21.25
• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £21.45
• Buy on Master of Malt for £21.46

Jameson Gold Reserve

“Way better than Jameson Original. It really tastes older and more matured with a quite interesting note of rye whiskey”

88

This Jameson Gold Reserve is an awesome blend with a high proportion of pure pot-still created at Midleton distillery in Ireland.

"If you don't enjoy this, then you just don't get what Irish whiskey is all about. 94 points" wrote Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible 2008.

If you love this Jameson, you have to try Balvenie 15 years old Single Barrel.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (88): more than average. honey, corn, vanilla, spices, citrus.

Palate (88): powerful, oily. honey, citrus, toffee, vanilla, corn, wood, spices, dust, wood.

Finish (88): longer than average. honey, spices, toffee.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Jameson Gold Reserve with 88 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Irish Whiskey online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £84.95

Jameson Select Reserve

“This is really a wonderful whiskey. I love its sweetness, its malty character and that little touch of sherry. Cracking.”

90

70cl / 40% - A special pot still malt whiskey heavy version of Jameson. Select Reserve has lots of first fill bourbon and sherry casks in the mix giving it a much richer flavour than regular Jameson, with a strong sherried note.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. honey, pineapple, vanilla, citrus, toffee, herbal. Cracking nose! I love it.

Palate (90): powerful, oily. honey, citrus, vanilla, spices, corn, pepper, raisins.

Finish (90): longer than average. honey, citrus, spices.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Jameson Select Reserve Small Batch Irish Blended Whisky with 90 points over 100.

Buy this bottle at

Save money when you buy Irish Whiskey online. Check for the best prices from best online shops below:

• Buy on Master of Malt for £35.83
• Buy on The Whisky Exchange for £35.95
• Buy on The Drink Shop for £38.38

Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve

“A wonderful whiskey but I really prefer the sweeter Jameson... Do you like dry whiskey? This is your dram so”

89

70cl / 46% - The ne plus ultra from Jameson, this has been blended with some of the oldest and rarest whiskeys from Jameson's maturing stock - one of which was a pot-still whiskey matured in a port pipe, which adds an extra fruitiness to the final assemblage. More than justifies the price tag - this is one of the greatest Irish whiskies ever bottled, we feel.

This dram has a amber-like color.

Nose (90): more than average. honey, vanilla, pineapple, mango, wood, citrus. It is less sweet than the other Jameson I have tasted today.

Palate (89): powerful, oily. honey, fruits, pineapple, apples, vanilla, herbal, citrus, tropical fruits.

Finish (89): longer than average. honey, citrus, fruits.

So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Jameson 2007 Rarest Vintage Reserve Blended Irish Whiskey with 89 points over 100.

Miguel says…

I wasn’t expecting such improvement. Really most of them are quite nice, even the Original that although it is a bit light it is a sweet and with notes of cereals that makes it quite interesting.

My favorite is the Select Reserve and then in a second position the Rarest Vintage Reserve. It has been a great experience to retaste them and discover a quite decent drams… with the Select reserve being quite fantastic. Good that I got a bottle of it! Time to open it.

Share your thoughts! comments written.