The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Richard Thomas
Irish Distillers has unveiled a new structure to its Jameson family of Irish Whiskeys, a reinterpretation of its lineup in the premium Irish Whiskey category. The new portfolio is made up of The Whiskey Makers Series, the range of Heritage whiskeys and The Deconstructed Series, with the original Jameson Irish Whiskey at the core.
The restructuring demonstrates Irish Distillers’ ambition to drive interest globally in Irish Whiskey with the Jameson brand, a trend already furthered by the popularity of the company’s successful push of single pot still whiskeys with Redbreast and “The Spots.” This new family of Jameson whiskeys is set to further impact this movement, highlighting Jameson’s wider offering and giving drinkers a meaningful exploration path into super premium whiskey.
Daniel Lundberg, Global Brand Director for Jameson, commented: “The restructure of the Jameson family is the most significant move in our brand’s recent history. This is an exceptionally exciting development that positions Jameson at the forefront of innovation and advance within the Irish Whiskey category. The family, comprised of The Whiskey Makers Series, the range of Heritage whiskeys and The Deconstructed Series is underpinned by the brand’s people and craft, heritage, taste and fearlessness; in short, the qualities for which Jameson is celebrated throughout the world. Today we finally get to unveil our new family globally and witness Irish Whiskey fans discovering new stories, flavors and experiences from Jameson.”
The Whiskey Makers
Created collaboratively by Jameson Head Distiller, Brian Nation; Head Cooper, Ger Buckley; and Head Blender, Billy Leighton, The Whiskey Makers range gives Midleton’s craftspeople an opportunity to shine a light on their individual areas of expertise while deepening consumers’ understanding of Irish Whiskey production through the exploration of three key tools, after which the products are named: The Distiller’s Safe, The Cooper’s Croze and The Blender’s Dog.
The Distiller’s Safe notes the role of Jameson’s Head Distiller, Brian Nation, via a showcase of the original copper pot still distillate. Nation explores the influence of the copper itself on the new-make spirit, using a maturation process that skilfully preserves the qualities of the original distillate, allowing the flavors developed in the pot still to take center stage. Brian’s tool of choice, the spirit safe, allows him to fine tune the whiskey’s style at any point during the distillation process.
The Cooper’s Croze showcases the role of Jameson’s Head Cooper, Ger Buckley, and explores the influence that maturation in casks has on whiskey. A fifth-generation cooper, Ger has a deep relationship with wood and is tasked with selecting, repairing and maintaining Midleton’s diverse and treasured barrels. Ger’s prized possession, his croze, a tool passed down through his family, is used to make the groove where the head of the cask is positioned.
The Blender’s Dog demonstrates the role of Jameson Head Blender, Billy Leighton; a tribute to the fine art of blending. Leighton is tasked with uniting the work of the distiller and the cooper to create balanced whiskeys. His go-to instrument, a “dog,” is used to collect whiskey samples from the casks, allowing Billy to bring together complementary spirits from Midleton’s extensive range of maturing stock.
All whiskeys in The Whiskey Masters series are bottled at 40% ABV, available worldwide, and priced at €70 or the local equivalent.
What’s Old Is New Again
The Heritage Whiskey grouping represents a repackaging of previous Jameson premium whiskeys, rather than an entirely new group of releases. Jameson Black Barrel, popularly known as “Jameson Black,” originally launched as Jameson Small Batch some years ago. Likewise, Jameson Signature is a repackaging of an existing whiskey, while Jameson Crested was launched in March 2016.
All three are 40% ABV whiskeys and available around the world. Jameson Black Barrel is officially priced at €47, Jameson Crested at €36, and Jameson Signature at €40.
Similarly, the Jameson Deconstructed series is not so much new as relaunched. This grouping of Jameson Bold, Jameson Lively and Jameson Round originally appeared in October 2015 as travel retail products, and that they will remain.
Jameson Bold is a pot still based whiskey blend, whereas Jameson Lively is based on grain whiskey and Jameson Round is oriented towards its cask/wood influences. All three are 40% ABV whiskeys and priced at €36.
