The Whiskey Reviewer A World of Whiskey, Poured Every Weekday
By Emma Briones
(Credit: Irish Distillers)
After being opened for a little bit more than a year, the revamped Jameson Bow Street Distillery has welcomed more than 350,000 visitors. According to Ray Dempsey, General Manager of the Dublin site, this success is due to the quality of the experience they are offering. Building on that and honoring its Dublin roots, Jameson decided to return part of the production process to the brand’s original home in the Smithfield area. This is a first since 1975, giving rise to one of its latest editions and its first cask-strength whiskey ever: Jameson Bow Street 18 Year Old.
First released 15 years ago, Jameson 18 Year Old became on of the longest standing high age statement expressions in Irish Whiskey in regular release. Thus it was a recognizable standard bearer, the sort of thing that occupied a top shelf spot in many an Irish pub around the world.
Distilled and matured at the Midleton Distillery in Cork, Jameson Bow Street 18 is a reinterpretation of the classic Jameson 18 Year Old. A blend of pot-still and grain Irish whiskeys that have spent 18 years in a collection of bourbon and Sherry casks. The content of these barrels has been married and re-casked in first-fill ex-bourbon American oak barrels to re-warehouse it. And here is when Jameson returns part of the production process to the old distillery. These casks have been maturing for a final 6 to 12 months in the Maturation House at the Jameson Distillery Bow Street, giving the truth to the “return of production” angle.
“The final maturation period in Bow Street is our nod to the traditional “marrying” method. We’ve put our own Jameson stamp on it by using first-fill bourbon barrels, whereas the traditional approach would be to use casks multiple times. I like to think of the whiskey getting engaged in Midleton and then “married” in Dublin!” states Billy Leighton, Master Blender at Jameson.
The maturation space at the Jameson Bow Street distillery is limited and only 84 casks of the new Jameson Bow Street 18 have been produced. So, Jameson Bow Street 18 is a limited edition. The first batch of this new cask strength has been bottled at 55.3% ABV (111 proof) without the use of chill filtration.
Jameson Bow Street 18 is the rarest release from the Irish brand and will be bottled once per year at cask strength. It will be available in 20 markets from July 2018, retailing at €240 (around $290).
On this occasion, Jameson has also launched another Jameson 18 years expression. With the same bottle design of the new Jameson Bow Street 18 Years Cask Strength, it’s a 40% ABV (80 proof) whiskey and a return to the original Jameson 18 Year Old.
The new Jameson 18 years is also a blend of pot-still and grain Irish whiskeys that have spent 18 years in a collection of bourbon and sherry casks. The spirit is then given a final marrying period of at least 6 months in a fresh American oak barrels.
