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One of the most famous and best-selling types of whiskey is produced in the south of Ireland, in County Cork, in the vicinity of the city of Middleton.
The legendary drink has been produced for more than two centuries. During this time, the company has grown from a tiny factory with a single alembic to a large-scale production, which is part of the French holding Pernod Ricard.
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The History of the Jameson Enterprise
The company was founded in 1780 by the enterprising Irishman John Jameson, who, having appreciated the prospects of the industry, decided to try his hand at a new field.
The idea was a success, and for several decades the plant, named after the owner “Jameson”, rapidly increased production.
Several factors contributed to the success of the company:
The active development of the Irish economy and the rise in the popularity of whiskey, which occurred just at the end of the XNUMXth / beginning of the XNUMXth centuries.
Some experience of the owner of the company. John Jameson was not exactly a “green” newcomer to the malt brew industry.
His wife was the daughter of one of the largest Scottish whiskey producers, and the owner of the Dublin distillery had many useful connections and skills in doing this kind of business.
Successful innovation. The founder of the enterprise began work with the construction of a gigantic distillation cube at that time and over the course of several years actively expanded production.
State support for major whiskey producers.
An excise act issued in Ireland in 1823 significantly improved the position of legal enterprises producing strong drink from malt.
Having increased the capacity of the distillery and won a strong position among local producers, John Jameson died, handing over the reins of the company to his son.
At that time, the company was the second most important among Irish whiskey distilleries.
By the middle of the XNUMXth century, the demand for a strong drink reached a peak, and for some time exceeded supply.
However, already in the 90s there was a decline due to the appearance on the market of a cheaper blended version of whiskey.
The Jameson Company chose to keep the tradition and continued to produce a single malt drink, which led to a protracted crisis.
All this time, the company has maintained the continuity of generations, remained a family business and was guided by the motto “Sine Metu” (“Without fear”).
The life-affirming inscription can still be seen on the product label next to the coat of arms.
The next modernization improved the situation for a while, but did not solve the problem.
Having hardly survived the introduction of “prohibition” in the United States, the civil and world wars, the company was forced to unite first with Irish producers in Irish Distillers Ltd, and then become part of the French giant of the alcohol industry Pernod Ricard.
The latest changes have benefited the company: it has re-entered the list of best-selling brands.
Today, the company produces blended whiskey, and the number of annual sales has long passed the million mark.
In 2006, the sales volume amounted to more than 2 million boxes, in 2013 – about 5 million, by the end of the 2010s it exceeded this figure. And it all started with a small distillery on one of the Dublin streets.
Features of making whiskey Jameson
The Jameson whiskey line includes drinks of different styles and degrees of exposure. Common to all product categories are a beautiful golden hue and a special production technology, created back in the days of John Jameson Sr. and supplemented in subsequent years. It includes:
Using quality local raw materials: barley is grown in fields near Middleton, water is taken from the Dangourney River, which flows right through the distillery.
Only corn is purchased from a French farmer.
Drying grain in special ovens and three-stage distillation of the must.
Repeated distillation imparts softness and delicate taste to the drink, and closed drying eliminates the peaty flavor characteristic of Scotch whiskey.
Long exposure in oak barrels, some of which were already in use.
To obtain subtle accents of the bouquet, storage containers are purchased from producers of American bourbon and strong Spanish wines.
Such barrels give drinks light woody, vanilla notes and a sweet sherry flavor.
Strict control at all stages of production: from grain collection to bottling.
Inclusion in blends exclusively of spirits obtained at our own distillery.
Overview of the taste and types of whiskey Jameson
Jameson Irish Whiskey
A classic blended whiskey aged for 4 years in oak barrels.
The drink has a pleasant floral aroma with spicy and woody notes.
The taste is balanced, sweetish, with a predominance of nutty and vanilla tones.
Jameson Black Barrel
An unusual version of products aged in “black” bourbon barrels.
The containers are preliminarily subjected to strong roasting (charring) to enhance the taste of the drink.
This category is characterized by a fragrant bouquet with pronounced tones of toffee, fudge, nuts, vanilla, sweet spices.
Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition и Caskmates IPA Edition
Two unusual lines include drinks aged in craft beer and pale ale barrels.
A special manufacturing technology gives the bouquet floral-herbal, hoppy, citrus, apple notes.
The taste is dominated by woody, nutty, spicy accents with a grain plume and a long fruity aftertaste.
In the “craft” version, there are also tones of chocolate, pears, green tea.
Jameson Crested
A traditional version of Irish whiskey with a pronounced sherry aroma and taste.
The bouquet contains notes of spices, chocolate, woods and fruits.
Jameson 12 Years и 18 Years
The most famous drinks of the manufacturer, combining several valuable distillates.
Each component undergoes a long exposure in a barrel, and after mixing the whiskey spends six months in a fresh American oak container.
In a complex, elegant bouquet, accents of spices, nuts, caramel, leather and vanilla are guessed.
A long soft aftertaste with woody notes and a trail of spices makes the drinks one of the best in the manufacturer’s collection.
A variation on the popular category is Jameson Bow Street 18 Years Whiskey, produced in 2018.
The Whiskey Makers Series
The line consists of three products: “The Distiller’s Safe”, “The Cooper’s Croze” and “The Blender’s Dog”.
Drinks are dedicated to the main specialists involved in the creation of whiskey: master of distillation, cooper and blender.
The Jameson Deconstructed Series
The line includes 3 variants of drinks made using unusual technologies.
Jameson Bold and Jameson Lively contain barley malt and unsprouted green barley. “Jameson Round” involves aging distillates in different types of barrels.
Rare vintage drinks with a long exposure and unusually designed designer series dedicated to iconic events should be singled out in a separate category.
How to spot fake Jameson whiskey
Due to the high popularity of the Jameson brand, the drink is often tried to be copied.
There are many smuggled copies with the label of a well-known brand on the alcohol market.
To buy original products, you need to be able to distinguish it from a fake:
Real Jameson whiskey has a metal lid, not plastic, covered with foil.
There are three embossed inscriptions on the bottle of the drink: “Since 1780”, “Product of Ireland” and “John Jameson & Son”.
The actual volume of the vessel must match that indicated on the label.
On a bottle of authentic Irish whiskey there is an excise stamp with a hologram.
There will be no sediment in the original drink, and the bubbles that appear when shaking should not disappear instantly, but slowly dissolve.
A bottle of a real Jameson is made of thick glass, the label is pasted evenly, without any traces of glue, the image of the coat of arms on it is embossed, not flat.
To protect yourself from buying fakes, it is better to purchase a drink in specialized stores, and not in a retail network.
Relevance: 20.01.2019
Tags: Whiskey and bourbon, Whiskey brands