Origin: Cork (Ireland)
Type: Blended Irish Whiskey
Strength: 40%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon, ex-Sherry and virgin
Chillfiltered: Yes
Added coloring: Yes
Owner: Pernod Ricard
Average price: € 50.00
Official website: www.jamesonwhiskey.com
Vote: 83/100
After trying the bold version of the Deconstructed Series, here in the glass is the second of the trio, the one dedicated to the influence of casks on the well-known Irish blended.
Casks that to the classic ex-Bourbon ones add unusual ageing components such as virgins and ex-Sherry: it isn’t known what the proportions are, but it’s nevertheless an appreciable attempt to break new ground for what has been a mainstay in Irish whiskey for years.
Tasting notes
The nose is dominated by wet cereals, mixed with wood spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, pinch of white pepper), candyfloss, caramel, almond. Sherried influences take a back seat, with leather, dried figs and wild strawberries emerging along the length. Tobacco vein and pineapple juice in the background. Particular but not too much.
Rather creamy despite the low alcohol content, in the mouth it raises the peppery level with a lively initial push, emphasising spices and contrasts. Two hearts, like a Time Lord: one soft (caramel, cereals, butter brioche, crisp apple, candyfloss), and one dry (leather, vegetable notes, ginger, almonds, wood polish), sometimes harmonious, sometimes dissonant.
The finish is quite short and elusive, of spicy touches, cereals, almond, leather, vegetal notes.
You can actually feel the effort to create something different, but the result seems to me to be contentious and unfocused, with the individual elements struggling to find their balance in a tasting as tachycardic and convulsive as a trip on the Tardis. Which can also be fun, but far from being ’rounded’.