Jameson 12 Year Old Distillery Reserve

Eighteen years ago my buddy Benny visited the Midleton Distillery in Ireland and he brought back this 12 years old Distillery Reserve – with personalized label, obviously. Now that his bottle is almost empty (about time, too, I’d say), he felt it a good idea to offer me a sample to blog about this whiskey. I have to say, I agreed with him. This Jameson matured solely on sherry casks (which is quite different from today’s release).

Soft, sweet nose on sultanas with a mild acidity as if from a juicy, overripe kiwi. A fresh croissant with farmer’s butter and apricot marmalade. Very accessible and light. Pleasantly summery.

On the palate, it is immediately clear why Jameson is still one of the world’s best sold Irish whiskeys. A true all round pleaser with a big sweetness and just a bit of a bite. It is almost impossible not to like this. What this version has extra is the fact that it is very fruity (almost tropical) and extra sweet because of the maturation on sherry casks only. Midpalate I do get that little prickle as if from cloves and black pepper. But very, very civilized.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a Jameson where the finish is longer than medium. This is very nice. It lingers surprisingly long, sweet and warm.

Would you mine terribly if I quoted the old cliché once more? ‘They don’t make ‘m like this no more, sir’. True, that. Thanks Benny. If you have any other good ideas, please share!

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