Jameson

Like beer and wine tasting, one of the great things about whisky is that you can get a whisky with great heritage and an intimidating age statement, that just ain't that great. Likewise, you can get some budget whiskys, which will give you as much pleasure as higher end product. Jamesons standard bottling is often this, for me.

Colour is a rich golden to tawny amber.

Nose is delicious. Big fruity, huge whiff of tinned pineapple, tinned pear fruit, big dry sherry, flinty minerals. It's clean, crisp, dry and fruity. Lots of that clean crisp pot still character. Love it. When I breathe in from the open bottle there's also unmistakable musty, cocoa dust, chocolatey, but not getting it in the glass. Not multi-dimensional but I could sit sniffing this for some time. The pineapple with the subtle sherry is delightful.

Taste is more of that tinned pineapple, tinned pear, light sherry, pure clean lines of that pot still character, steely, minerals, giving way to some slight herbal and spice notes.

Finish is fairly short, but the fruit pineapple lingers with hints of sherry, fading into a subtle spice and herbal tingle on the tongue.

This is a good bottle. Clean lines, crisp, big fruit, hints of dry sherry, no trace of sulphur. I'm with big Jim Murray on this one.

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