Jameson Irish Whiskey vs. Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition
The first review of St. Patty’s Week is the O.G., Jameson Irish Whiskey. In addition to what was posted on Instagram, we will also review the Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition and compare it to the original. Let’s get started…
Jameson Irish Whiskey
I can’t speak for all nations, but in the United States I think it is safe to say that IF you had whiskey in your 20’s then you would have had some Jameson. I can’t back this up with any data, but my gut tells me that I’m right. That said, this is probably the first time I’ve ever SIPPED a Jameson; the preferred method back then was shooting it back or dropping it into a beer. 20 years older and 20 years wiser now, I’m more of a sipper (hence the name) when I imbibe, so this should be both a trip down memory lane as well as a new experience for me.
ABV: 40%
How it smells…starts out light with some green apples and a faint whiff of maltiness.
How it tastes….sweet up front with some apples and a bit of fruitiness followed by some peppery spice and ending in faint chocolate malt. The finish is short but pleasant.
Price..$30
Rating….🥃🥃🥃🥃
Final thoughts….Not going to lie, I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth and light this was. I have foggy memories of this causing some burn back in the day, but I’ll chalk that up to youthful ignorance. For a $30 bottle, this is superb. If you’re looking for something complex, this probably isn’t for you (but if you’re expecting complex at $30 then you might want to temper your expectations) but if you want a nice easy sipper, this is a great choice. This is a solid 4x 🥃.
Jameson Irish Whiskey Caskmates Stout Edition
Like a lot of distilleries, Jameson experiments with cask finishes and other techniques to add variety to its releases. This particular release is part of Jameson’s Caskmates series (which only really consists of one other release, an IPA cask finished whiskey) and uses stout beer barrels to finish the whiskey.
For those who are unfamiliar with stout, it is a very dark beer that has a little bitterness to it. There’s a ton of varieties of stouts now, but the most famous stout in the market is another Irish stalwart, Guinness. I assumed that Jameson had partnered with Guinness for this Caskmate release, but I was wrong, instead Jameson partnered with an Irish microbrewery called Franciscan Well. First, Franciscan Well used Jameson barrels to age one of their stouts, then returned the barrels to Jameson for them to use the stout soaked barrels for this release.
ABV: 40%
How it smells…again, starts out light with some green apples, but it also has a sweeter smell, picking up some honey and much more of a malty aroma than the regular Jameson.
How it tastes….much sweeter to start with some honey which transitions to a creamy chocolate at the end. The finish is much longer than the original Jameson. The sweetness remains but you also get some peppery spice. There’s also a bit of bitterness at the end, but not in an unpleasant way. Overall, very well rounded from start to finish.
Price..$35
Rating….🥃🥃🥃🥃
Final thoughts….Since the regular Jameson is so light and mellow, I thought the stout casks would have a bigger influence on the whiskey. That said, while not a big influence, it had just enough influence to make it a really interesting sip. 4x’s seems like the right rating, especially since the mark up over the original Jameson is only $5.
Final Final thoughts….Both are very nice sips and both are very affordable, so I don’t think you can go wrong with either. The original Jameson is a little lighter and simpler with a bit more fruit forward notes while the Jameson Stout Edition is maltier and sweeter. Either is good in a pinch, it’ll just depend on your personal preference. As for me, I think if I saw both on the shelf, I would pay the extra $5 to get the Stout Edition.
