Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition
40% ABV - Ireland
Nose: Roasted malts, florals, honey, and possibly vanilla, with very slight nail polish aromas (heat). Here and there the "roasted malt and honey" expresses as caramels.
Taste: It’s very (very, very) light! Vague fruits, toasted oak, and a nutty character dominate here. With time, I started to get more bread notes and a pleasing toffee flavour.
Finish: Quick. Fast. Short. Generally it ends sweet, but with some citrus - lemon and orange, and black tea.
I don’t think that my tasting notes emphasize the sweetness you might experience with this Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition. The triple distilled spirit spent an undisclosed number of months/days in barrels that previously aged stout beer, from Franciscan Well, before being bottled. For this process, Jameson (Midleton) would have first sent their ex-Whiskey barrels to the brewery so they could barrel age a stout, and afterwards these same barrels would have been sent back to "finish" the Irish whiskey. I expect that younger stock was allocated for this expression, so I feel the core of the whiskey is still under the category of "spirit driven" - as opposed to a stronger influence from the barrel itself – but the flavours imparted make for a remarkably unique experience when you consider the standard Jameson flavours.
I tasted this side-by-side with the IPA Edition and it got my nod, so I purchased a bottle as soon as it went on sale. I find that it can be sipped neat, swirled around with ice, or even splashed into some weekend coffee! It’s a versatile bottle of whiskey that I have managed to get near empty rather quickly – bringing it camping probably had a big impact there… I always need to have one of these more affordable whiskies in my library of flavour. I enjoyed the Whiskey Makers Series much more (read my review of Jameson Blender’s Dog) and comparing prices it is a much better value than these Caskmates Editions. However, I do recommend at least trying this by the dram – especially if you are either a fan of regular Jameson, or happen to know its profile quite well. Now give me a moment to re-read this short posting and make sure I put the "e" in all of the "whiskey"..!
Tasted 16 & 21 July 2019. (Posted 23 July 2019.)
