Jameson Original (40.0%): Let's stretch this St. Patrick's Day mood a little more with the third Irish whiskey review in a row. It's everybody's favorite
Jameson Original after all... It is the iconic green bottle you spot the second you enter in any bar. Cheap, easy drinking and available all around the world. It is a blend of pot still and grain whiskeys which are all distilled in New Middleton Distillery in County Cork. Although I actually favor Jameson's other sibling
Powers I have to admit that it's still weirdly surprising that I didn't review Jameson Original on tire-bouchon before. Ok, I have to admit that it's kinda feel odd to sip Jameson Original from a Glencairn glass...
Color: Yellow gold, light amber. Nice caramel coloring work I guess.
Nose: Young grain whiskies: damp packing blanket, yellow cardboard boxes and chalk. A little sharp in the beginning... After letting it breathe enough I start to get some overripe McIntosh Apples, diner style orange preserve and honey syrup. Furniture polish wipe, green wood and fresh cut grass. Very young white wine and hyacinth flowers. Adding a few drops of water brought some oil based paint, turpentine and mineral spirits aromas.
Palate: Here I have the malt notes: Baby bananas, vanilla and white grapes. Mostly sweet spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. Dried grass. Water definitely worked better here than the nose: Milk chocolate, custard and honey. The texture gets creamier with water addition.
Finish: Medium long with faint black pepper and dry untreated wood.
Overall: I always thought that the hardest work in the whisky business is to produce an affordable and good tasting blend... Imagine: You have to come up with a formula which will taste consistent for many decades and still will cost around $20 in almost every country in the world after bottling, transportation and marketing expenses added. It is an incredibly hard job especially if we are talking about a bright, not boring and tasty whisky like Jameson Original. No wonder why it is so popular... When you walk in a bar and if you see that green bottle on the shelf but nothing else, you are covered...
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