Chilling with Jameson and Daniel (you know, Jack)

My local retailer is the prime example of a guy you want guiding you through the experience of having a nice drink. He knows his wines, beer, Port, Champagnes, all that jazz, and he sells a good deal of excellent whisky. But he also has to pay the bills, and he is not going to do that with that occasional single cask or special edition Springbank I pick up in his store. Big sellers is what helps him make the world go round. Products by Jameson, Jack Daniel’s and Scottish malts and blends at a more friendly price level. But also a more modest quality? Well, let’s take a look today. When I go to the store to indeed pick up a whisky or something else for a nice Friday night, he sometimes slips me a sample of this or that. Recently he gave me some regulars, but with a twist. Familiar names, just a little bit different. Here we go!

Jameson Cask Mates, IPA Edition, bottled at 40 % abv

Makeup: Regular Jameson but matured in IPA Seasoned casks.

General impressions: When drinking Irish Whiskey, I use the regular and world famous Jameson as a benchmark. Good for comparison, in quality and in price. A glass of Jameson is for me a good definition of a simple whiskey scoring between 65 and 70 points, depending on if you are having a good day or not. Anyway, this is Jameson with a IPA (India Pale Ale) twist. There is definitely a very noticeable fingerprint of the beer on the whiskey. You smell the hops rising from the glass, a bit overpowering for the more light-hearted, malty and fruity Jameson character. You get the impression of a beer that has been left on the counter at your local bar and has gone stale. I also get this feeling from being inside a mashing room in a distillery. It is an interesting experience.

Taking a sip, the beer influences continue being very present. I like this nice mix between the fruity layers fighting with the overpowering bitterish notes. I have to say, I had more whisky that was finished or influenced by beer, but I never really quite picked up on it. This Jameson does show off the influence of the IPA flavouring. Therefor the whiskey offers you exactly what it promises, and that is something worth appreciating. The mouthfeel is very soft and friendly, but the finish offers some nice fruity-bitter aftertaste that shows signs of elevated complexity.

Conclusion: Boring old Jameson puts on a fresh new face when it appears in drag with this IPA. A very successful experiment if you ask me. Still very light and accessible as Jameson should be, but with a little more edge to make it interesting.

Score: 77 points

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select, bottled at 45 % abv

Makeup: Not a lot of information to be found. I read somewhere that the selected barrels matured in the higher stories of the warehouses, where they are at the mercy of the fluctuating temperatures of Tennessee. When scrolling through the million Whiskybase pages for this whiskey, I noticed that the American version of this Jack Daniel’s is bottled at 47 % abv. In Europe we get a 45 % abv version.

General impressions: Tennessee whiskey alright, but with a distinctly fruitier aroma coming from the glass, compared to the very regular Old No. 7 standard. Jelly candy, soft caramel, cinnamon (like Atomic Fireball candy in the old days). Fresh wood of course, with the immediately recognisable charcoal sweet signature of Jack Daniel’s. 

When nosing all this, I have high expectations for the palate, but it lacks a little more extra to really woo me. As it stands, the taste is quite friendly, a tad dry perhaps, but with a nice bitter and corn-like aftertaste. A little woodsmoke on the finish. It does feel fleshed out, so you do get more than you would from the regular Jack, while staying in the same lane as to not to alienate regular JD drinkers.

Conclusion: Promising nose, not really delivering on the palate, the finish just okay. Good stuff, rewarding, even though it did not take my by surprise as much as the Jameson did.

Score: 79 points.

Got a question about these whisky? Or do you just want to say something about it? There is a contactform on the bottom of this page!  

Share this on your social media! - and check mine while you're at it :)