Jameson Bow Street 18 Year Old Cask Strength Irish Whiskey
Malt Fascination (87)
With this being a slightly more rare Irish whisky, it would make sense that MvZ supplied me with the sample I tried. However, I don’t see his rating on Whiskybase, so I’m second guessing myself.
While it’s far from the most exciting brand, Jameson rarely comes at cask strength, and older whiskies from Midleton tend to be rather good. So, I got excited. This one’s a mix of bourbon and sherry casks, and even though it’s a special edition there were 15,000 bottles released. It should not be overly surprising that there are some knocking about six years after.
Sniff:
There’s quite a lot of oak, the typical Irish Pot Still whisky sweetness (wine gums, slightly chemical) but also cherries and vanilla. A hint of cherry stones as well, with the dark crust of a pound cake.
Sip:
A fairly gentle palate that doesn’t bite but is not without a bit of impact. Some fierceness with dry oak, some candy like sweetness. Cherries, pound cake, vanilla. A hint of iron too, with some apple.
Swallow:
The finish is largely the same as the palate, it mellows rather quickly but lingers a long time. The dry woodiness, vanilla and some apple.
Not entirely unexpected, but this is a very drinkable dram. The cask strength is noticeable, but not overly fierce. It’s a slightly sweet dram, which is regular for the style too, but it’s not too sweet as it sometimes can get.
