World Whiskey Review #28: Jameson Bow Street 18 Year

Distillery: Midleton

Blend Makeup: Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey and Single Grain Irish Whiskey

Region: Ireland

Price: Sample courtesy of /u/I_SAID_NO_GOLDFISH

Cask Type: Mix of ex-Bourbon and ex-Sherry barrels

ABV: 55.3% Cask Strength

Age: 18 Year

Color: 1.2, Chestnut/Oloroso Sherry. Non-Chill Filtered

Nose: (according to the wife) Lots of sugary goodness. There’s a bunch of caramel and a nice touch of crème brûlée. Along with all the sweetness is a bit of freshly conditioned leather.

Palate: Lots of oak and leather up front. There’s a bit of sweetness following the earthier tones in the form of honey and caramel. Some spiced orange peels wrap this up. With some water, it’s much sweeter. Some sweet corn comes out along with apples, sherry, and even more caramel.

Finish: Short in length. Fairly drying with a bit of leather and a bit of oak.

Conclusion: Jameson isn’t usually something I reach for very often. This age stated release is one of the newer ones in Midleton’s annual lineup made with blend of single pot still Irish whisky and single grain Irish whisky. It starts off lovely with a lot of sweetness in the nose along with a lovely note of leather. The palate starts off earthy before giving way to some sweeter notes. With water, I was a little surprised to get the distinct note of sweet corn only to find that maize is one of the ingredients in the grain mashbill used for this. Overall, not bad at all. Would I buy a bottle? It’s far overpriced for me, somewhere in the ballpark of $80-90 might be better than where it currently sits.

Final Score: 82.

World Whiskey Review #28, Irish Whisky Review #6, Whisky Network Review #224

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.