Jameson 18 Years Old Bow Street Cask Strength (55.3%, OB, 2018)

• ABV: 55.3%
• Age: 18 Years Old
• Bottling: OB, Batch 01/2018
• Category: Blended Irish Whiskey
• Cost: £170
• Origin: Midleton distillery
• Vintage: undeclared

What they say

Jameson Bow Street 18 Years is a special blend of rare pot still and grain Irish whiskeys produced at the Midleton distillery. After ageing for almost two decades, these whiskeys are married together and spend their final finishing period in our original home, at the Jameson Distillery Bow Street in Dublin. Launched in 2018, this whiskey is our rarest release and is bottled once per year, at cask strength.  

Official tasting notes by Billy Leighton, Master Blender at the Midleton Distillery:

• Nose: Rich wood-driven influence with deep toffee notes and spice.
• Taste: Toffee and oak remain consistent with hints of leather and vanilla along with a subtle sherry nuttiness creating depth and complexity.
• Finish: Long and full with the sweet toffee notes slowly fading while the toasted oak and spice linger throughout until the very end.

What I say

Jameson’s first ever cask strength release, this 18 Year Old is presented at 55.3% and finished its maturation at the live distillation house in the Jameson Distillery Bow Street, whose name it bears.

My tasting notes:

• Appearance: Full bright gold (10/20), fine tears and thin legs.
• Nose: Sweet honey and grassy barley, a little spirit burn belies its strength, rich toffee, with a slight menthol, lemon and almost liqourice edge precede sugary spiced oak wood
• Taste: Creamy toffee, butterscotch, apple and blackberry compote, wood spice, tobacco leaf and leather, vanilla creme brulee with freshly grated nutmeg and almost cayenne pepper spice with a sweet honey undercurrent, fruit & nut chocolate bars and toasted oak shavings.
• Finish: Long, sweet vanilla essence and toffee fade through fudge to spiced oak and piqaunte bramble jelly

Overall

Spiced from the unmalted barley and rich and complex from both spirit and maturation, this is slightly removed from the smoothness of your usual Jameson blend and strikes me as something really quite memorable.

Score 87/100

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