Jameson Irish Whiskey

Nodferatu

hello board's members,
i just bought my first bottle of whiskey today for myself for over the Christmas period to enjoy. im new to whiskey, my experience with alcohol is pretty much an 8 pack of Heineken or Guinness or whatever at the weekends, so far im enjoying it.

AkiThePirate

If you're enjoying it and don't want to go too upmarket, O'Brien's have a bottle of Bushmills Black Bush for ~€20, which is a good deal.
I bought two.

teddy_303

You choose well my friend. Easily the best... Happy x mas scoop-age...

Sarky

Enjoy. Whiskey is a goddamn amazing drink. And it's time I poured my second scotch for the evening. Nom.

Truff Puff

Jameson is my fav whiskey. Try Jameson 12years old -it's amazing!

Nodferatu

yeah i'll try bushmills sometime, as for going for a 12 year old , sure im not experienced enough to really and truely appreciate a 12 year old whiskey, i rarely drink to be honest im not a social drinker nor am i out at weekend's drinking, just the odd weekend i'll buy a few cans that's it. but my uncle drinks jameson 12 year old straight, no mixing, i admire him for it, i thought id' give it a try, is it best to drink it straight? i tried a bit of bottled water with it but its just not the same, too bland, doesn't have the kick in it.

oh and merry Christmas all

Spacedog

AkiThePirate wrote: »

If you're enjoying it and don't want to go too upmarket, O'Brien's have a bottle of Bushmills Black Bush for ~€20, which is a good deal.
I bought two.

that's prodistant whisky (unless it's free)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X85N-43REag

Sarky

Nodferatu wrote: »

is it best to drink it straight? i tried a bit of bottled water with it but its just not the same, too bland, doesn't have the kick in it.

That's mostly down to personal taste. I Generally prefer my whisk(e)y straight, no ice, but sometimes I'll add a drop of water, particularly to the stronger ones and it does improve the flavour as far as I'm concerned. I don't like ice, it tends to dull the flavour for me, but others will swear by it.

You'll figure out what you prefer yourself by experimenting.

Brockagh

Nodferatu wrote: »

hello board's members,
i just bought my first bottle of whiskey today for myself for over the Christmas period to enjoy. im new to whiskey, my experience with alcohol is pretty much an 8 pack of Heineken or Guinness or whatever at the weekends, so far im enjoying it.

Jameson is a good whiskey. You could try Powers too. Same kind of price and a little more spicy.

Water is supposed to "open up" whiskey. Maybe not them all, but it does for a lot of them. Try it with and without and see what you prefer.

Butch Cassidy

If you're new to whiskey don't do what I did and stay ont he Jameson for years assuming it's great just cause they have cool ads...

Powers is cheaper and is a much better whiskey. Black Bush is great. Jameson 12 is worth the extra few bob if you can get it for about 35 quid. Redbreast is probably the best most widely available and not bank breaking whiskey - O'Briens used to have it at 35quid a bottle.

Also, watering down whiskey with carbonated drinks is a waste imo. Try drinking it straight, on ice or with a few drops of water to get the full flavour. Cola et al just kills the flavour. That said, if I'm mixing it in a long drink (highball) I'll use Ginger Ale.

Welcome to the wonderful world of Irish whiskey, myth is we invented the stuff... well, monks did 800 years ago or something.

Butch Cassidy

Sarky wrote: »

That's mostly down to personal taste. I Generally prefer my whisk(e)y straight, no ice, but sometimes I'll add a drop of water, particularly to the stronger ones and it does improve the flavour as far as I'm concerned. I don't like ice, it tends to dull the flavour for me, but others will swear by it.

You'll figure out what you prefer yourself by experimenting.

Personally I like ice in a smokey Scottish whiskey to take the edge of the smokey-ness off cause I don't really like it that smokey.

With Irish ones I don't usually take ice but I'll sometimes have a Powers on ice if I'm not in the mood for it full on straight. The ice melts a little and then you get your water. Of course cocktails are usually served cold to take the edge off; the colder something is the less flavour you can taste - soft scoop ice cream from a machine vs. hard scoop out of the freezer for instance, one tastes sweeter than the other.

Nodferatu wrote: »

yeah i'll try bushmills sometime, as for going for a 12 year old , sure im not experienced enough to really and truely appreciate a 12 year old whiskey, i rarely drink to be honest im not a social drinker nor am i out at weekend's drinking, just the odd weekend i'll buy a few cans that's it. but my uncle drinks jameson 12 year old straight, no mixing, i admire him for it, i thought id' give it a try, is it best to drink it straight? i tried a bit of bottled water with it but its just not the same, too bland, doesn't have the kick in it.

oh and merry Christmas all

Nah you don't have to get into that mindset of "I'm not experienced enough for a better whiskey so I'll drink this aul stuff first". It's not like you need to eat a load of Mc Burgers before you can enjoy a really good burger.

If you can try out as many Irish whiskeys as you can. I wouldn't really consider Jameson (no age statement) as a starting point. Their Crested Ten is very good and is only another euro or two.


You might also wanna look in to whiskey cocktails like the sour or an Old Fashioned which I think is a good use of whiskey.

PhiliousPhogg

Folks - Where does Tullamore Dew stand among it's peers? I saw it in my local store priced well below the likes of JD, Jamesons & Jim Beam. I must try it.

Brockagh

It's very popular in Europe. I'm not a big fan of the standard stuff, but the 12 yr old is pretty nice and is a little more like a Jameson 12. The Heritage isn't bad either.

They've released a few more recently too, like the 10 yr old blend and the 10 yr old single malt (a Cooley whiskey). The latter is quite nice.

And then there's the Tullamore Dew Black 43. It's okay, maybe a little bit sweet for me, but I enjoyed it.

Black Dog

Nothing approaches the quality and flavour of Irish whiskey. My normal tipple is Jameson 12 year old but a treat is Redbreast, not too expensive but a taste well beyond its cost.

grenache

PhiliousPhogg wrote: »

Folks - Where does Tullamore Dew stand among it's peers? I saw it in my local store priced well below the likes of JD, Jamesons & Jim Beam. I must try it.

I am of the reckoning that Tullamore Dew is popular on the continent because its one of the lighter, more approachable whiskeys on the market. Also it is widely advertised in countries like France and Germany in particular. The whiskey market in the UK and Ireland is close to saturation, so the people behind Tullamore saw a gap in the European market and took a gamble.

IrishWhiskeyCha

Tullamore Dew is a long established Brand going back to at least the 1940's and is the second best selling Irish Whiskey in the world. However it has never been a major brand in Ireland as Jameson Paddy & Powers have always dominated. As stated earlier it is a nice easy drinking whiskey but not overly exciting, no harm trying it as it will broaden your horizons and taste profile with whiskey.

If you like Jameson definately try the Jameson 12yo also whiskies like Crested Ten, Greenspot, Irishman 70, Redbreast and Writers Tears are others to consider in that vein. You'll not know unless you try them but give any of these a chance and you'll find that they are all good whiskies after that the world is your oyster and even getting into scotch and other whiskies.

Heroditas

Spacedog wrote: »

that's prodistant whisky (unless it's free)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X85N-43REag

So's Jameson

Nodferatu

what price is a jameson 12 year old then? i work in a wholesale warehouse and its €34 to buy in there but thats for customers and they pay VAT.
cheaper in the shops?

Legion2008

O'briens have Jameson 12 year old on special at the moment for 24.99 which is a great price for an excellent whiskey.

I'd echo the suggestions above regarding redbreast, a fantastic whiskey, another one to try which isn't too pricey is Writers Tears, presently my favorite tipple.

I wouldn't put ice in whiskey, the main reason being that as the ice melts it drowns the flavor of the whiskey, it you want to add water, add it slowly and taste after every few drops until you find the flavor that's right for you, whiskey taste will alter with water.

If you're interested in finding out more about whiskey check out www.irishwhiskeysociety.com they have monthly tastings in Dublin where you get to try out a wide selection of different whiskies, well worth a visit.

Berty

munchkin_utd

Nodferatu wrote: »

what price is a jameson 12 year old then? i work in a wholesale warehouse and its €34 to buy in there but thats for customers and they pay VAT.
cheaper in the shops?

Irish Whiskey is normally cheaper to buy abroad than in Ireland due to the exhorbitant taxes that the revenue charges.

The 12 year old is 34.99 regular price in Germany in my local whiskey shop in downtown Munich, so about the same as your wholesale price.
http://shop.whiskyversand.de/aid-6455-Jameson-1780-12-y-o-40-0-7-mit-Farbstoff.html

Which brings me onto an alarming discovery.
"Mit Farbstoff" means that colourant is added!! (german labelling laws state that additives and preservatives have to be clearly labeled - no wonder US budweiser isnt available here!!!)

What the fup?
I was told on the midleton and jameson tours that the colour comes from the ageing in the barrel.

What is this colourant?
The 12 year old tastes suspiciously of caramel.
Is this the secret ingredient?

Brockagh

They use a spirit caramel to colour whiskey. IDL don't colour any of their aged whiskeys - i.e. with age statements.

It's done for consistency, really. They use tiny amounts and distillers claim that it cannot be detected, but some people say it can.

You get caramel flavours from the wood too, so if you detect caramel, it's probably from that. Spirit caramel is bitter.

I think the "Mit Farbstoff" is also on Laphroaig 10 in Germany, and I'm pretty sure there's no colouring in that, considering it's so pale anyway. Maybe they stick it on all bottlings from distilleries that colour their whiskey.

Anyway, chill filtration is a bigger issue, I think. But I think they should do away with both.

Butch Cassidy

Just think of how they get each bottle of standard Powers "Gold" Label to look the same colour...


Caramel doesn't bother me too much but only when I know if it's actually in it or not. Like their beers, Marks & Spencer put it on the ingredient label if there's caramel in it. We've gotta take IDL's word on it with regards to the age statement whiskeys as I don't believe caramel was covered in the whiskey legislation.

Nodferatu

I tried Tullamore dew other day, to be honest its a nice whiskey, not bad, but i still love the Jameson more since i started drinking whiskey, bought myself a bottle of Jameson 12 year old today its my birthday tomorrow so i treated myself, €34 euros in Tesco's, Carry Out off license was charging €42.

Butch Cassidy

Yeah your bog standard local offie will always be the more expensive. If you're into real beers it can be a good place to make friends if the people working there or running it are interested in what you may want. However, it's not a great place to be buying spirits. Nor is the Celtic Whiskey Shop since they bump up the price a few quid to sucker punch the tourists.

Bizarrely enough Edinburgh has quite a few touristy whisky shops whereas that seems to be our only one here. It's not trendy or particularly acceptable to want to be helping promote drinking that much - even though drink ads are on telly during the day - but it'd be really nice if the Irish whiskey industry could be bolstered some.

Actually, it'd be nice if they didn't charge us so much for the good stuff. Pass through any British airport, specifically the London ones and you might trip over your jaw when you see how much cheaper the top end stuff is on sale for. Yeah they're competing with the Scottish whiskies but that's not the point - the best Irish whiskeys ars far cheaper in another country!!

Brockagh

I'm not sure that's right about the Celtic Whiskey Shop. I know they make almost nothing on a bottle of Jameson, for example. The margin they make is much less than the margins made by such shops abroad.

IrishWhiskeyCha

Yes they can be slightly dearer on certain lines but not all I bought a 25yo Bowmore there for less than I could even get it in the UK or Germany which was pretty impressive. You have to remember they are a specialist independent shop in a premium location so their rent and rates are pretty horrendous and for an independent shop (i.e. not a big high street brand) they have to charge a bit more than your average Tesco or even an offflicence chain as it is a one owner show. And for their range alone nobody comes near.

Tar.Aldarion

Great choice on jameson, I adore it!

I drink it with orange juice. Yes, I was dubious at first also

Cavehill Red

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Great choice on jameson, I adore it!

I drink it with orange juice. Yes, I was dubious at first also

This sort of abuse of quality Irish whiskey makes baby Jesus cry.

Tar.Aldarion

Dun knock it til you've tried it. I've got dozens of people to love this drink.

Cavehill Red

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Dun knock it til you've tried it. I've got dozens of people to love this drink.

More shame on you.
Keep your mixers for crappy young blends or vodka.
Irish whiskey is the greatest spirit in the world. It needs nothing other than an optional dribble of water to bring out its amazing richness of flavour.
Adding something like orange juice to it is beyond ridiculous.

Tar.Aldarion

It beggars belief all right, what have I done :eek:

Cavehill Red

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

It beggars belief all right, what have I done :eek:

Despair not. It's never too late. You can still be saved.
Allow me to prize your fingers off that bottle of sugary mixer. Breathe deeply. You don't need it, honest.
Now, sip a little whiskey WITHOUT the sugar pollution. No gulping. Sip, savour, swirl around the mouth a little.
It's like an orchestra, carefully conducted. A good Irish whiskey (or, he grudgingly admits, a top Scotch or Bourbon too) is a symphony of taste and scent.
Adding a mixer to a decent whiskey ruins that symphony, like a child yelling in the middle of the music. Jameson is a pot-still dominant sherried Irish whiskey. It's sweet enough naturally from the influence of the sweet wine, the oak and the fruitiness of the original malt mash.
It doesn't require any additions. Except your time, your attention and your enjoyment.

Brockagh

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Great choice on jameson, I adore it!

I drink it with orange juice. Yes, I was dubious at first also

I'll have to try that. I tried the Jameson and ginger but didn't like it much. This sounds more promising.

pa990

I propose a change of the forum title to:
Beer wine spirits & BLASPHEMY

Nodferatu

i have tried mixers too and to be honest i think whiskey is better with a little water, or neat. i prefer a drop of water in mine.

Butch Cassidy

Cocktails can be a bit of a bridge between drinking neat whiskey and polluting sorry dilutting it with a mixer.

A Manhattan was one of the most well known and widely drunk cocktails and possibly pre-dates the Martini. Contrary to what some might say you can make this drink easily in your own home. Take a large mixing class/pint glass pour in say 60ml of whiskey and 20ml of either dry or sweet vermouth*, stir with ice and strain into a chilled glass. If you want you can use a small glass with ice or a martini/cocktail-style glass.

There are many variations and recipes. Some will say add bitters - great if you have em but hard to get and extortionately priced here. Vermouth is an aromatized wine and a 700ml will be under a tener.

If you're fed up of Mojitos you can try a Mint Julep which is not too dissimilar using whiskey and mint with a sweetener ie. sugar/sugar syrup.

A whiskey sour is analogous to a Margarita in the sense it uses a base spirt, sweet (sugar syrup/Cointreu) and sour (lemon juice/lime juice).

I find that if you really wanna slosh a mixer in on top of a not so good whiskey ie. some like off the shelf non-age-statement Jameson then ginger ale is a nice accompanyment or soda water with a lemon or lime dash/twist/garnish.




*Dry vermouth is labeled as such whereas sweet vermouth will most likely be found in a red label with Rosso written on it.

Brockagh

IDL market Jameson heavily as something to be mixed. I like Jameson on its own, but I'm all for doing whatever you like with a drink. It's cheap enough to blend with mixers without feeling guilty.

Butch Cassidy

Brockagh wrote: »

IDL market Jameson heavily as something to be mixed. I like Jameson on its own, but I'm all for doing whatever you like with a drink. It's cheap enough to blend with mixers without feeling guilty.

There's a bizarre connundrum in your post there: IDL's marketing and your mention of price.

Jameson is more expensive than others because you're paying for the advertising!

Powers is cheaper and is better quality whiskey imo. Crested Ten is better than the standard Jameson stuff though I couldn't put a price on what I think it's worth

Brockagh

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

There's a bizarre connundrum in your post there: IDL's marketing and your mention of price.

Jameson is more expensive than others because you're paying for the advertising!

Powers is cheaper and is better quality whiskey imo. Crested Ten is better than the standard Jameson stuff though I couldn't put a price on what I think it's worth

It's the cheapest whiskey in the Jameson range, and it's very cheap indeed outside Ireland, where it sells most. Indeed, Powers is generally more expensive than Jameson outside Ireland, because there's less of it outside Ireland.

If you're going to mix an Irish whiskey, personally I'd chose Jameson, unless it's in an Irish coffee. I'm not an expert on these things, though.

Jameson is around the same age profile as Powers, but I'd guess it's more expensive to make because it involves more sherry casks, which are much more expensive than bourbon casks.

I too prefer Powers.

IrishWhiskeyCha

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Great choice on jameson, I adore it!

I drink it with orange juice. Yes, I was dubious at first also

Brockagh wrote: »

I'll have to try that. I tried the Jameson and ginger but didn't like it much. This sounds more promising.

Maybe you can use it as your morning wake up

Brockagh

I have two morning wakeups, IWC. They are very loud and usually hungry.

Nodferatu

im on my third boittle of jameson in as many months, since chrisatmas, im starting to worry about myself now... really