Jameson Irish Whiskey and Beavertown Brewery get together and everyone in the world has an orgasm in their mouth at the same time…
Rating
Price
Circa €40
In A Nutshell
Creamified dark chocolate and citrus booze joy from Ireland with an Imperial Stout twist. It is far rarer than it should be, but despite this, is economically priced!
So far, the best tasting whiskey I have ever had the pleasure of drinking in my house.
We Drink It, Stuff Happens
First Impression
Sweet with something ever so slightly hoppy hiding beneath it.
Nose
Something sour, unfamiliar and very subtle. Perhaps a little rubber with those hops? It’s not giving too much away. In fact, it’s hard to say all that much about it.
But, the nose is not a revelation – palette is…
Palette
It hits your tongue and the first thought is that it’s not as sweet as you expect it to be. The second thought is HNNNNNNNNNNNNNG. It’s extremely low on the alcoholic burn – it could live in a house on your tongue. It has that characteristic low tone creaminess of a lot of Irish style whiskies that is hard to describe and that pisses off the scotch and single malt purists
BUT THERE”S MORE….
An immediate exhale hits you with something meaty and kinda dry on the palette (which I think is the slight touch of hops) – and you realise…
…”oh shit this is basically dark chocolate”
In fact it’s so lovely I hold it in my mouth for about 2 minutes and forget it’s there whilst reading something.
Fuck man this is like a new paradigm in ‘cream heavy’ dark chocolate whiskies
There is none of the honeyed sweetness that you find in Scotch or bourbon. There is instead a satisfying, rich mouthfeel.
I don’t know much about imperial stouts but i would imagine the heavily roasted, ‘drying’ feel and slightly bitter note the butter note you get from a ‘regular’ stout may be what I am interpreting with chocolate in combination with the cask flavours. And if that’s the case distilleries to start buying up stout casks more(!!!)
It is rich, creamy and satisfying in a way that something which is 40% unadulterated alcohol should not be.
What the hell is this
Finish
MORISH. A subtle cream thing happening here. Very little vanilla flavours from the wood. I don’t feel any particularly sweet notes, such as honey. Maybe some sweetness from a hint of perceived citrus? This slight citrus note adds some sweetness – like someone added a tiny amount of candied orange peels to the mix.
The 70% + dark chocolate and a sweet note on the exhale balanced nicely with the chocolateeeeeee. its like drinking a whiskey version of a very dark chocolate brownie with the tiniest amount of sugar and some added orange peels. But not like a super bitter chocolate – legendary balance. I can’t cope. I’m getting emotional.
Some time later, once the little citrussy bit has gone, finish fades to warm and lovely long cocoabutter finish. Life is good.
My mouth feels beautiful right now. Time for another.
Verdict
Absolutely and entirely delicious, and super easy to drink. I have never met a ‘regular’ priced, unadulterated whiskey that is so ‘mouth friendly’. Would very much give this to new whiskey drinkers and get them on the bandwagon ASAP (no pressure, obviously). More so for stout/trappist ale people. I wonder if the other brewery collaborations have worked quite so well?
Well done Jameson *slow clap*