Experiencing Jameson Irish Whiskey

This weekend I embarked on a most exciting adventure and one that marks a solid leap in the journey of whisky discovery I began this year with FoodGoblin. 

One might think that all roads in this journey lead to Scotland. Not so. Historically it was Irish whiskey that was the most popular in the world, with Jameson Irish Whiskey producing 1 million gallons annually in the 19th century, 5 times as much as Scottish Glenlivet. Debate still exists as to who invented whisky, however it is known that the first legal distillery in the UK was licensed in Northern Ireland in 1608. With this in mind and a growing appreciation for this unique spirit, it makes perfect sense that my path would eventually lead back to these spiritual roots in Ireland.

I travelled to Cork in Ireland to explore one of the oldest Irish distilleries and now 3rd largest in the world, Jameson. This old distillery in Midleton, set on the banks of the river Dungourney, is half operational, half museum with many of the original buildings still available for touring. Walking through the cobbled courtyards between the many windowed grain stores transports you back into 19th century production. The grain stored here was a vital part of producing whiskey. Barley was brought from Munster, half was malted to make it sweeter and the two were fermented into a beer which was then distilled. Who knew beer was the first step in making whiskey! 

 

Irish Whisky is distilled in one of two ways: pot still whiskey and continuous distillation, or a blend of the two. It is distilled like this three times (evaporated) for smoothness, each time removing further impurities, unlike Scotch or American which is distilled 2 to 1 times. I visited Jameson’s gargantuan copper still pots, the 3 largest operational ones in the world, and learnt about the different products that are made in them. The classic Jameson Original is a blend of pot still whiskey and continuously distilled, vs. the premium Redbreast which is a pure, single pot still whisky. 

The next variable is the aging process. To be defined as an Irish whiskey it must be aged in oak for a minimum of 3 years. Sounds simple? Not so much – even within this one process, tenfold factors exist, each intrinsically influencing the end drink. First of all the type of wood: American Oak, European Oak or now, for the first time ever, native Irish Oak are all used at Jameson, each possessing distinct properties. Next, the ‘seasoning’ – a jazzy term for how the barrel is treated prior to use.  Old American bourbon barrels are taken from bourbon distilleries, scorched with a flamethrower to caramelise the insides (sometimes twice- such as with the Jameson Black Barrel Whiskey) producing a sweetness and vanilla flavour. Another option is the use of Spanish sherry casks and in fact, Jameson go to all the trouble of buying and aging sherry, just to control the quality of these casks! These barrels bring a fruity flavour to whiskey. The final alternative is ‘virgin’ oak barrels which have never been used – these add spiciness to whiskey from the free wood compounds that drift and blend into the spirit as it ages. These flavours change each time the barrel is used – you can get 1st fill barrels and up to a maximum of 3 fills before Jameson sell the barrels on to Havana or to antique dealers to turn into jazzy household accessories. Obviously the time spent in each barrel and how they are then blended together continues to define the final whiskey produced. A mind boggling series of variables and possibilities making consistency per bottle a major challenge for Jameson’s Master Blender, Billy Leighton.

These barrels are maintained by Jameson’s cooperage team led by Ger Buckley whose family have looked after Jameson’s barrels for 5 generations. This is a truly ancient craft and the tools Ger showed us have been used by humans for over 9,000 years. Ger’s were handed down by his father and his father before him and are worn by the grips of numerous tradesmen. Watching Ger demo how the barrels were made by hand, measured by eye and maintained meticulously to avoid even the slightest leak was a surprisingly romantic testament to the artisanal values that stand behind this historic brand. 

In one of the most surreal moments of the trip, we visited one of the 45 giant Jameson warehouses that house these aging barrels. A wave of pure, sweet whiskey aroma hits you enter these giant buildings and the sight of so many thousands of barrels stacked from floor to towering ceiling in rows, innumerable rows momentarily takes you aback. This is scale at its starkest. 1.2 million barrels are kept at any one point, each warehouse storing over 33,000 of them and each barrel holding 200 litres. That’s a lot of whiskey.