If this whiskey could have an intro song it would be “Let me tell you bout my best friends” or “Come Together”. It’s a beautiful collaboration of a whiskey made from barrels that were used to make beer, where the beer was made with the same whiskey’s barrels. It’s the pinnacle of the trend of ‘upcycling’ so hard it almost hurts.
I will admit that despite having a bit of unrefined burn and being terrible as a mixer the effort has paid off in a unique and delicious whiskey, and while I’m not sure if stout was the prime choice (although it does bring a lot of flavor to the party) I look forward to further ‘Caskmates’ from the Irish isles.
What they Say: “This limited edition whiskey is born out of a collaboration between Midleton Distillery and the Franciscan Well Brewery which is based in Cork City. Franciscan Well aged some of their stout in used Jameson barrels. After the stout was bottled, the casks were returned to Jameson. Jameson took their blended spirit, at around 60%ABV, and filled the newly returned barrels for around 6 months. The results was so successful that Jameson released 3,500 bottles of the “beer finished” whiskey for us all to enjoy. It was with this release that “Caskmates” was born. ”
Taste: 6.0 – Ahh here’s where the flavoring of the stout comes through, with the classic Jameson still accompanying it well.
Aftertaste: 7.0 – Both the whiskey and stout taste open up here, and my only complaint is that it lingers for all of a second.
Burn/Smooth: 5.5 – However unlike the Black Barrel from a few weeks back this is not as smooth and matured and the burn is more noticeable.
Aroma: 5.5 – I was hoping for something a bit more aromatic given what this was aged in; however it seems to be more classic Jameson aroma.
Honesty: 8.5 – I mean asking if you want a whiskey that was aged in barrels that made beer that was originally aged in whiskey barrels – I’m sorry I have an erection. The name, bottle, and literature does nothing to diminish this fact either.
Mixability: 4.0
w/ Rocks: 5.0 – You lose the subtly here, which is sad now that I’ve already added ice to it.
Whiskey and Ginger Ale: 3.0 – That is even worse, make no mistake this is a neat whiskey (hehe, neat – because of the stout – I’ll leave now.)
Value: 5.0 – Unlike the Black Barrel this is a decent enough novelty to have for a whiskey to have neat.
Google Shop Average: $32
Website: https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 6.0
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Metric Score: 41.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.93 |+| Reviewer Average: 6.0
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Final Thoughts: I’ll say this I found it quite surprising that this got the exact score as the Black Barrel, although with points in different metrics. Both however while unique lose to the classic Jameson – a trend I see too often in Irish whiskeys at this level.
