Jameson Irish Whiskey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jameson
Bottles of Jameson Whiskey for sale at a liquor store in Fukushima City, Japan
Type Irish Whiskey
Proof 80
Manufacturer Irish Distillers
Country of origin Cork (originally Dublin), Ireland
Introduced 1780
Variants Crested Ten, 12 Year Old, 18 Year Old, Gold
Related products Paddy, Powers, Tullamore Dew

Jameson is a blended Irish whiskey, first produced in 1780. Originally one of the main four Dublin Whiskeys, Jameson is now distilled in Cork, although vatting still takes place in Dublin. With annual sales of over 22 million bottles, Jameson is the best selling Irish whiskey in the world.[1]

Contents

[edit] Company history

The company was founded by Scotsman John Jameson who had married into the Haig family, distillers of Scotch whisky. His son married into the Stein family, one of the biggest whisky distillers in Scotland and owners of the distillery at Bow Street, Dublin. The Haigs were also related to the Steins by an earlier marriage. John Jameson acquired the Bow Street distillery in the year 1780.

The Cork Distillers company joined forces with their rivals John Jameson and John Powers to form the Irish Distillers Group in 1966. The new Midleton distillery built by Irish Distillers now produces most of the Irish whiskey sold in Ireland. The new facility adjoins the old one, which is now a tourist attraction.

Historical pot still at the Jameson distillery in Cork
Historical pot still at the Jameson distillery in Cork

The Jameson brand was acquired by French drinks conglomerate Pernod Ricard in 1988, when it bought Irish Distillers.

[edit] Brands

As well as Jameson Original, some other whiskeys are marketed under the Jameson name. These are:

  • Crested Ten
  • Jameson 12 Year Old Special Reserve (Formerly known as Jameson 1780)
  • Jameson 12 Year Old Distillery Reserve. Only sold in Dublin's Jameson old distillery jameson visitor center. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  • Jameson Gold Reserve
  • Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve
  • Jameson Rare Vintage Reserve

[edit] Making Irish whiskey

Jameson Irish whiskey is produced from a mixture of malted and unmalted Irish barley. The barley is dried in a closed kiln fired by clean-burning anthracite coal to preserve its clean malty flavours. Like most Irish whiskey, Jameson is triple distilled.

[edit] Recent milestones

  • 1995: Sales of Jameson topped 10 million bottles, helping Jameson into the Top 100 Spirit Brands by value.
  • 1996: Sales reach 1 million cases and Jameson is named the fastest growing spirit brand in the world.
  • 2004: Jameson is named the World's fastest growing whiskey brand.
  • 2006: Jameson sales reach 2 million cases.

[edit] Trivia

  • The company's motto "Sine Metu" means "Without Fear".
  • Jameson has been the sponsor of the internet's online bar bible, worldsbestbars.com since 2003.
  • One prominent member of the Jameson family was Guglielmo Marconi, the wireless telegraphy pioneer. Marconi's mother was Irish, the granddaughter of the founder of the Jameson distillery.
  • Jameson is Detective Jimmy McNulty's drink of choice on the critically acclaimed HBO drama The Wire. He is reluctant to drink Bushmills at a party, saying "That's Protestant whiskey." [2]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Irish Distillers. Retrieved on 2007-02-13.
  2. ^ Season 3 episode 7 Back Burners

[edit] External links