Jameson is a single-distillery
Irish whiskeyIrish whiskey is a whiskey made in Ireland. There are several types of whiskey common to Ireland: Single Malt, Single Grain, Pure Pot Still and Blended Whiskey....
. The brand is today owned by the French beverage conglomerate
Pernod RicardPernod Ricard is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company's most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard...
. Jameson is similar in its adherence to the single distillery principle to the single malt tradition, but Jameson combines malted
barleyBarley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa...
with unmalted or "green" barley. The most famous component within Jameson is the legendary "Pure Pot Still" component unique to Irish whiskey distilling tradition.
The company was established in 1780 when John Jameson established the Bow Street Distillery in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
.
Jameson is a single-distillery
Irish whiskeyIrish whiskey is a whiskey made in Ireland. There are several types of whiskey common to Ireland: Single Malt, Single Grain, Pure Pot Still and Blended Whiskey....
. The brand is today owned by the French beverage conglomerate
Pernod RicardPernod Ricard is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company's most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard...
. Jameson is similar in its adherence to the single distillery principle to the single malt tradition, but Jameson combines malted
barleyBarley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa...
with unmalted or "green" barley. The most famous component within Jameson is the legendary "Pure Pot Still" component unique to Irish whiskey distilling tradition.
The company was established in 1780 when John Jameson established the Bow Street Distillery in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
. Originally one of the six main Dublin Whiskeys, Jameson is now distilled in
CorkCork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster...
, although
vattingA vatted malt is a blend of different single malt whiskies from different distilleries. Vatted malts do not contain any grain whisky, unlike products labelled as "blended whisky."...
still takes place in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
. With annual sales of over 31 million bottles, Jameson is by far the best selling
Irish whiskeyIrish whiskey is a whiskey made in Ireland. There are several types of whiskey common to Ireland: Single Malt, Single Grain, Pure Pot Still and Blended Whiskey....
in the world, as it has been internationally since the early 1800s when John Jameson along with his son (also named John) was producing over a million gallons annually.
Company history
When John Jameson, a
ScottishThe Scots people and an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.An ethnic group, historically they emerged from an amalgamation of Picts, Gaels and Brythons....
businessman acquired the Bow Street Distillery in 1780, it was producing about 30,000 gallons annually. By the turn of the century, it was the second largest producer in Ireland and one of the largest in the world, producing a million gallons annually. Dublin at the time was the epicentre of world whiskey production. It was the second most popular spirit in the world after
rumRum is a distilled beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other barrels...
, and internationally Jameson had, by 1805, become the world's number one whiskey. Today, Jameson is the third largest Single Distillery Whiskey in the world.
Historical events, for a time, set the company back. The
temperance movementA temperance movement is a social movement against the use of Alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence, or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation....
in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
had an enormous impact domestically but the two key events that affected Jameson internationally were the
Irish war of IndependenceThe Irish War of Independence was a guerrilla war mounted against the British government in Ireland by the Irish Republican Army . It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence, and ended with a truce in July 1921...
and subsequent trade war with the British which denied Jameson the export markets of the Commonwealth, and shortly thereafter, the introduction of
prohibitionProhibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is a sumptuary law which prohibits alcohol. Typically, the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries...
in the United States. While Scottish brands could easily slip across the Canadian border, Jameson was excluded from its biggest market for many years.
It was also a fact that the introduction of basic grain whiskey production using
column stillsA column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still, is a variety of still consisting of two columns invented in 1826 by Robert Stein, a Clackmannanshire distiller and first used at the Cameron Bridge Grain Distillery. The design was enhanced and patented in 1831 by an...
by the Scottish blenders in the mid 1800s enabled them to produce vast amounts of almost neutral flavoured components for blending with some malt whiskey. This enabled them to create low cost blends that the Irish, still using the original
Pure Pot StillPure pot still whiskey is a type of whiskey traditionally made from a mixture of malted and unmalted barley distilled in a pot still. It is unique to Ireland...
technique could not compete with. This differing opinion of what a true whiskey consisted of culminated in a legal enquiry in 1908. It was a huge turning point in the history of whiskey. The Scottish blenders won the case and the blend became recognised in law as being whiskey. The Irish in general and Jameson in particular stubbornly continued with the traditional Pure Pot Still production process for many years and, to this day, a large proportion of Jameson is still composed of Pure Pot Still component. Jameson also produces a special limited edition Pure Pot Still Whiskey, Redbreast to celebrate the ancient Irish whiskey making craft.
In 1966 John Jameson joined forces with their rivals the Cork Distillers company and John Powers to form the
Irish Distillers GroupIrish Distillers is a subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod-Ricard S.A.. It was acquired in 1988 in a friendly takeover.-History:...
. The new
Midleton distilleryThe Midleton distilleries complex is situated outside Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland. It is owned by Pernod-Ricard. Located alongside is the Old Midleton Distillery which was established in the early 17th century.-History:...
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.
The Jameson brand was acquired by French drinks conglomerate
Pernod RicardPernod Ricard is a French company that produces alcoholic beverages. The company's most famous products, Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis, are both anise liqueurs, and often referred to as simply Pernod or Ricard...
in 1988, when it bought
Irish DistillersIrish Distillers is a subsidiary of the French drinks conglomerate Pernod-Ricard S.A.. It was acquired in 1988 in a friendly takeover.-History:...
.
Brands
As well as Jameson Original, some other whiskeys are marketed under the Crews name. These are:
- Crested Ten
Crested Ten is a variety of Irish whiskey made by Jameson. It has an ABV of 40%, and is aged for 10 years.As of 2006, it is not widely available outside Ireland.-External links:* *...
- 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 Gold Reserve (the only expression of Jameson that uses virgin American oak).
- Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve
- Jameson Rarest Vintage Reserve (Jameson's oldest and rarest components).
- Jameson Signature Reserve.
- Midleton Very Rare 80 Proof
Making Irish whiskey
Jameson Irish whiskey is produced from a mixture of
maltMalting is a process applied to cereal grains, in which the grains are made to germinate by soaking in water and are then quickly halted from germinating further by drying/heating with hot air. Thus, malting is a combination of two processes: the sprouting process and the kiln-drying process...
ed and unmalted or "green" Irish
barleyBarley is a cereal grain derived from the annual grass Hordeum vulgare. It serves as a major animal feed crop, with smaller amounts used for malting and in health food. It is used in soups, stews and barley bread in various countries, such as Scotland and in Africa...
, all sourced from within a fifty mile radius around the distillery in
CorkCork, Ireland is a term which may refer to the following places in southern Ireland, depending on context.* Cork * County Cork* Metropolitan Cork* Greater Cork...
. The barley is dried in a closed
kilnKilns are thermally insulated chambers, or ovens, in which controlled temperature regimes are produced. They are used to harden, burn or dry materials...
fired by clean-burning anthracite coal to preserve its flavour. Like most Irish whiskey, Jameson is triple distilled for optimum smoothness. The philosophy is balance, ensuring that no one flavour element overpowers another. The end result is a sweet-tasting whiskey.
By the early 1800s, the distillery was producing one million gallons (4500 litres) of whiskey per year and had grown to be the largest in the world. The production has now moved to the Midleton distillery and the Bow Street site is currently a museum and visitors centre. Jameson is made following the original 1780 recipe that uses malted barley combined with unmalted barley and other grains. It is distilled three times in copper pot stills to create its famous smoothness and flavour. Jameson sells a staggering 30 million bottles a year around the world, making it by far the biggest selling Irish whiskey.
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.
- June 2008: Jameson sales reach 2.6 million cases
See also
- Irish whiskey brands
- Scotch Whisky
Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland. In Britain, the term whisky is usually taken to mean Scotch unless otherwise specified. In other English-speaking countries, it is often referred to as "Scotch"....
External links