Irish whiskey must be aged for a minimum of three years in wooden casks no larger than 700 liters (185 US gallons).

A swapping of whiskey and beer barrels soon after, resulted in Jameson Stout Edition - triple-distilled, blended Irish Whiskey that has been patiently finished in Irish craft beer-seasoned barrels.

This yields, generally, a lighter whisky with flavors of citrus, vanilla, caramel, sweet grass, even some baking chocolate. In 1988, the Irish Distiller Group would be taken over by French spirits conglomerate Pernod Ricard ( Source). That rich complexity carries over in the taste, where it’s like I just had a gulp of a dark beer and then took a shot of Jameson. On top of just being a well-constructed spirit, it’s more mysterious and unexpected elements like this that will always keep me coming back for more (if only to crack the code). So, when a local craft brewer borrowed our casks to age their fine Irish stout, it gave us an idea; why not finish our own Jameson in the stout-seasoned oak barrels?

Very prominent note (not necessarily negative, just unique), especially the first 10 minutes in the glass. And here, with Caskmates, you get those flavor injections plus the evening affect oak and barrel-aging so often provides. Now they change the label color and the contents of the Casemates Stout edition and it now tastes like Irish Jack Daniels.Finish: Again familiar, but different, that different complexion of spice with chocolate from the nose lingers briefly.

Coming out of this review, Jameson Irish Whiskey Stout Edition is as advertised: smooth; approachable; flavorful; cost efficient.Following some hard times with the American prohibition and two world wars reducing the demand for their product, Jameson merged with their long time rivals to create the Irish Distiller’s Group conglomerate in an attempt to reduce production costs by combining their efforts. We’re talking about Jameson’s Caskmates family of whiskies, which includes a stout version and an IPA version (not to be confused with India Pale Ale, we’re talking Irish Pale Ale here). I know it’s a common theme from me this month to talk about non-chill filtering and higher proof, but I can’t help thinking this would go from a good whiskey to an excellent whiskey if it was at least 92 proof and non-chill filtered – I truly think it would soar. We were very impressed with the aroma and very surprised at how smooth the initial tasting and superb finish was. The water comes directly from the Dungourney river that flows through the middle of the distillery property.