Jameson is – by far – the world’s highest-selling Irish blended whiskey and the third-largest single-distillery whiskey produced in any country.
The company has its origins in the construction in 1780 of the Bow Street Distillery in Dublin. It was initially managed by Scot John Jameson for the Stein family, relatives of his wife, herself a member of the Haig family of Scotch fame. The Jameson family were soon to take full control and, by 1805, when the second of four successive Johns took over, it was the world’s best-selling whiskey. At its peak, in the late 19th Century, the Bow Street distillery covered two hectares (five acres) and employed more than 300 workers.
However, sales in the 20th Century were restricted by various historical events including World War I, Irish independence and Prohibition in the US. In 1966, John Jameson merged with Cork Distillers and John Powers to form the Irish Distillers group and, by 1976, Jameson’s Dublin distilleries were closed and production was moved to the New Midleton Distillery outside Cork, which is the origin of many of the major Irish whiskey brands. Since 1988, Irish Distillers has been owned by Pernod Ricard.
Jamesons is produced using a mix of malted and unmalted barley (all grown within 100 miles of Midleton). Triple distillation has always been practiced; whether for the original pot still whiskeys or for the current combination of pot still and column still grain whiskeys. Barrels for the core expressions were previously used for Bourbon or Sherry.
The standard blend is aged for a minimum of four years. The portfolio also includes aged expressions (12 and 18 years) a Vintage reserve and other small batch releases. Signature Reserve is a travel retail exclusive.
