46% ABV $55* (as of this review, this product isn’t being sold in the United States) Website
What the Producer Says
This exquisite, triple-distilled single malt is matured only in select handpicked Spanish sherry butts which have previously been seasoned with the finest Oloroso sherry. It is the influence of these scarce butts that give this expression of Writers’ Tears its signature rich, ruby hue and hence the moniker – ‘Red Head’. The expression is distilled without chill filtering as nature intended and at a distinctive 46% ABV.
Colour: Rich Ruby Red Nose: Orange peel, dried fruits and sherry plums Taste: Nutty Oloroso, Spicy Raisins and creamy oak Finish: Long and wonderfully complex with a flourish of orange. An unhurried journey.
What Gary Says
Nose: Orange blossom, malty cereal/grain, hints of cherry, raisins, oak. Palate: Creamy mouthfeel, dark fruit sweetness with cinnamon and pepper spice, just a hint of orange. Finish: Moderately long with cinnamon and orange zest with fading pepper spice. Comments: The nose screams young whiskey, with the grainy/cereal notes. I do appreciate the ABV and non-chill filtering, which help given the likely young age of the whiskey. The finish is longer than I’d expect as at this age. I’d love to try some older version of this, but at the end of the day – this is a pretty tasty and dangerously easy to drink whiskey.
Note that we don’t have a web-site link above, as this isn’t your typical whisk(e)y. We found a great article from the Houston Chronicle though that gives the backstory. While we don’t know the distillery or age, the article explains that the owner of Spec’s (a Texas family-owned liquor chain) had an opportunity to take some bulk whiskey off some Irish distillery, and with that created Old Tom Horan Irish Whiskey. The namesake is a retire public relations maestro who is active in promoting Irish pride and heritage in Houston, TX.
What Gary Says
Nose: Sweet cereal and malt mash, honey, freshly baked and buttered biscuits, a hint of toffee. Palate: Smooth and sweet with honey, light brown sugar, toffee, a slightly sour oak note. Finish: Short to moderate in length with that sour oak note. Comments: Ironically enough, I bought this because of the name. No, I’ve never met “the Tom Horan” for which this was named, but I work with a gentleman named Tom Horan. This whiskey reminds me of Jameson more than a bit. It has more grainy notes on the nose, but in a side-by-side, the palates were quite similar. A couple of bucks less than Jameson, this strikes me as a pretty straight-forward ‘you get what you pay for’ bottle. If you like ‘smooth Irish whiskey’, for the money this likely won’t disappoint, but also isn’t likely to be too impressive either.
Conor McGregor’s Whiskey Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey Proper No. Twelve’s Triple Distilled Irish Whiskey is an ultra-smooth blend of fine grain and single malt with hints of vanilla, honey and toasted wood.
What Gary Says
Nose: Sweet young malt, furniture polish (think lemon-scented Pledge), hints of vanilla and heather. Palate: Grainy, barley sugar with a slightly sour oak note, a bit of lemon-flavored cookies. Finish: Short with pepper, sour oak and a hint of lemons. Comments: Let’s get the non-whiskey part out of the way. I was thinking about buying a bottle to try last year when I head the news of Conor McGregor’s assault in a bar in Dublin. That alone left me not wanting to buy a bottle (and initial reviews I read weren’t very kind either). That said, because I do like to try damn near any whiskey I can, I was excited when a friend offered me a sample from their bottle (thanks Tommy!) I was also intent on assessing the bottle contents on their own merits. I focused squarely on the whiskey – the above notes and rating below have nothing to do with the celebrity but wanted to share that in full disclosure. This stuff is pretty bad. Granted, for $20 I had low expectations, but I recently bought a similarly priced bottle of Old Tom Horan Irish Whiskey (review pending!) and liked it markedly better than this. I hope this isn’t the first bottle of Irish whiskey for folks out there (it has sold quite well) as it might single-handedly slow the growth of the category.
Continuing to get into the holiday spirit (get it? Both the whiskey & . . . nevermind), here’s my thoughts on Jameson Black Barrel neat, as well as in two holiday cocktails. We would like to thank Jameson and Ketchum for sending us a sample to review, as well as the cocktail recipes!
Triple distilled, flame charred, for a rich smooth taste. Charring is an age-old method for invigorating barrels to intensify the taste. Jameson Black Barrel is our tribute to our coopers, who painstakingly give their bourbon barrels an additional charring to reveal their untold richness and complexity. The select double charred barrels produce a whiskey with even richer flavor and intense smoothness.
Nose: Time spent maturing in these barrels leads to intensified aromas of butterscotch, fudge and creamy toffee. Taste: Nutty notes are in abundance alongside the smooth sweetness of spice and vanilla. Finish: Enjoy the richness and intensity of toasted wood and vanilla.
What Gary Says
Nose: Rich with vanilla, honey, oak, notes of butterscotch and fudge toffee with an herbal grassy note underneath. Palate: Sweet with caramel, vanilla and honey before the spice kicks in with cinnamon, pepper, and charred oak. Finish: Moderately long, on the damp side with cinnamon, pepper and caramel trailing. Comments: Compared with Jameson’s standard bearer, this packs in more flavor, with more vanilla and spice notes and is a bit sharper (but by no means sharp). This stays more aligned with Jameson than some of the recent cask finishes we’ve reviewed, and I personally prefer this over those (mainly because I’m not a beer drinker).
Rating: Stands Out
Now onto the cocktails! This first one required a bit of prep work, as I didn’t have cinnamon syrup laying around (and none of my local liquor stores or grocery stores carried it). I used this recipe to make some, cutting it in half (which yielded just over 100 mL of syrup) and using demerara sugar.
Jameson Black Barrel makes any holiday party into a true event. Simple enough for any busy host to mix up, the Crimson Cranberry Punch is a bright crowd-pleaser with tastes of lemon, cinnamon, and cranberry.
1.5 parts Jameson Black Barrel
1 dash Angostura Bitters per serve
1 part Cranberry Juice
0.5 part Cinnamon Syrup
0.5 part Lemon Juice
0.5 part Club Soda
Combine all ingredients together in a punch bowl (or a glass)
Garnish with lemon wheels, orange wheels, cranberries
Serve in rocks glasses chilled over ice
What Gary Thought: I skipped the punch bowl and and just combined the ingredients in a rocks glass, stirred, and added ice. Of the various cocktails I made this week, this had the strongest ‘holiday vibe’ for me with the cranberry & cinnamon. The lemon helped cut the sweetness and really balance it out nicely. This was also my wife’s favorite of the several I made that day (and no, not because we had each drank several prior!)
The holidays are here and it’s your time to shine with the Jameson Ginger Sparkler. We’re combining old favorites like ginger and lemon with sparkling wine and Black Barrel for a truly special sip.
1.5 parts Jameson Black Barrel
1.5 parts Lemon juice
1.5 parts simple syrup
1.5 parts Ginger Beer
1.5 parts Sparkling Wine topper
Build all ingredients except for sparkling wine in a shaking tin
Add ice
Shake
Strain as you pour into a highball glass
Top with Sparkling Wine
Garnish with a lemon wheel and a rosemary sprig
What Gary Thought: I have to call this out, but if every ingredient in the recipe is in equal measure – you can just refer to them all as ‘1 part’. And yes, I know that this isn’t a highball glass either (although I’m confident it didn’t impact the flavor). All that aside, I really enjoyed this fresh take on a whiskey sour. I did find that the rosemary sprig comes across a bit strong (but I did like the added aroma – I might just dunk a rosemary sprig in for a few seconds before serving instead of using as a garnish). This had a fresh and refreshing quality that made me think more of summer than the holidays, although if someone was serving these at a holiday party – I wouldn’t turn it down. I could do without the sparkling wine topper personally, but still enjoyed it as designed. I used Idris Fiery Ginger Beer for those interested, which I find is nicely balanced.
Irish Whiskey, craft beer barrels. Like all the best conversations, the one between Jameson’s Head of Whiskey Science and the Head Brewer of a local craft beer brewery, started at the bar. A swapping of whiskey and beer barrels soon after, resulted in Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition – triple-distilled, blended Irish Whiskey that has been patiently finished in Irish craft beer-seasoned barrels.
Nose: An initial aroma of freshly cut hay is complemented by a crisp orchard fruit character – green apples and pears, with a twist of lime zest. Mild pot still spices appear, deepening from green tea to hazelnut and milk chocolate. Taste: The initial sweet mouth coating typical of the Irish pot still inclusion is quickly complemented by the subtle touch of hops and cocoa beans from the beer cask finish. Finish: Long and sweet with milk chocolate and butterscotch.
What Gary Says
Nose: Floral and yeasty notes of cut hay, dry cocoa powder, subtle pears with hints of dried tea. Palate: Sweet with a creamy mouthfeel, caramel and honey with bits of cocoa, a touch of stout. Finish: Short to moderate in length, on the damp side, sweet with notes of stout. Comments: Per their original press release, this is a collaboration with local Irish micro-brewery Franciscan Well. Of the three Caskmates I reviewed, this was the lightest in color and the most like Jameson Irish Whiskey. A much more gentle, nuanced finish compared with the Bale Breaker Topcutter IPA or Revolution Brewing editions. Nosing reminds me a bit of an empty pint of Guinness. Nothing objectionable, but this was the least interesting of the three for me – which is strange as Guinness is one of the only beers I do enjoy.
