Jameson 12 Year Special Reserve

This is a discontinued expression. I overpaid for it out of sheer curiosity. Ex-bourbon and ex-olorosso. 40%. Obviously it's a 12-year old, though Distiller claims it contains stock as old as 17 years. Nose: Heavy on the roasted almonds. Some chestnut and walnut as well. Plenty of pecan to boot. Vanilla and caramel. Nutmeg and clove spice, along with a ton of black pepper. Ever so slightly grainy and metallic, but the malt component dominates here. Raisin, honey, and toffee. Date and fig. Big-time lemon citrus. Some apple, pear, honeydew, and apricot. Solid nose. Palate. Roasted almonds persist, and right off the bat. The walnut, chestnut, and pecan also be found. That goes for the vanilla and caramel as well. Wider array of fruit notes here. Red apple, pear, apricot, grapefruit, honeydew, strawberry, and some white grape. More toffee and honey. Again, a great deal of black pepper. The palate ups the fruit presence and drops the spice besides the black pepper. Well done here. Finish: A bit of the roasted almond and black pepper carry over from the palate, and then it's all vanilla, honey, apple, and pear. Somewhere between medium and short in length, which is surprising for a 40%'er. I quite like this one. 4 stars flat. That puts it tied with Cooper's Croze for best my highest-rated Jameson expression. Head and shoulders above the similarly-priced Jameson Gold. This one has plenty to offer from start to finish, and has a unique profile for an Irish whiskey. Barely metallic on the nose, and that disappears altogether upon taste. No shortbread cookie, which I get on 9/10 Irish whiskies. It's a blend, but the malt component dominates. So, there's plenty to like here. At $100, is it worth it? Probably not. But I don't regret buying it. This and the Jameson Gold were discontinued around the same time. The latter was only $5 cheaper, meaning that these two are comparable on paper. If I could only save one of the two, I'd choose this in a heartbeat. At $100, I can't guarantee it's worth the price of entry. But if curiosity is enough, this one delivers. Note: Did not hold up well over time. Nose has become more sulfuric and the finish makes little impact. Dropped to a 3.25.