Rating: 15/23
N: I get some fruit and spice. Apples for sure, and then some cinnamon and clove I guess. There's a bit of something vaguely floral and grainy too, but I can't quite figure out what it is. There's a little bit of a dry, almost mineral tartness that reminds me a bit of rye.
P: There's some clear wood in here. I get a plain woody flavor, but there's also spice, jasmine and vanilla. The wood isn't too strong though (certainly not when compared with bourbon). There's a light caramel sweetness in here and also some oily fruitiness that's on the apricot spectrum. I get those dry minerals from the nose and they work pretty well once you accept that this is a pretty light whiskey. There's an acceptable amount of harshness here. It's still young for sure.
F: The minerals, oily apricot (now with a faint nuttiness), bit of woody spice, and harshness remain.
- Conclusion -
Of the three in this special Jameson line, I think this is the best. It's decent in that current Japanese whisky style of being light with mellow, subtle flavors. There's nothing too challenging or exciting going on here, but the balance works and it's pretty easy to sip. This is, however, still below Redbreast 12 Cask Strength.
Whereas the others in this series struggled to compete with Evan Williams BiB (which I chose to compare because of the oiliness), this is clearly superior.
Being a mellow spirit, I figured Dalwhinnie 15 might be a good point of comparison too. The Dalwhinnie is richer, but this is more complex. It kind of reminds me of how I felt when comparing the Blender's Dog with Sir Edward's 12. It would be totally valid to pick either over the other, but I think I prefer this slightly (though the Dalwhinnie is easier drinking for sure).
After trying this side-by-side with Dalwhinnie 15, I feel like 15 is about right for this. This certainly is no Redbreast 12 CS, but it's actually quite a good whiskey. I didn't really enjoy the other two in this series, but I like this one. The Redbreast is better, but this is actually pretty close. Overall, I think a 15 is about right for this.
60.0
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Bottle
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I’ve heard that this one and the Crested are worth their money.