Review by: TOModera
It was a busy weekend.
Well, kinda busy. Okay, I took a long weekend and went back to my University city to relive a weekend of debauchery and fun. Windsor’s good for that.
And I decided to drink heavily (see picture), much like what texacer told me to do.
What’s that? Oh, he told me not to review and to enjoy drinking whiskey. Well… I did half of it right. Or most of it. Some of it? Don’t blame me, I was de-runk.
And yes, I did review Jameson Select Reserve Small Batch in a pint glass. All because I’m a classy bitch that way.
So, what makes this different than the stuff you shoot back at the bar with your bro-hams? Cause those ladies can drink!
Well, first it has a higher proportion of Irish pot still whiskey than normal, mixed with some small batch grain. Good start.
Then it’s aged in a lot of first fill bourbon and sherry casks. That’s also a good sign.
However, what does “a lot” mean? And for how long? Questions that will be lost for time, cause as I said, I was drunk. Well, not at the time, however that’s a good excuse based on the story I’m telling in this review.
Distillery: Midleton Distillery.
Bottler: Distillery Bottling.
Region: Ireland.
ABV: 40.0%.
Age: Unknown
Cask type: First-fill Bourbon and Sherry Casks.
Price: $50 (CAD).
Color: Gold/Brown.
Nose: Caramel, mango, banana, vanilla, orange rind, caraway
Nice fruity notes, more tropical and rummy than I was expecting. Also a nice amount of sweetness (for me).
May be a little overtly sweet for some. Also the low Abv is not doing this pint glass any favours, this isn’t easy to pick apart.
Taste: Caramel, pepper, salt, malt, ginger, vanilla, Perrier
First Irish I’ve had in awhile that didn’t immediately taste like liking raw bread dough. That’s different.
Somewhat muted flavour, nothing coming out to say hello, how are you my ragtime gal. More mineral notes, which is needed to balance the sweetness.
Finish: Burnt caramel, cracklins, burnt orange, pop rocks
Oh god it burns. And not burning my tongue, more of a burnt flavour.
Ha. That was a joke.
Anyway, it leaves pretty quick. No sign of all that quality they put in.
Conclusion: I’m pretty torn on this one, so I’ll split my rambling finish into two parts:
On the plus side, the nose is complex, the taste is refreshing, and there aren’t overtly horrible parts to the finish. This is a good dram to do what texacer said and just sit back and enjoy. Which I did. In my pint glass (not in pints, I’m old now). Finally, it’s nice to taste an Irish that doesn’t just have yeast, yeast, and more yeast in it.
The negatives: It’s hard to say, however I feel that given the quality that was put into this is ruined. Let’s start with the name. Yes, I’m being petty, but look at it: Jameson Select Reserve Small Batch. If you asked someone on the whisky network to make up more buzz words in a name that would make you pause, this is it. It’s a problem.
However that’s small fish to fry. The fact that they went through the trouble of making a dram that uses first fill Bourbon and Sherry casks, leveled it up with the name, and released it with a batch # and all this fancy stuff, while making it 40% is basically a waste, in my opinion.
There are elements in here of quality that are washed away with Irish spring water, and that’s the unfortunate part. Joking aside, this is nice to have as a sit back and sip, however for the price, I’d buy something more local and enjoy it as much, or more.
Final Score: 76, with a note that this should be higher, and Jameson should re-evaluate their practices.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 