I know nothing of what history lays behind this Irish whiskey, in fact I only really know two things about it. The first is that it is the only pure pot still whiskey in production today, and the second that it produced under the infamous Jameson label.

I tasted it for the first time about a month ago while visiting an old friend of mine who recently returned to Scotland after spending a few years working in Ireland. While insisting that he is by no means a convert, he did bring with him a few bottles of Irish favourites, one of which was a 12 year old Redbreast. I have to admit, this whiskey really took me by surprise. I had heard good things before, sure, but by Christ.. I was not expecting it to be quite as good as it darn well (and how I hate to say it) is; it’s ruddy fantastic!

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I was recently fortunate enough to be contacted by the good folk over at Bushmills, offering me a free bottle of their original expression. I figured that the least I could do in return would be to write a wee review of what I consider to be Ireland’s version of Whyte & Mackay (a favourite Scottish blend of mine) – in the sense that they both produce fairly priced, good quality blends.

The way I’ve decided to go about this is a bit different to my other reviews. In a letter that came with the bottle it was suggested that I try the whiskey with “cola, lemonade and even ginger beer”, and so I shall! I thought it might make for an interesting change to first try the whiskey neat and then move on to mixers and see if it truly works, or if it is merely an attempt to sell the whiskey to a broader (Jack Daniel’s type) audience.

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If I say Irish Coffee, which whiskey (yep, with an E, silly Irish…) comes to mind? Chances are it will be Jameson – the classic choice – though I would save that job for one of this guy’s younger brothers, as it would be a waste of both money and fine whiskey.

While they’ve given up arguing over who’s the oldest Irish whiskey with Bushmills, there is no contest over who’s more popular. Jameson is the best selling Irish whiskey pretty much wherever you go, and having been around since the late 1700s, they certainly aren’t new to the game either.

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