Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition Review

St. Patrick’s Day is just a few days away, so it seems like a good time to take a look at the latest offering from the most famous Irish whiskey brand in the world—Jameson.

If you’ve consumed whiskey, you’ve probably consumed Jameson at some point. It’s one of the most common whiskeys in the world. For many people, Jameson served as their introduction to whiskey. Although personally my first whiskey was Jack Daniels, Jameson was one of the first handful of whiskey brands I ever tried in my youth.

Like most popular Irish whiskey, Jameson is a blend of malt and grain whiskeys, triple distilled. The Caskmates series is a collaboration between Jameson and the Franciscan Well Brewery, a craft brewery in Cork, Ireland. The first whiskey in the series, Caskmates Stout Edition, was originally released in 2013. Apparently it has been successful enough for Jameson to launch a second expression—Caskmates IPA Edition.

In the case of each Caskmates expression, the brewery took used Jameson whiskey casks, aged their beer in them, and then sent the barrels back to Jameson. Jameson then finished their Irish whiskey in the used beer casks in an attempt to create a different final product from their standard bottling.

One thing to note: In this case, IPA actually stands for Irish Pale Ale, rather than the more commonly associated Indian Pale Ale. Although I learned this before I bought a bottle, I still feel like this is slightly deceptive marketing from Jameson. They’re catering to American beer drinkers with this series, and they know full well that IPA means Indian Pale Ale in the US, not Irish Pale Ale. Oh well. I’m not really convinced that it would make all that big of a difference anyway—I did a side-by-side tasting of both the Stout and IPA editions and could barely tell them apart.

This is a no age statement (NAS) whiskey, and we don’t know how long the whiskey spent in the ex-beer barrels (or how long the beer spent in the ex-whiskey barrels)—so who knows how much of an influence the beer actually had on this whiskey. Let’s take a closer look.

Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition Review

Type: Blend
Region: Ireland
ABV: 40%

Nose

Soft. Pine scented air freshener. Lemon pledge. Vanilla. Hints of light fruit. A touch of malt. Not especially interesting.

Palate

Fruity and creamy. Chocolate and vanilla pudding. Wood varnish. Apricot. Cereal grains. The slightest hint of a piney hoppiness (if I close my eyes and squint).

Finish

Dried fruits, especially apricot. Fresh cream. Chocolate and vanilla. Malty cereal grains.

Overall

The nose is not particularly good, but the palate and finish aren’t too bad. This is a simple whiskey. Not at all complex, not all that interesting. It’s not really meant to be sipped neat, and it shows when you attempt to do so. That said, it’s not bad tasting, just boring.

The reality is that most people will use this whiskey as a shooter or mixer. That’s the audience where Jameson sells it’s whiskey, and for that purpose, it’s perfectly fine. If I was going to have a shot of whiskey, this would be pretty high up on the list of whiskeys I would choose for the purpose.

SCORE: 75/100

Final Thoughts

Let’s face it, when you drink Jameson, you’re drinking to get drunk. Or at least to take the edge off. Personally I drink whiskey for the enjoyment of smell and taste, not to get wasted. And while this is fairly pleasant to sip, it’s extremely ordinary as a whiskey, which is why it gets a score that’s dead center in the middle of average.

Compared to standard Jameson, this is maybe a small step up. But really, they are extremely similar. Tasting them side-by-side revealed very little difference—the slightest hint of a piney hop presence might be there in the IPA edition, but you really have to hunt for it.

Buy Again? No. This was interesting to try as a reminder of what Jameson is all about, but as someone who prefers to sip whiskey rather than shoot it or mix it, it’s just not for me.

Drink This Not That: Drink this if you’re looking for an inexpensive Irish whiskey to pour as a shot alongside your beer on St. Patrick’s Day, or if you enjoy using Irish whiskey in a mixed drink. If you’ve already tried the Stout Edition, there’s not much reason to try this one, as they are virtually indistinguishable to my palate (although I like the Stout Edition ever so slightly better).

If you’re looking for a whiskey with a strong hop/IPA characteristic, as one might expect from something labeled as “IPA Edition”, look elsewhere. A much better alternative would be a whiskey that is actually distilled from an Indian Pale Ale, such as the Charbay R5 or the Amador Hop-Flavored Whiskey, both of which are excellent, although considerably more expensive than a bottle of Jameson.

And if you’re looking for a good Irish whiskey to sip neat, try an Irish single pot still whiskey, such as Redbreast or Green Spot, or an Irish single malt, such as Knappogue Castle 12 Year or Bushmills 10 Year.

Questions about my scoring system? Refer to the Review Method & Scoring Scale page.

For more reviews, check out the Whisky Review Archive.

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