Irish whiskey and Irish beer: it’s a match made in collaboration heaven. So, we’ve bundled two absolute beer-cask bangers for a real St Patrick’s Day special.
Irish whiskey, craft beer barrels. Some things just make sense.
The Caskmates series kicked off, as all good things do, with a conversation in the pub – the Head of Whisky Science at Jameson (there’s a job to keep an eye out for) got chatting to a brewer about barrel-ageing stouts in ex-whiskey casks. One thing led to another, the stout was delicious, and Jameson ended up with a few freshly stout-seasoned casks sitting around. You all know how the story goes. They popped some whiskey in them to finish, tasted it a few months later, and the Caskmates Series was born.
As you’d expect, the Stout Edition is a slightly creamier, richer expression of Jameson’s classic triple-distilled blend of grain and single pot still whiskeys, with green apples and pears giving way to light spice, hazelnut and a sweet, milk chocolatey finish.
And once you’ve done stout, you’ve gotta have a crack with another type of beer, right? Enter the IPA Edition.
IPA in this case actually stands for Irish Pale Ale, but the beer in question is still delightfully fruit-forward and citrusy. It shows in the whiskey, which has picked up a bunch of floral and citrus notes: grapefruit, orchard fruits and a delicate nuttiness define a whiskey that’s light, lovely, and lingering.
Stout Edition
ABV: 40%
Maturation: Finished in Eight Degrees Brewing stout-seasoned casks
Colour: Golden teak
Palate: Fresh green apple and pear, with mild pot still spices deepening to hazelnut and milk chocolate
Nose: Mouth-coating sweetness typical of Irish pot still meets savoury cacao bean from the stout cask maturation, with a chocolate butterscotch finish
Bottle Size: 1 litre
IPA Edition
Maturation: Finished in Eight Degrees Brewing IPA barrels
ABV: 40%
Colour: Bright straw
Nose: Floral nose with grapefruit and subtle orchard fruits, with a little toast, almond and delicate spice
Palate: Juicy-fresh fruitiness gives way to a smooth, barley-driven finish
Bottle Size: 700ml
