JAMESON Black Barrel Whisky Irlandais - 40%, 70cl

Most Helpful Review

"Yes, I'm disappointed in this version of Jameson, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's a variation I've been meaning to try for quite some time, especially given the many rave reviews here and elsewhere.Jameson Crested is a good example of how different people like different things, and even the best care and attention practical in advance doesn't change the fact that you're basically taking a shot in the dark if you aren't able to try in advance (not usually very easy). On the positive side, presentation is good -the bottle and cork are nice for a sub £30 product. The colour suggests a hefty shot of E-150 (aka caramel), which is rather apt, as Crested is clearly heavily biased toward the 'sweet' and 'rich' (read 'pudding') profile.So much, so obvious, or relatively so, in the marketing. Triple distilled, it's also extremely smooth, with zero alcohol bite, and with a higher proportion of pot-still relative to 'standard' Jameson, it's got a slight extra hit of spice. These things are relative -a spicy whiskey it isn't in ourright terms, but there is a bit on the tongue. Creamed honey, plum-pudding, cloves, a touch (a touch) of pepper, candied fruit and caramel, on both nose and in the taste. I can understand why some enjoy this -variations exist in Redbreast and others. What I struggle to get past however is the heavy, slightly oily mouth-feel -the colour suits it down to the ground. Combined with the naturally sweeter flavour profile, which isn't fully balanced by the spice, the overall result is is a bit cloying, which carries over into a long, somewhat coating finish.In a spirit of experimentation (read 'trying to find something I like') I tried it with a splash of water. Nothing doing unfortunately -not unexpected, at 40%ABV, it can't really handle it, and while it took a bit of the oiliness away, the result was an odd balance of sweet cream with over-damped fruit. Neat, with an icecube helped reduce some of the sweetness, but didn't do much for the heaviness. A shot of sodawater, ice and lemon for a classic whiskey and soda was probably the most successful, but the slightly cloying feel remained, albeit less so than when tried with an orange wedge. I'll use the rest of mine in baking, where I suspect it will work very well.If you like sweeter whiskeys with a good dose of candied fruit and a heavier finish, I suspect you'll be in business, especially if you also like a smooth balance. It's all of those things, so enjoy. However, at about £28, to me, this is over priced for the quality on offer, so I would recommend, if you are a fan, buying when it's available on offer, and if you are on the fence or favour something a bit drier, you'll likely do better elsewhere."