Jameson’s Pot Still Whiskey History
The recent surprise release of a core-range Jameson Single Pot Still Irish whiskey prompted whiskey drinkers in some corners to question how a brand so known for its blended whiskey expressions – indeed the best selling Irish whiskeys in the world – could venture into a whiskey style more well known for names such as Redbreast, the Spot whiskeys and Powers John’s Lane.
In reality, pot still whiskey is not a new venture for Jameson, but rather in the grand oeuvre of the brand, it is blended whiskeys that are the newest representatives of this vaunted whiskey company. In the 12 months to June 2022, Jameson broke (its own) records for the number of cases sold globally, surpassing 10 million (9 litre) cases for the first time. That’s more than 120,000,000 bottles of Jameson Blended Irish Whiskey being enjoyed in every corner of the world.
The familiar green bottle has opened up continents, countries and markets to Irish whiskey, driving the category forward over the past 30 years, yet it may come as a surprise that this grain and pot still blend we’re familiar with today only landed on shelves for the first time in 1968, doing so at a time when Irish whiskey’s very existence was threatened by the marketing dominance of Scotch and years of declines caused by world wars, the temperance movement, prohibition, Anglo-Irish trade wars and tariffs.
The new blend and a bright green new bottle were designed in the hope of changing Irish whiskey’s fortunes overseas. Carol Quinn, Head of Archives at Irish Distillers, and based in the historic surroundings of the Distiller’s Cottage on the grounds of the Old Midleton Distillery, is custodian and ambassador of Jameson’s history. Carol was kind enough to share the story of Jameson’s pot still history at its Bow St. Distillery between 1780 and 1968 during a recent chat which you can now watch below.
Carol was also kind enough to share some images (below) from the Jameson archive to complement our chat.
You can catch up on our tasting of Jameson Single Pot Still whiskeys through the years, including the most recent release here:
Jameson’s History through Archive Images
