Single Distillery

The distillery John Jameson bought and made into the Whiskey Wonder of the World was in Bow
Street, Dublin. Five storeys high and five acres wide, it was like a small city, employing 300 men,
including, carters, coopers and carpenters as well as kiln men, mash men and still men – all
barrelmen.

John Jameson commissioned the biggest pot stills in the world and upped production from 30,000
gallons to 1,000,000 gallons of whiskey a year. He commissioned three stills to enable the triple
distillation he required to create the smoothest of whiskeys.

By 1810 Bow Street was the largest distillery in Ireland. Having everything on one site allowed total
quality control.

However, as Murphy’s Law states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” And in a series of
unfortunate events; the once prosperous whiskey industry was in a steep decline. In 1918 WWI
commenced, followed by Irish War of Independence in 1919 which affected the industry greatly in
terms of trade and work force. The American prohibition in 1920 meant that one of our biggest
markets was now closed. And moonshine ‘Irish Whiskey’ in the US was giving us a bad reputation.
1922 saw an Irish Civil War and World War II ended by 1945.

It was looking like Irish Whiskey was not going to survive. But in 1966 a merger took place between
three Irish whiskey distilleries, Cork Distilleries Company, John Power & Son and John Jameson &
Son. They moved production to another part of Ireland – Midleton Co. Cork where we now call our
home.

It too is a single distillery so that total quality control is maintained. From grain to glass all parts of
the production process takes place in one distillery.
Production

Overview of the Making Of

John Jameson established our way of making whiskey in 1780 and we’ve been proudly sticking to it
ever since. It might not be the easiest way. But insisting on the finest ingredients, triple distillation
and aging our whiskey in seasoned oak barrels has been the secret behind our signature smoothness.

It all starts with the best ingredients. Our water source, the Dungorney River, flows right through our
Midleton distillery and our barley is grown within 100 miles of the distillery. In other words, our
whiskey follows a local diet.

But ingredients can only get you so far, it’s what you do with them that matters. At Jameson, that
starts with using a unique combination of malted and un-malted barley which is air-dried, milled into
grist and immersed in warm water to create a sugary-liquid called wort. From here the wort is
fermented for a number of days to produce alcohol.

You’ll have to excuse us for breezing through a few steps… but the exciting stuff comes next:
Distillation and Maturation.

Our master distiller oversees the entire process, but this is where he makes the triple distilled magic
happen. The wash from the fermentation process is passed through our copper pot stills three
times… creating the purest spirit that gives Jameson its iconic smoothness.

However, before we can call it Jameson, it must mature for no less than three years in a combination
of bourbon barrels and sherry casks. These oak barrels pass on notes of toasted wood and vanilla,
giving Jameson much of its revered character.

The last step in the process takes us from grain to glass. When our prized liquid is given its green
glass jacket and is sent out to be shared with the world.
 Irish Barley

Barley is one of the key ingredients that Irish Whiskey is made

from. John Jameson always insisted on using the best barley. He
personally selected the seeds for local farmers to sow.

Unique to the production of pot still Irish whiskey is the use of

both malted and un-malted barley. Before distillation a mash of
malted and un-malted barley is prepared to create a sweet
flavoured wash – this allows the flavour of barley to add to the
final mouth feel.

Malted and Un-Malted Barley

Malting a proportion of the barley is essential to produce the natural enzymes in the grain which will
later be used in the brewing process. There are three stages to producing malted barley:

1. Steeping – grain is left to steep in water;

2. Germination – the grain begins to sprout; and
3. Kilning – hot clean air is applied to dry the malt
in preparation for brewing.

A key point of difference between Jameson and

some famous Scottish whiskies is how we
produce our malt. At the Midleton Distillery the
malt is dried using hot air, with no smoke passing
through it which results in a more fresh and clean
tasting malt.

A second point of difference is the use of un-

malted barley – the use of un-malted barley
delivers a spicy and creamy taste to Jameson.

The story of why malted and un-malted barley is

used in our whiskey is interesting. It was once
that only malted barley would be used. Then the
British crown added a tax on malted barley. So,
we very cleverly used un-malted barley to avoid
the heavy tax. It was found that the un-malted
barley gave a more creamy and smoother texture
and taste – and we stuck with that recipe ever since!
Milling & Mashing

Precise amounts of malted and un-malted barley are milled and then
mixed to create a flour called grist. The grist is added to hot water in a
vessel called a mash tun. It is during mashing that the conversion of starch
to fermentable sugar takes place to produce a hot, sweet liquid called
wort.

Once the sugars have been created, the wort is then separated from the
grist by using the Mash Filter.

Fermentation

Then this wort is fermented to a low-strength alcohol. The wort is

pumped into large fermentation vessels known as Washbacks -their
capacity is 230,000 litres!

Distiller’s yeast is added to the Washback. This activates the yeast to

turn sugars into alcohol, converting the wort to a low strength
alcohol (beer) or wash. The wash is left to ferment for just over three
days and has a final Alcohol By Volume (ABV) of approximately 10%.

The wash is then transferred to the Stillhouse in order to produce

high strength alcohol from low strength wash.

Triple Distillation

Distillation separates the alcohol from the water at a

temperature of 78°C, transforming the wash into spirit.
Through experimentation, John Jameson decided on triple
distillation to achieve the smooth, perfectly balanced whiskey
he was after.

Triple distillation is at the heart of Jameson Irish Whiskey, each

distillation refining and collecting the purest distillates resulting
in a final spirit that has a clean and spicy flavour.

Triple distillation differentiates Jameson Irish Whiskey from

Scotch Whisky, which is typically distilled twice, and American
Whiskey which is typically distilled once.

Jameson is a mixture of pot still and grain distillates. Both

distilled at the one distillery. Both distilled three times.
 Pot Still Whiskey Distillation

Making whiskey in copper pot stills is the

traditional Irish way. John Jameson commissioned
Messrs Miller & Co to build three gigantic onion-
like pot stills to his own design – one for each
distillation. Today’s pot stills each have a capacity
of 75,000 litres. The use of pot stills is at the heart
of Jameson.

At the Midleton Distillery a wide range of pot still

whiskeys are produced to achieve the complex
taste profile of all our Jameson whiskeys. The pot
still whiskey is what gives Jameson it’s full-bodied
taste. The new spirit from the pot stills goes into
either Bourbon barrels or Sherry butts. Some,
depending on its final blended destination, goes
into Port or Madeira pipes.

Grain Whiskey Distillation

Here we use a mixture of grains in the grist. Tall

column stills are used in a continuous process

of distillation. Our grains are also triple distilled for

flavour. Similar to pot still whiskey we also produce a
range of grain whiskeys to add to the complex
flavours of the whiskey.

The resulting whiskey has a fruity, floral and fragrant

character.

It is matured exclusively in Bourbon barrels.

Maturation

After distillation, the pot still and grain spirit is put into casks or butts and stored in our warehouses.
Each of the warehouses at Midleton can store up to 33,000 casks at any one time. They are stacked
upright, seven casks high.

The Irish Whiskey Act stipulates that by law all Irish whiskey must be matured for a minimum of 3
years in oak barrels. But in Midleton the whiskey is always matured much longer.

A number of reactions take place during maturation, the most significant being a contribution to the
colour and flavour of the whiskey. The whiskey starts to take on colour and flavour from the wood
once put into the barrels.

Each barrel loses about 2% of its volume through evaporation each year. This is called The Angel’s
Share. In the Midleton distillery this is the equivalent to the first 100 casks filled every day!
 Bourbon Barrels

We use Bourbon barrels from Kentucky, USA. The

barrels are made of American white oak and have a
capacity of 200 litres. Most of the barrels have been
seasoned with Bourbon. Some are ‘virgin’ –charred but
not seasoned – adding to the flexibility in creating
individual whiskeys.

Cooperages in Kentucky select the barrels for us,

ensuring the highest quality. We fill approximately
100,000 Bourbon barrels each year. They bring vanilla,
honey and toasted wood notes to our whiskey.

Sherry Butts

The Sherry butts we use are made at a

cooperage in Jerez with whom we have a long-
standing relationship. Each butt has a capacity of
over 500 litres. European oak is used to make
the butts and is then air dried as opposed to kiln
dried. The insides are toasted, rather than
charred.

The butts are seasoned with Sherry for two

years at a select number of Bodegas in Jerez.

The procurement process – from order to

availability – takes up to five years. Sherry butts
bring a rich mouth feel to the whiskey along
with a fruity sultana flavour.
Key Points of Difference

Single Distillery
Today Jameson is distilled at the Midleton Distillery. From grain to glass all parts of the production
process takes place in one single distillery.

Malting
Jameson uses both malted and un-malted barley. The Jameson way of malting allows the moist
barley to dry in clean or smokeless kilns which results in the clean natural flavour of the malt shining
through in the final whiskey.

Triple Distillation
Jameson is triple distilled. It is this extra distillation which delivers the exceptionally smooth taste.
Triple distillation differentiates Jameson Irish Whiskey from Scotch Whisky, which is typically distilled
twice and American Whiskey which is typically distilled once.

Maturation
Casks are handpicked to mature Jameson, using primarily previously filled Bourbon barrels, oloroso
Sherry butts and Port pipes. This special cask management and long maturation ensures the unique
character of Jameson.

Whiskey Components
Jameson is a blend made up of many components including malted and un-malted barley, pot still
and grain whiskey, bourbon barrel and sherry butt matured whiskey and various aged whiskeys. The
expert blending of all the various components results in a unique Jameson taste profile, enjoyed all
over the world today.
Made by Emma Walsh