Jameson Caskmates Brings Whiskey And Stout Together

Admittedly, aging stouts in former whiskey barrels, particularly bourbon barrels, was not a new idea and had been well under way since the 1990s in the U.S. Three Floyds Dark Lord is one of the best known examples. It has created a release day festival which has become an annual phenomenon in northern Indiana. The Goose Island brand has dedicated an entire building to its barrel-aging program in Chicago.

Not only have bourbon barrels been sought after and shipped all over the world after one-time use as legislated by industry regulations, but European brewers began using whiskey barrels from distillers at home as well. The whiskey barrels add an unmistakably strong and sweet boozy nose to beers, particularly bourbon barrels and impart alcohol into the beer as well as flavor.

Dave Quinn chalks Caskmates up as a successful collaboration.

There is a quintessential artisan aspect to the barrel aging, says Long. “Every batch has got a character of its own. You’re dealing with the casks and a different entity.”

The twist to this story came when Long asked Quinn what he would do with the barrels once his first batch of stout was ready for market. Quinn eventually took the opportunity to age some Jameson for a variety of time periods and was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Where the Jameson has notes of sherry and sweetness – it’s aged in both bourbon barrels made with American oak and sherry barrels – the additional stay with the stout produced the cocoa and coffee notes with some butterscotch at the finish. The bourbon and sherry influence are still there, but as a smooth triple-distilled backdrop to the new stout influence.

“When the stout-seasoned Jameson barrels arrived back at Midleton from Franciscan Well, curiosity got the better of us and we experimented by maturing our Jameson in the casks,” said Quinn. “We found that after six months, the perfect balance of flavor was achieved and we couldn’t be happier with the results.”

The other good news is that Premium Stout Aged in Jameson Irish Whiskey Casks also took off in Ireland and in London in much the way barrel-aged stouts became popular in the U.S.

“The fact the beer is so good was testimony and the brewer wanted to create more,” said Caulfield. “That enabled us to have a larger supply of the barrels to make Caskmates more readily available.”