On the seventh day of St. Patrick, my true love gave to me 7 Jamesons, 6 Honeyed Meads, 5 Guinness pints, 4 Harp lagers, 3 Magners Ciders, 2 shots of Paddy, and a pint of Kilkenny. . .
Our glorious celebration of great Irish beverages leading up to St. Paddy’s day continues with the most famous Irish whiskey of them all – Jameson.
Jameson Irish Whiskey started when John Jameson started the Bow Street Distillery in Dublin in 1780. At the time the distillery pumped out 30,000 gallons of whiskey a year. By the turn of the century, it was the second largest distillery in Ireland and by 1805 it could claim to be the world’s top selling whiskey. One taste of this smooth blended whiskey and you’ll understand why it rose to the top so quickly.
Things have changed since 1805. Jameson is now distilled in Cork (vatting still takes place in Dublin) and Jameson has slipped to being the number three whiskey worldwide, but it still reigns supreme among Irish whiskey. On top of that, Jameson still possesses the world’s largest distilling pot (I wonder if the other distillers have pot envy?) and pumps out over 31 million bottles of excellent Irish tradition every year.
Perhaps one of the most ironic things about Jameson is that the brand is owned by the archrival company of the company that owns Guinness. If you want to be neutral I would recommend a shot and a pint together so nobody gets offended (and isn’t the world a better place when Ireland is not divided?)
Surprisingly, the pub which holds the record for most annual Jameson consumption is not in Ireland or even in an area rich in Irish tradition like Boston. The Local in Minneapolis holds the honor with sales of nearly 700 Jameson cases a year. Nobody deserves the honor more than this fine drinking establishment nestled off Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. I’ve spent many wonderful hours there enjoying fine stouts and whiskeys. If you are ever in the Twin Cities, I highly recommend visiting this fine establishment.
Slainte!
