Jameson is one of those whiskeys you can order without giving it a second thought. It’s familiar, reliable, and easy to enjoy. But there’s much more to the brand than its classic green bottle.
From beer cask finishes to premium 18-year-old expressions, the Jameson range has plenty to explore. I’ve ranked 11 bottles from worst to best, based on my own tasting experiences, with one important consideration throughout: value for money. Some of the most expensive releases might surprise you with where they’ve ended up.
11. Jameson Orange, 30%, $25 / £35
Kicking off the list is the only liqueur included, Jameson Orange. Bottled at 30% ABV and flavored with natural orange flavors, it’s designed to be mixed. To be fair, it makes a brilliant highball with lemonade and ice.
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READ THE STORYIf you’re looking for something to drink neat, though, this falls to the bottom of the list. That said, it certainly has its place.
10. Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition, 40%, $30 / £29
This one comes down to personal taste. I know people who loved this release, but IPA flavors just aren’t my cup of tea.
It has some incredible fruity notes and a clean, hoppy finish, but I just can’t get past the pine notes that really dominate the whiskey. It’s a cool project, but one that never quite ticked my boxes, especially compared to another cask-finished release further up this list.
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9. Jameson 18 Year Old Cask Strength, 55%, $300 / £570
Okay, we’re getting into the premium stuff now. I was lucky enough to try this in Ireland at Midleton’s 200th anniversary celebration. I wanted to love it, but I found it a little overwhelming. The bar was too busy to ask for some water to see if it calmed down, mainly because it was a free bar!
Much like Redbreast 27 Year Old, I found this incredibly spicy, to the point where it drowned out a lot of the flavors I wanted to find.
It’s great to see the distillery releasing a cask-strength expression, but as I’ve said a few times before, just because a whiskey is cask strength doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better.
8. Jameson 18 Year Old, 46%, $180 / £135
A blend of three signature distillates from Midleton Distillery, this 18-year-old is matured for nearly two decades before being finished in fresh American oak for six months.
It has all the hallmarks of classic Irish whiskey: toffee, honey, aromatic spices, and plenty of fresh vanilla and sweetness.
It’s a very interesting whiskey at 46%, but for nearly $200, I think there are better older whiskeys available, including some within the Jameson range itself.
7. Jameson Single Pot Still, 46%, $N/A
We’ve got two whiskeys in a row here that are essentially the same release. I’m not sure whether this one has been discontinued and the bottle below has taken its place, but here we go!
This single pot still whiskey is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, alongside three types of virgin oak: Irish, American, and European.
It’s very oak-led, with dark chocolate, aromatic spices, vanilla, and an almost autumnal forest floor note. Something a little mulchy, but in a nice way!
It’s becoming quite difficult to find now, so perhaps it has been discontinued. Either way, it’s an interesting bottle if you can track one down.
6. Jameson Distiller’s Batch, 46%, $50 / £66.50
This could be the bottle that has taken over from the one above.
I went through an entire bottle of this earlier in the year and found it a little closed off at first. It took quite a while to really open up.
Matured using the same five types of cask as the Single Pot Still release, the wood notes are very dominant here, with plenty of aromatic spice and a little more toffee.
I decanted the last half of the bottle, and it started to open up in some really positive ways. Cherry, vanilla cream, and milk chocolate notes began to emerge, creating a much more complex, layered whiskey.
Give this bottle some time, and it becomes a very interesting whiskey for the money.
5. Jameson Caskmates Stout Edition, 40%, $35 / £26
A meeting of two wonderful drinks, brought together in one bottle.
This is sweet, toffee-driven Irish whiskey that has been matured in casks previously used to hold Irish stout. I really love this release.
It has a flavor profile of apples, hazelnuts, chocolate, and pot still spices. The finish is sweet, with butterscotch and green tea, a wonderful yet unexpected combination of sweet and earthy flavors.
It’s also widely available through supermarkets and regular grocery stores, rather than just specialist retailers.
An excellent pairing and a well-deserved place in the top five.
4. Jameson Triple Triple, 40%, $30 / £30
A relatively new release in the Jameson range. Triple distilled and triple casked!
This whiskey is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and chestnut wood casks. Irish whiskey regulations permit the use of different types of wood for maturation, giving distillers plenty of room to experiment.
On the nose, it’s layered with fudge, vanilla, and sweet, nutty notes. These continue onto the palate, alongside a slow build of woody spices and sweet green apples.
It’s a really cool bottle. There’s also an orange-label release that uses Malaga wine casks, which is another excellent whiskey.
3. Jameson Irish Whiskey, 40%, $24 / £21
The classic! The famous one! One of the reasons so many of us drink whiskey today.
Jameson Irish Whiskey is a truly legendary bottle. Combining single pot still whiskey and Irish grain whiskey, matured primarily in ex-bourbon casks, it delivers that sweet, easy-drinking profile we all know.
Whether you prefer your whiskey neat or mixed, Jameson is one of the best-value purchases you can make when you need something that just about everyone can enjoy.
2. Jameson Crested, 40%, $54
This is a step up from the regular Jameson Irish Whiskey, with a higher proportion of single pot still whiskey in the blend.
The first time I tried it, I was reminded of melted white chocolate, raisins, and plenty of honey. It’s a richer, creamier take on the classic Jameson profile, and for the additional money, you really can’t beat it.
Crested also has quite a reputation, with older bottlings commanding high prices on the secondary market. But the current release still offers great value and is the sort of whiskey you can simply sit back and enjoy.
1. Jameson Black Barrel, 40%, $37 / £30
And here we have number one! For me, Jameson Black Barrel is the best bottle in the range for your money.
The idea here is to bring together some of the best characteristics of Irish and American whiskey. By taking the classic Jameson recipe and introducing heavily charred American oak casks, the distillery has created something that delivers both great flavor and excellent value.
It retains all those sweet, welcoming notes we love about Jameson, but the stronger American oak influence gives it a rounder, richer, and more pronounced flavor profile.
It’s a whiskey that works in just about every drinking situation you can imagine, whether neat, over ice, or in a cocktail.
And that’s why it takes the top spot.
That’s my Jameson ranking, but how did your favorite bottle fare? Would you put Black Barrel at number one, or is there another Jameson you’d choose instead?
