Jameson and New Cheese Pairing Ritual for St Patrick’s Day

We have held back this tasting/pairing and to publish just in time for St Patricks Day.

Here at Whisky Boys HQ we received two packages from The Irish Distillers team. Package one included a Jameson 18 year old and batch 1 and 2 of the Bow Street 18 year old. Package two contained four cheeses from the craft  Dublin cheesemonger, Loose Canon.

Here at Whisky Boys we have two stand out favorites when it comes to pairing with Whisk(e)y and they are cheese and chocolate.

Lets do a wee pairing.

First up is the Jameson 18 Year Old 40% Alc/vol paired with St Tola Irish Goat Cheese from County Clare Jameson 18 Year Old has that delightful vanilla cream, a sherry nuttiness, sweet buttery fudge and a hint of earthy spice. The Jameson’s flavours favoured the fresh and zesty taste of the St Tola with complex acidity and mellow notes. This cheese can be traced from farm to cheese board.

Second pairing is with Jameson Bow Street 18 Year Old Batch 1 Cask Strength 55.3% Alc/vol. This dram is rich and woody and full bodied, ripe berries, soft caramel and sherry spice. This dram is paired with an eighteen month old Derg Cheddar from County Tipperary, a quite powerful cheese made from raw milk from a selected herd in the summer months. The Whiskey and this cheese are a wonderful marriage.

Finally, we have the new Jameson Bow Street 18 Year Old Batch 2 Cask Strength 55.1% Alc/vol. A creaminess is first to show, soft toffee, wood spice, sherry and vanilla mixed well together, soft/fine leather gloves, it’s the wood and spice that lingers the longest. With this new batch we have paired two kinds of cheese, first is Young Buck Blue Cheese from County Down. Again we have a raw milk cheese made in the outskirts of Newtownards. A creamy mild blue cheese based on a Stilton recipe and aged for 12-15 weeks. Second cheese being paired with Batch 2 is a Creeny Sheep Milk Cheese from County Cavan. This hard cheese handmade from raw sheeps milk. At two months it is a mild cheese but it matures up to 12 months it then becomes a very sharp cheese, slightly salty, wow a great cheese with batch 2.

We have to thank Jameson, Irish Distillers and Ricmond & Towers for this grand pairing of fine cheeses with some of the finest Irish Whiskies.

We still have a few drams left in the bottles, maybe soon it will be the turn of chocolate to be paired with Jameson, or even some Redbreast which there are some in the Whisky Boys cabinet.

Once again a BIG THANKS.