Jameson Pure Pot Still 15 Year Old Limited Edition Millennium Release

1 January 2013 – by Mark Backhouse

(Bottle 11,506 Millennium release is 43% ABV (86 proof), 760ml, Batch number:  91745080 14 39)

This is the second in my series of obscure collectable whiskies.

In the year 1999, just before the start of the year 2000, I received a gift that I have cherished since. That was just over 12 years ago and I was not yet forty years old. That’s more than a decade ago. I am amazed how time flies. I said I would open the bottle to celebrate 2013, but for reasons of late, I have changed my mind. I will crack it on 9 February 2014. I want to celebrate life and share it with my soul mate, family and lifelong friends I cherish infinitely.

My bottle of this rare Jameson 15 year old pure pot still Limited Edition is number 11,506 of less than 35,000 bottles drawn from less than 200 casks. Some of the casks were sherry butts at 500 litres and some casks were bourbon barrels at 200 litres. After ageing for fifteen years almost 30% of the spirit in the casks evaporates; given up as the “angels share”.

I suggest that in the year 2019, Jameson Irish Whiskey release a second collector’s edition in exactly the same Limited Edition style but aged 20 years in celebration of the year 2020. I want bottle number 11,506 again. This time I want a second bottle to open and share on New Year’s Eve 2020.

Below is the write up included in the gift box.

Jameson Pure Pot Still Limited Edition Old Irish Whiskey

Jameson Limited Edition Pure Pot Still is a very special reserve of fewer than 200 exceptional casks selected in celebration of the Millennium.

To signify this rare and valuable whiskey, each bottle is individually numbered and has become a genuine collector’s item over time.

Tasting notes:

This pure pot still whiskey aged 15 years and over, possesses a taste which is full bodied and flavoursome but not overpowering.

Nose: Discover this complex nose, with mild sherry notes and background hints of toasted oak.

Taste:  The unique and intriguing taste is of lush fruits, herbal spice and sherry overtones that temper the robust, old pot still whiskey flavours, which is at the heart of the Jameson Limited Edition.

Finish: With a long and satisfying finish it has the mellow smoothness typical of the Jameson Brand.

Chivas Brothers "The Century of Malts"

The rare and collectable "The Century of Malts" Scotch Blended Malt Whisky is best described on the side of the box this precious whisky is packaged in. It reads:

"ONE HUNDRED SINGLE MALTS. This bottle contain 100 single malt Scotch whiskies - an unequalled collection. From the Highlands and the famous Spey Valley, the distant Islands, and the soft, harmonious Lowlands, a hundred ancient oak casks have yielded their treasure. The result is superb, of incomparable richness and age. Only the cellars of Chivas Brothers could produce such an historic tribute to the spirit of SCOTCH MALT WHISKY".

These are the 100 distilleries single malts Scotch whiskies in The Century of Malt: Aberfeldy, Aberlour, Allt a 'Bhainne, Ardbeg, Auchentoshan, Auchroisk, Aultmore, Balblair, Balmenach, Balvenie, Banff, Ben Nevis, Benriach, Benrinnes, Benromach, Blair Athol, Bowmore, (Royal) Brackla, Braeval, Brechin, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Caperdonich, Clynelish, Convalmore, Cragganmore, Craigduff, Craigellechie, Dailuaine, Dallas Dhu, Dalmore, Dalwhinnie, Deanston, Dufftown, Fettercairn, Glen Albyn, Glenallachie, Glenburgie, Glencadam, Glen Craig, Glen Elgin, Glen Esk, Glenfarcles, Glenfiddich, Glengarioch, Glenglassaugh, Glen Grant, Glengoyne, Glenisla, Glen Keith, Glenkinchie, The Glenlivet, Glenlochy, Glenlossie, Glen Mhor, Glen Moray, Glenrothes, Glen Scotia, Glen Spey, Glentauchers, Glenturret, Glenugie, Glenury Royal, Highland Park, Imperial, Inchgower, Inchmurrin, Inverleven, Isle of Jura, Kinclaith, Knockando, Ladyburn, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Ledaig, Linkwood, Littlemill, Longmorn, Macallan, Macduff, Mannochmore, Miltonduff, Mortloch, Mosstowie, Ord, Pittyvaich, Pulteney, Rhosdhu, Scapa, Speyburn, Springbank, Strathisla, Strathmill, Tamdhu, Tamnavulin, Teaninich, Tomatin, Tomintoul, Tormore and Tullibardine.

There you have it! If you know your distilleries you will notice that some of the distilleries listed have closed down or have been mothballed over time, making The Century of Malt even more special.

You may be wondering why Chivas Brothers have all these other distilleries single malts. All distillers procure other distilleries single malts each year as soon as the new spirit is put into cask. It is brought to their own warehouses to be stored in casks under their controlled and managed conditions to later be blended into their blended Scotch whiskies. There is no single company that owns 40 to 50 different single malts to blend into these blended Scotch whiskies. (Most reputable blended Scotch whiskies contain between 30 and 50 single malts in the blend).

Chivas Brothers hold the oldest stock of aged Scotch malt whiskies in the world today and are uniquely able to bottle many of the oldest expressions of whiskies in the world. This is the reason their whisky ranges are mostly age stated and of the most premium aged stated whiskies in the world. As an example, a brand like Ballantine's, which belongs to Chivas Brothers, has Ballantine's Finest as the standard expression, followed by the various age stated expressions 12 year old, 15 year old, 17 year old, 21 year old, 30 year old and 40 year old age whiskies

Included in the box is a booklet measuring a 95 mm x 75 mm. The booklet is titled " The One Hundred MALTS from Chivas Brothers" and is written by the famous Jim Murray of the Whisky Bible fame.The booklet was published in 1995, the same year this extremely precious whisky was bottled. (Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2013 is available for purchase online at "The Dram Good Book Shop" for GBP12.99). 

I was fortunate to get hold of three bottles of Century of Malt. After giving one away as a present and opening the next at a private whisky tasting, I realised how precious this whisky is. The taste is awesome and 'more-some' but I have resisted opening the third bottle because this is a collectors whisky not realised by serious collectors yet. The photo above is of my last sealed bottle of Century of Malt. It will remain in my collection.