Jameson The Cooper’s Croze Irish Whiskey

Jameson The Cooper’s Croze Irish Whiskey is Ger Buckley’s Makers Series whiskey, named for the cooper’s tool that cuts the groove for a cask head. Fifth-generation Midleton cooperage shows here in three woods: charred virgin American oak, seasoned bourbon barrels, and Iberian oloroso butts, bottled at 86 proof without chill-filtration. Vanilla sweetness, ripe sherry fruit, and cedar-char ride together because the barrels were chosen to be tasted. A quiet evening sip with enough wood for a spirit-forward cocktail.

Flower petal and ripe fruit meet charred oak and cedar on the nose. The sip starts on bourbon-cask vanilla, then oloroso fruit, hazelnut, toasted wood, and pot-still spice. Vanilla fades to barley and a touch of oak char on a pleasantly long finish.