Where Is Jameson From, And What Is Its History

At the beginning of the 18th century, in 1786, a Scottish attorney, John Jameson, became the general manager of what would eventually become one of the greatest Irish whiskies in human history, the Jameson Irish Whiskey. The story of Jameson began when James and his wife moved to Dublin to manage Stein’s Bow Street distillery. Adamant Mr. Jameson would not compromise the quality of products with his then-employer, he decided to make it his brand as he took full ownership of the business in 1805. The Jameson and Son company became the official trade name in 1810, and it was located on Bow Street in the city’s Smithfield area.

The break-off from the Stein business, combined with James’ exceptional business prowess, paid off as there was a geometrical increase in production from 30,000 gallons in the early days to around 1,000,000 gallons by the beginning of the 19th century. The business had its fair share of challenges as they were severely affected after Ireland’s independence from Britain and the ensuing trade wars.

In 1966, a merger was established between John Jameson, John Powers, and Cork Distillers to form the Irish Distillers triumvirate; this was their only opportunity to keep Jameson’s name and legacy. Production moved to a modern distillery in County Cork from the Dublin-based Bow Street distillery a year later, effectively bringing an end to the more than 200 years of the production of Jameson whiskey in Dublin.

Since 1997, the first facility at Bow Street has become a tourist center that offers tastes and tours. Jameson’s first real export market was in South Africa, where they benefited from Pernod’s age-long presence in the African country. The Pernod Ricard group are the present owners of Jameson after taking over from Irish distillers back in 1988.