Jameson and Midleton Distillery

Type: Distillery and brand

Jameson’s historic home is in Dublin, but every drop is made in County Cork, according to the producer. Bow Street holds the Dublin story; Midleton makes the whiskey. Production moved to Cork in 1975, leaving Bow Street with a different role as a visitor destination.[1][8]

Three strands run through this story: Jameson the Irish blended whiskey, its historic Dublin home and the Midleton distillery that makes it alongside several other Irish whiskeys.[3] Keeping them distinct makes both the history and the whiskey easier to understand.

What Jameson and Midleton are known for

Midleton makes much more than Jameson. A 2025 report lists Redbreast, Powers, the Spot whiskeys, Midleton Very Rare, Method and Madness and Knappogue Castle among its whiskeys.[3] Midleton names the production site; Jameson names one of the whiskeys made there.

The technical distinction is equally useful. A published account describes pot still spirit made from malted and unmalted barley, alongside grain spirit made from maize.[5] Jameson is a blend, rather than a single pot still whiskey. Its producer explicitly describes blending, and the Irish Whiskey Technical File treats blended whiskey as a separate category.[9][6] Triple distillation tells you how spirit is distilled, not whether the finished whiskey is a blend.

John Jameson and the Bow Street story

John Jameson’s story begins in Scotland. Born in Alloa in 1740, he married Margaret, known as Peggie, Haig in 1768, connecting him with the Stein and Haig distilling families.[7] His Scottish origins are well documented. The familiar Bow Street founding date is less straightforward: the sources attach different events to 1780.

Story box: How Jameson became a Bow Street name

Verdict: Disputed

Mash bills bring the early business into sharper focus. The producer records John Jameson II taking over Bow Street in 1804 and leaving notebooks containing these grain recipes for production. By the 1880s, the distillery covered almost six acres. John Jameson & Son became a limited company in 1891.[1] This was an expanding distilling business long before Jameson began putting its whiskey into its own bottles.

That milestone arrived in 1963. Jameson says it began bottling its own whiskey at Bow Street that year, when the brand was represented in 68 markets.[1] The distillery’s beginnings, the company’s development and its own bottling operation each have their own dates.

From Dublin production to Midleton

Bow Street’s final pot still whiskey was distilled on 5 June 1970, according to the producer.[1] The merger had brought the businesses together; the move of Jameson production to Cork followed later. The end of pot still distillation in Dublin and the transfer to Midleton were separate milestones.

Cork was not a blank canvas. Midleton brought its own history, from the Murphy family’s acquisition to its place in Cork Distilleries Company. New Midleton opened beside the old distillery, receiving production from both Bow Street and Power’s Johns Lane.[2][3] The timeline places that transfer within the longer histories of both sites.

Production timeline

How Midleton makes its spirits

Barley and maize followed separate paths in the 2014 account of Midleton written by Brian Nation and Maire O’Sullivan and published through Engineers Ireland.[5] For a reader exploring Jameson’s blend, this is the useful starting point: pot still and grain spirit are distinct production streams, not interchangeable names. The account explains those streams, rather than giving a specific Jameson recipe.

These methods help explain the distinction between making spirit and blending a finished whiskey.[5][9] The engineering account captures Midleton at the time of publication, not a complete inventory of its equipment today.

The scale of the copper equipment is striking. The 2014 account describes three copper pot stills holding 75,000 litres each, matching those in the Barry Crockett still house.[5] Three more copper pot stills arrived on 18 January 2017. Made by Forsyth’s of Scotland, each held over 75,000 litres; the contemporary report said they increased pot still capacity by over 30%.[4]

The expansion reported in 2014 increased capacity from 33.5 million to 64 million litres of alcohol.[5] These historical capacity figures describe production potential, not actual output or present capacity. In 2022, Irish Distillers announced plans for another Midleton distillery.[2]

Reading the Jameson range

Jameson’s range contains several expressions, all under one brand. The producer’s range page, checked in November 2026, lists Jameson Irish Whiskey, Triple Triple, Black Barrel, Black Barrel Proof, Crested, Distiller’s Batch, 18 Years, and the Caskmates IPA and Stout editions.[9] These names distinguish whiskeys, not separate distilleries.

Caskmates takes the story from the distillery to the cask. For its IPA and Stout editions, the producer describes finishing the whiskeys in beer-seasoned casks from Eight Degrees Brewing.[9] The documented distinction is the cask treatment; it is not a first-hand tasting description.

Crested tells a different story, carried through a changing name. According to Jameson, the expression appeared as Jameson Ten in 1964, became Crested Ten and retained that name until 2016.[1] Following those names traces one expression within Jameson, rather than a separate brand among Midleton’s other whiskeys.

Common mistakes

“Jameson is still distilled in Dublin.” Bow Street’s historic address can give that impression, but Jameson dates its production move to Midleton to 1975.[1] Bow Street is now a visitor destination; Midleton is the place to name when explaining where Jameson is made.[8]

“Jameson is a single pot still whiskey.” Jameson is a blend.[9][6] Midleton’s pot still production and Jameson’s triple-distillation message can obscure the distinction between a production method, a spirit component and the finished whiskey’s category.

“Irish whiskey must be triple distilled.” The October 2014 Irish Whiskey Technical File allowed both double and triple distillation for Irish whiskey made on the island of Ireland.[6] It is a historical document, so it does not by itself establish the current rule.

Choosing between Bow Street and Midleton

Choose Bow Street for Jameson’s Dublin address and company history; choose Midleton for the Cork site to which production moved.[1][2][8] Both appear on Jameson’s visitor website, but they tell different parts of the story.

The official visitor page lists Jameson Distillery Bow St. in Smithfield, Dublin 7, and the Midleton Distillery Experience on Distillery Walk, Midleton.[8] Before travelling, check the official site for the experience offered, booking requirements, accessibility information and age conditions. A historic production date does not establish which buildings or production areas a visitor can enter.

Where to go next

• Redbreast: explore another whiskey made at Midleton.
• Green Spot and the Spot Whiskeys: follow a separate Midleton-made family.
• Powers: continue with another name in the 1966 merger.

Sources

1. Jameson Irish Whiskey. The Jameson Irish Whiskey History. Producer’s account, undated, checked November 2026. https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-gb/our-story/our-history/
2. Irish Distillers. Our Story. Producer’s account, undated, checked November 2026. https://www.irishdistillers.ie/our-story/
3. Business Plus. Irish Distillers celebrates Midleton Distillery’s 200th anniversary. 2025, checked November 2026. https://businessplus.ie/media-plus/midleton-distillerys-200th-anniversary/
4. Business Plus. New Whiskey Stills For Midleton Distillery. 2017, checked November 2026. https://businessplus.ie/news/new-whiskey-stills-for-midleton-distillery/
5. Engineers Ireland, Brian Nation and Maire O’Sullivan. Expansion project helps Midleton to brew up a storm. 2014 account, checked November 2026. https://www.engineersireland.ie/Engineers-Journal/Chemical/200m-expansion-project-helps-midleton-to-brew-up-a-storm
6. Government of Ireland, Department of Agriculture. Irish Whiskey Technical File. October 2014 edition, checked November 2026. https://assets.gov.ie/static/documents/irish-whiskey-technical-file-pdf-428kb.pdf
7. Gazetteer for Scotland. Overview of John Jameson. Undated, checked November 2026. https://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst4771.html
8. Jameson Irish Whiskey. Distillery Tours. Producer’s visitor information, undated, checked November 2026. https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-us/visit-our-distilleries/
9. Jameson Irish Whiskey. Our Family of Irish Whiskeys. Producer’s range information, undated, checked November 2026. https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en/our-whiskey/

This desk-researched article uses the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing producer histories from trade reporting and retaining its disputed founding verdict.

Last checked: November 2026