Single Pot Still is the quintessential Irish Whiskey style, championed by Midleton Distillery for the past 50 years while the industry was shifting from slump to rebirth. The launch of Jameson Single Pot Still in October 2022 was significant, the brand's first release of the style in decades and a welcome companion to the distillery's other pot still expressions like Redbreast, Powers, and the Spot range. Limited to Ireland, the UK, and airport duty free, the Jameson Single Pot Still was not available in the US market until September 2026, but rebranded as Distiller's Batch.
Both expressions are bottled at 46% abv in clear glass with similar looking slate blue labels with bronze lettering. The Single Pot Still release came in 700ml bottles while the US Distiller's Batch bottling has been increased to 750ml. But has the liquid inside the bottle changed?
Both versions are 5 cask releases: traditional ex-bourbon and ex-sherry along with 3 other virgin oak types, Irish, European, and American. Midleton Distillery has experimented with Irish oak under their Dair Ghaelach series of single pot still releases matured in wood from different forests in Ireland.
Official Tasting Notes:
Nose: Wood-driven spices of cinnamon and nutmeg intertwine with toasted oak, sweet honeycomb, and salted caramel. Zesty fruit notes linger with dairy fudge, butterscotch, and vanilla complementing the earthy, woodland notes and ripe fruits.
Taste: Rich, dark chocolate, spicy toffee, and ground cinnamon with hints of ginger and orange peel. The combination of oaks adds intricate smoked-wood tones with delicate tannins, working in balance with the Pot Still’s silky texture.
Finish: The delicate fruits fade slowly, leaving spices and oak to linger on the palate
I did a side by side comparison of the two versions to see if any differences could be detected. In theory, it was just a rebrand as the liquid and composition is the same. The Batch 1 Single Pot Still from 2022 did have a little more weight than the Distiller's Batch which was softer on the tongue. Subtle fruits linger before a gentle spice and tannin finish of medium length. No discernible other differences were evident tasting the two versions blind, a consistency one comes to expect from Midleton Distillery offerings.
Where does Distiller's Batch fit in the Jameson lineup? For those who list Jameson original blend as there "go to" and/or "step-up" to Black Barrel, definitely give the single pot still a try. Distiller's Batch is the 'pure' form of those blends albeit with a much different cask maturation profile. For fans of the Midleton pot stills, this Jameson is more similar to a Green Spot and Dair Ghaelach combination as opposed to Redbreast or Powers. That's good because it provides an alternative single pot still expression across the vast range of Midleton offerings.
I do feel that Midleton missed out on an opportunity with this US release. Far be it for me to be critical of the Jameson brand, which has done so much to lift the Irish Whiskey sector and allow for the latest industry renaissance. However, as the world's largest Irish Whiskey seller, Jameson could have used their influential platform to further promote the Single Pot Still style. The rebrand is curious and I'm guessing due to the consumer confusion over the name and what it really means. Given Jameson's influence and reach, this could have been the chance to promote the style more directly in the USA. The Scotch industry raised the perceived value of the single malt category through marketing decades ago. What better brand than Jameson to educate the masses on their malted and unmalted style by leaving the name as Single Pot Still?
A. Dwyer - Sep'2026
