In the 200 years since it was first produced, Jameson has become the worlds leading Irish whiskey. More recently, with its average annual growth of 12% for three years and a 7% global growth rate in 2000, Jameson has emerged as one of the fastest growing international spirits. Jameson is a sublimely mellow whiskey with a sweet taste at first that fades into a luxurious mix of malt and vanilla. Made primarily from pure Irish water and the finest Irish barley, Jameson is created through a fastidious multi-stage process with unique characteristics. The malting stage uses barley dried in a closed kiln, preserving the clean, honeyed flavor of the malt and eliminating the smoky, peaty flavor present in Scotch whisky. Jameson is then triple-distilled. Finally, the whiskey is aged for a minimum of five to seven years after being matured in American bourbon and Spanish sherry oak casks.