Jameson Irish Whiskey Partners with Craft Breweries to Create Exclusive Barrel-Aged Brews

Beer before liquor, you’ll never be sicker—whiskey barrel-aged beer, you’re in the clear. That’s how that phrase goes, right?

Maybe not, but Jameson Irish Whiskey is acting on it all the same. The distiller has hand-picked five local breweries from across the US to visit their Dublin distillery, where they’ll collect Jameson whiskey barrels and then use those barrels to brew five limited-edition craft beers. The exclusive brews are meant to reflect the brewers’ experiences in Ireland, as well as the unique qualities of the American locales that they each call home.

The initiative is an expansion of Jameson’s Drinking Buddies program, in which they team up with American breweries to produce unique craft beer collaborations. Jameson worked with Brooklyn’s KelSo Beer Company last year in Drinking Buddies’ first phase, and they’ve selected the following US breweries for the next phase: Angel City Brewery in Los Angeles, Hilliard’s Beer in Seattle, Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Deep Ellum Brewing Company in Dallas and Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in New York.

“The breweries involved share Jameson’s passion for craftsmanship, quality, and creativity,” explained Jameson brand director Sona Bajaria in a press release. “With the creation of these locally-brewed Jameson-inspired beers, our goal is to pay homage to the spirit of each brewery’s neighborhood.”

The Drinking Buddies initiative will be showcased in a web series to be released over the next few weeks. Episodes will follow the brewers to Irish whiskey’s motherland and back again, offering viewers a look at their journeys and the unique brews born of their experiences.

Check out the first episode of Jameson’s Drinking Buddies series below.