How Jameson bottled artistic spirit through rap, guitars and streetwear

Over the past month, Jameson has been celebrating the launch of its Triple Distilled Collection with a three-part collaboration, which brings together the world’s most iconic Irish whiskey brand and some of the most essential names in music, fashion and contemporary culture. Comprising three unique collaborations, the campaign is a testament to the power of community, craftsmanship and connection.

Ahead of St Patrick’s Day, Jameson teamed up with Grammy-winning R&B artist, producer and rapper Anderson .Paak to create a special-edition bottle. This design is the latest chapter in .Paak’s ongoing collaboration with the brand: last year, he launched Jameson Distilled Sounds, an annual project which invites local musicians from all over the world to Ireland, where they take part in an immersive experience involving workshops, visiting speakers, studio sessions and jams. For a week and beyond, Jameson and .Paak created a global community of artists in a sprawling castle one hour away from Cork.

The artist’s new bottle features a QR code which allows people to find out more about these artists and to hear the music they produced, which embodies an exciting and often surprising fusion of musical styles. Where else are you going to hear musicians from Malaysia, India, Portugal and Nigeria jamming together? Other design features include a guitar; drumsticks (a reference to .Paak’s most treasured instrument); nods to the artwork of his albums Malibu and Venice; a photo of .Paak grinning from ear to ear, and, of course, the four-leaved clover – this is an Irish whiskey, after all.

Next up came a collaboration with Fender, the guitar company which has played a more iconic role in music history than any other, whether that’s Jimi Hendrix wailing away at Woodstock, Dylan getting booed by his own fans for going electric at the Newport Folk Festival, or Kurt Cobain regularly smashing his own Stratocasters to pieces in an onstage frenzy (don’t try this at home...) 

The result of this team-up was a custom-designed Jameson Player II Telecaster Guitar and a Tone Master Princeton® Reverb amplifier, coloured in Jameson’s signature green and exemplifying the craftsmanship for which both brands are renowned. The collaboration was launched ahead of St Patrick’s Day on March 10, with a raucous party at the Fender Studios in London. Things kicked off with a soulful live performance by Santino Le Saint, a Brixton-based singer and guitarist from whose music blends rock, hip-hop and R&B.

Next up, Irish band Sprints brought the house down with their scuzzy, high-octane punk. To top it off, DJ ELLADHC – co-founder of Shindig nights and one of London’s most in-demand DJs – played an electrifying set, blending house, upbeat R&B and local London artists. All in all, the night captured the same ethos as Jameson Distilled Sounds: expansive, vital, encompassing a wide breadth of genres and artists from all walks of life, rooted in tradition but always looking forward.

Finally, Jameson partnered with Awake NY, a New York-based brand at the beating heart of streetwear culture, to create a five-item capsule collection. This includes a baseball cap which renders Awake NY’s logo in Jameson’s green; a football jersey, a retro track jacket, T-shirt and a hoodie, all of which combine cutting-edge style with comfort, high-quality materials and wearability. Since it was launched by Angelo Baque in 2012, Awake NY has been inspired by the culture of early ’90s downtown New York, and the new collection sees this influence merged with subtle hints at Jameson’s Irish heritage.

For Brand Director Hugo Mendoza, the collaboration was a match made in heaven: “Jameson Irish Whiskey’s roots run deep and this distilled sounds partnership was perfect for us. We love music and we love bringing our community together to enjoy it with us,” he says. The collection is available to buy at Awake NY’s flagship store in New York, with certain pieces available online at the Distilled Sounds Hub.

The Triple Distilled campaign may be coming to an end, but through its Distilled Sounds initiative and ongoing commitment to championing creative communities around the world, Jameson will continue to bring people together, generate new music and make incredible things happen.