Jack Daniels Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey - a Review

[bifter]

As a rule I don't enjoy Bourbon but I have always left the door open to the possibility of acquiring a taste for it, at least in its more refined forms. The renowned whisky critic Jim Murray is a fierce advocate and even lives in Kentucky so I reason there has to be something in it! Now, let's be clear, the subject of this review, while technically a Bourbon*, is actually a Tennessee whiskey - Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. One of the things that distinguishes Tennessee is that the spirit is filtered through charcoal, which is known as the "Lincoln County Process."** In the case of JD, it takes ten days to filter the spirit through ten feet or so of hard-packed sugar maple charcoal. This refines the spirit and imbues it with flavours and aromas that carry through to the final product. The spirit is then aged in virgin American white oak (Quercus Alba) casks that have been fired on the inside, typically for around 40 seconds to one minute. The resulting char helps to removes sulphur compounds from the liquid and facilitates production of lactones, which impart woody flavours.

The company blurb advises:

The barrels chosen for Single Barrel come from the uppermost floors of the barrelhouses that dot the hills surrounding our distillery. The extremes in temperature these floors experience during the year result in barrels which yield whiskey of uncommon smoothness, aroma and flavour with notes of vanilla, toasted oak and caramel.

The seasons in the southern US states certainly bring greater variation in temperature than in Scotland and this results in a quicker maturation of the spirit. The bottles do not carry an age statement but, from what I can gather, regular JD No. 7 is around 4-6 years old whereas the Single Barrel is 6-8 years old, and of course from the tops of the warehouses (apparently 7 storeys high). Naturally, as each batch of Single Barrel is drawn from an indivdual cask, the characteristics vary but I would dare venture that the production processes and the homogeneity of the virgin oak barrels used results in a much more consistent distillery product than would be the case with Scotch. The bottling strength is 45% so clearly it is not 'cask-strength'.

On pouring, the liquid is viscous with good legs, and deep bronze in colour. I have checked and it is claimed that JD use no caramel colouring. Such depth of colour in a Scotch would be considered impressive for a spirit this young. The nose proclaims the character of its virgin fill cask with woody notes - oak, pine resin and vanilla with a definite sweet, maple syrup overtone that one may presume derives from the charcoal filtering. The palate has an oily mouthfeel and continues the oak theme, intermingled with a treacly, demerara sweetness and woodsmoke notes. Whether the smokey notes derive from the charcoal filter or from the charred barrel or both I don't know. The problem I have experienced with most other American whiskeys I have tried is that the spirit has been overly harsh and the sweetness too cloying. The Single Barrel is definitely much smoother, despite the higher abv and the sweetness too is mellower. However, although the flavours initially suggest depth and age beyond its years it does not develop. There are no hidden layers that reveal themselves in the finish and the end is perhaps a little abrupt. In this regard it is perhaps akin to a Scotch grain whisky. I added a drop of water to see if this changed anything but it didn't. However, if I try this whiskey again, I will try the American tradition of having it 'on the rocks'!

Overall this is a more refined American whiskey than most and full of character but simultaneously uncomplicated. I really enjoyed it! At retail JD Single Barrel can be found for around £40 which sets it against some very classy (and older) single malts - Glenfarclas 15 or Ardbeg 10 come to mind. This is a different beast from Scotch so it is difficult to make ready comparisons but when you're spending £40 in a shop comparisons must be made and I'm still siding with Scotch on that count. I haven't had an American whiskey epiphany but I have certainly broadened my palate.

* Apparently, although the makers of Tennessee disavow classification as a Bourbon, Tennessee is indeed defined in trade agreements as a 'straight Bourbon' made within the borders of the state.

** The filtering process is not mandatory however only one of the four Tennessee producers do not use it. Ironically, due to boundary changes, this happens to be the only producer remaining in Lincoln county. Another (quite ironic) tidbit is that the Jack Daniel's distillery is now located in Moore County, which is a dry county!
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"Whisky is liquid sunshine."
[George Bernard Shaw]

[Quaich1]

A great review!
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[bifter]

Thanks!
_________________
"Whisky is liquid sunshine."
[George Bernard Shaw]