For many of the second half of the twentieth century, whiskey lovers knew of just one product from Jack Daniel’s. Previous No. 7 is the distillery’s 80-proof Tennessee whiskey, bottled in a novel sq. container and adorned with the long-lasting black-and-white script label that has additionally turn out to be the font of alternative for tattoo retailers frequented by bike lovers. Due to this laser deal with one product and advocacy from famous celebrities like Frank Sinatra, “Black Label” was all Jack Daniel’s wanted to rise to spirits supremacy with gross sales exceeding 6 million circumstances of Previous No. 7 per yr by the flip of the twenty first century.
The model has diversified a bit for the reason that 1988 introduction of Gentleman Jack, a really related product to Black Label with an additional cross by means of the charcoal mellowing course of to impart a little bit additional smoothness. Later product releases included a rye whiskey, single-barrel choices and flavored whiskeys together with honey, cinnamon and apple varieties.
A continuing all through the previous hundred years was the dearth of an age assertion on Jack Daniel’s merchandise, stipulating solely that the whiskey spends not less than 4 years in oak to qualify as a straight whiskey below labeling laws. That modified in 2021 when Jack Daniel’s launched 10-year-old and 12-year-old variations of their basic mash invoice recipe, the primary age-statement merchandise in additional than a century.
Whereas Jack Daniel was nonetheless alive, he in actual fact supplied many alternative aged whiskeys, and collectors have found bottles labeled with ages starting from 10 to 21 years. Whereas the distillery hasn’t confirmed how outdated they assume they’ll go together with the ageing course of sooner or later, the discharge of a number of batches of 10- and 12-year-old Tennessee whiskey has led to their newest classic product, Jack Daniel’s 14-Yr-Previous Tennessee Whiskey. It might make sense that a few of these batches from the primary releases must be two years older by now and a part of the brand new 14-year mix, however that’s not essentially the case. It is a distinctive stand-alone product of barrels chosen and blended by Jack Daniel’s grasp distiller Chris Fletcher.
In early January, I used to be invited together with just a few different whiskey writers and podcasters to affix Fletcher in one of many oldest barrelhouses in Lynchburg to preview the brand new providing. That made us the primary folks from exterior the distillery to style Jack Daniel’s whiskey that outdated since Mr. Daniel himself nonetheless roamed the grounds of the distillery. Fletcher says this mission had been within the offing for fairly some time.
“That is our historical past,” Fletcher explains. “We began down this path years in the past with these barrels that had been on the higher flooring of our barrelhouses.”
Chris Fletcher
Historically, the very best and hottest ranges of a rickhouse provide an surroundings for quicker ageing, extracting extra of the colour and character of the wooden into the whiskey. As a part of his common tasting routine, when Fletcher and his crew observe the progress of particular person tons, the distiller knew that these had been some particular barrels — and he believed that with correct remedy, they may mature into one thing outstanding.
“They had been a part of our single-barrel program,” says Fletcher. “We began transferring them all the way down to decrease ranges after their eighth birthday.” Within the official announcement of the product’s Feb. 24 launch to the general public, Fletcher says, “These whiskeys actually showcase how a little bit additional time in our barrels is able to producing one thing so particular.”
All variations of Previous No. 7 and the older releases and single-barrel merchandise share the identical fundamental grain recipe: 80 % corn, 12 % malted barley and eight % rye. It’s astounding how totally different they’ll style from each other — because of how, the place and for a way lengthy they had been aged in oak. Whereas Black Label is mixed in large batches to take care of a consistency so {that a} bottle on the shelf of a liquor retailer in Boston is nearly an identical to 1 being served at a bar in Berlin, the older whiskeys provide distinctive character from batch to batch and even from barrel to barrel.
This yr’s 10-year-old is a 97-proof marvel. It’s the colour of a copper penny within the glass, and the additional time in oak is clearly obvious within the oaky aroma on first sniff — however after a bit, bitter cocoa notes seem. On the palate, darkish fruits are the primary stunning flavors to seem, adopted by a surprisingly mellow candy end paying homage to the Werther’s Originals your grandma may need saved in her purse. There’s a touch of saddle in there too.
The 12-year-old emphasizes extra of the confectionery essences that Jack Daniel’s proprietary yeast pressure is understood for. The upper proof degree of 107 is available in scorching earlier than fading to a pleasant heat hug of darkish molasses, toffee and possibly a little bit of black licorice.
However the star of the present was all the time going to be the brand new (outdated) 14-year-aged version, which Fletcher thieved immediately from the barrel within the dim and dusty rickhouse for us to pattern at full proof of 63.15 % ABV. I knew this could be a distinct animal altogether upon the primary waft from the tasting glass. It was like strolling into an old-timey bakery with the aromas of picket oak flooring and scorching pecan pies cooling on a rack by the entrance counter.
Even at that elevated proof degree, the whiskey wasn’t impolite to my tongue on the primary assault. Though I knew that what I used to be tasting was made from just some substances — corn, barley, rye, water and yeast — the flavors had been a roller-coaster experience on the palate. In succession, the whiskey exhibited cinnamon, molasses and caramel, adopted by nearly tropical fruity notes earlier than the grains and oak took over, with the standard lengthy wooden and leather-based end that ultimately remodeled into one thing akin to pipe tobacco saved in a cedar field. Contemplating my grandfather truly saved his pipe in a chest like that, possibly that’s why it was so evocative.
Though the discharge of the 14-year-old Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey is sort of restricted, the corporate positively exhibits choice to their residence markets by means of allocation — it can not less than be simpler to seek out in Center Tennessee than, say, Berlin. The chance to style historical past doesn’t come cheaply, because the advised retail value for the 14-year-old must be round $149 per bottle. The 12- and 10-year-old editions ought to retail at $94.99 and $84.99 respectively, however particular person liquor shops often ask for a better markup on these allotted merchandise.
There are many $100-and-up whiskeys out there proper now, however with declining consumption statistics and elevated distillery capacities starting to hit the market, some analysts predict a glut of whiskey will drive down costs sooner or later. That could be true, however the details that so many newcomers to the spirits recreation have flooded liquor-store cabinets with personal labels of unknown provenance and that the ingesting public could also be exhibiting a choice for brand new and various kinds of intoxicants can not undermine the time, effort and forethought put into Jack Daniel’s aged-whiskey program.
Will they sometime attain the 21-year mark that Jack Daniel, the person, as soon as bought within the years earlier than Prohibition? Maybe, nevertheless it is dependent upon when the spirits within the barrel are prepared — and that’s as much as Chris Fletcher and his crew. He gained’t launch a product that he doesn’t assume is extraordinary simply because it has reached an arbitrary age. However I can attest that teenage Jack Daniel’s is fairly outstanding and prepared for the highlight.
