It is still sweet as whiskey goes, but at 94 proof and with more wood, it is considerably more robust. The Single Barrel is stored in the top of the warehouse in order to expose it the largest temperature extremes, imparting more flavor from the wood, and it typically ages for 2-3 years longer than the others. The wood varies and the temperature varies and the result can range from very oaky to very sweet,” said JD’s Master Taster Jeff Norman. “Whereas we are looking for consistency in Number Seven and Gentleman Jack, we welcome singularity in every barrel of Single Barrel, and Mother Nature takes care of that for us. Jack Daniels Master Taster Jeff Norman might well help you taste and select your very own barrel on.
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While Number 7, Green Label and Gentleman Jack are all “mingled,” or blended from a hundred or more barrels (but with no additives, just a way to smooth out barrel to barrel variances, like the “vatting” of single malt Scotch whiskies), single barrel is just that, the unique and one-time result of a specific barrel. The top of the line product is Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel. I think it is best as a base for fancy mixology cocktails (around $21). It is much sweeter, aimed at palates new to (and maybe not ready for) whisky, but at 70 proof versus the normal 80, it is still predominantly whiskey. The new addition is Tennessee Honey, released earlier this year, a mix of Number 7 and a honey liqueur made in-house from real honey. This may well be the best dollar for dollar whisky value on earth! It is one of my favorite sipping whiskies period, my poker playing whiskey of choice – and a crazy value, a bargain at just about $30 (sometime less). It is super smooth, sweet, the only whiskey in the world that is twice charcoal filtered, and my personal JD favorite. One step up the price ladder is Gentleman Jack, which is made the same way but receives a second charcoal filtering after it is done aging in barrels. The lesser-known Green Label is a less mature version of Number 7, younger, with a lighter color and less wood taste, a bit less refined and appreciably less sweet, also around $21. Wood notes, smoothness, and sweetness are its hallmarks, exceptional and consistent quality at this price. The flagship product since 1866 is Old Number 7, aged in barrels for an average of 4-5 years, and costing around $21.
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At this point the spirit is a blank slate, whose final flavor and color comes from aging in the propriety charred oak barrels that Jack Daniels makes itself in a Kentucky cooperage – a modern rarity. Charcoal is the same stuff used in Britta and Pur filters, and the process removes the harsh notes and oily grain tastes. The secret to JD has always been “charcoal mellowing,” or filtering, in which the newly distilled spirit is poured through vats packed 10 feet deep with sugar maple charcoal (the trees maple syrup comes from).
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It then becomes one of just a handful of Tennessee Whiskies, another legal definition. For most of its production, Jack Daniels is made under the identical legally defined standards as bourbon, but where it diverges is when it hits the charcoal.