Here is another guest whisky review, written by Martin from WhiskyCritic.com. Enjoy!
Jack Daniel’s is a distillery that causes a lot of emotion; particularly their standard expression. Due to their heavy marketing, pricing strategy and what not, they have become one of the (I would even say the) world’s most famous whiskeys. There are those who would drink nothing else, and who swear by its outstanding quality; and there are those who turn their nose up at it, stating that it’s 90% marketing and 10% utter rubbish. Me, I have to say that I like it – rather unexpected for some, I’m sure.
Fact of the matter is, I think it makes for an excellent mixer – I wouldn’t choose to drink Old No. 7 straight, however. What a lot of people tend to forget is that Jack Daniel’s offer a range of other expressions as well, and I shall be looking at one of them – the Single Barrel – today. Going for around £40-50, it’s considerably more expensive than their standard expression, and not something you would readily dilute with coke or ginger beer. Nor do you need to.
Starting, as ever, with the nose, it is sweet and spicy; there’s warm apples, maple syrup, corn and a bit of leather in there. In a way, it is actually quite similar to the standard expression, but fuller and better-rounded; it seems more mature. Then there’s the palate, which is even better. It starts out with dried fruits and maple syrup, and fades into cinnamon, coal, and rye – all the while there’s a firm undertone of oak and spice, which keeps it all together. The body is quite rich, especially when compared to their standard expression, and a bit dry.
I wouldn’t say that this is the best whiskey you can get for the money – I would choose Elijah Craig 18 over this – but it does show that Jack Daniel’s aren’t just a brand, and that they do know how to make a good whiskey. Would I recommend buying it? Well, yes and no. I wouldn’t recommend anyone not to buy it if they’re curious and like the sound of it, and I would actively recommend anyone who likes the standard Jack Daniel’s to branch out a bit and try this, should they be keen to try a neat whiskey but not want to wander too far from what they’re used to and like.
Colour: Dark caramel.
Nose: Sweet and spicy, warm apple, maple syrup, corn, a bit of leather.
Palate: Dried fruits, maple syrup, cinnamon, coal, rye, oak, spice.
Been wanting to try this lately. I don’t mind the standard JD as a mixer, it gets the job done. Still seems like the Single Barrel may be a tad overpriced, but sounds like it’s worth a try.