I’m not gonna lie to y’all. I’ve got a lot of whiskey samples in bottles scattered all over my abode. Before the pandemic changed the rules about having to sign for alcohol deliveries, I was convinced that my UPS and FedEx guys thought I was the laziest alcoholic ever, shuffling to the door in my sweats to scribble my signature on their handheld devices for yet another alcohol delivery. “This lazy bastard won’t even leave his house to go to the liquor store!”
They didn’t know that a lot of those packages only had a little 50-milliliter bottle in them, or that some packages were filled with really horrible stuff. But one delivery I always look forward to is the latest offering in Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Tasters' series of spirits that have been developed at the Lynchburg distillery. These have ranged in the past from unique finishes of the brand's iconic mash bill to completely novel productions.
The latest two treats from the delivery folks represent release number 6 and number 7 from Jack. The sixth is a wacky finish of the Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey that is removed from the original new oak barrels and exposed to Jamaican allspice wood for another 180 days. Master-taster Melvin Keebler is the elf behind this particular piece of magic, and his experiment is fruity and smoky. (But not that kind of Jamaican smoke.) Bottled at a higher proof than No. 7 at 50 percent ABV, the winter spices and long finish are impressive and really different from the tropical banana that Jack Daniel’s usually exhibits.
Tennessee Taster number 7 is called 14E19 “Twin” Blend, named after the code on the 20 barrels of Tennessee whiskey and rye that represents the May 19, 2014, entry date of their aging. (E is both the fifth letter and the fifth month of the year.) Jessica Hartline came up with the idea of blending the two distinct whiskeys together in a 2:3 ratio to create a brand new 107-proof product. Blended whiskeys are popular around the globe, but not so much in the world of bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, so this is a bit of a departure for Jack Daniel’s. The result is a novel product that makes a fantastic Manhattan.
The new man in charge of distilling at Jack Daniel’s is pretty proud of these two creations. “Our newest additions to the Tennessee Tasters’ series represent the creativity and craftsmanship that Mr. Jack began with more than 150 years ago,” says master distiller Chris Fletcher. “Our master tasters embodied that spirit with these bottles by complementing the character of our classic Tennessee Whiskey with rare woods for the Jamaican Allspice bottle and hand-selected barrels of Tennessee Rye for the Twin Blend. We can’t wait for our friends to try them.”
Both of these products come in 375-milliliter bottles and retail for $39.99 at local spirits stores and at the distillery. Give them a taste!
