by gillmang » Thu Sep 11, 2008 7:31 am
This is a whiskey that seems to elicit different reactions. In part I think it is the fact that the single barrelings do vary quite a bit. Some have that expansive, banana Jack signature (an estery quality), others have very little of it. Some are fairly light-bodied; others are rich and sweet. Some are mapley-smokey; others hardly at all. An R-19 bottled in February of this year is a rich, dark cherryish dram with little of the said banana notes. It took me many years but I acquired the taste for Jack Daniels at its best, and I only like the single barrels (some of them). Jack Daniels is a puzzling whiskey in some ways. E.g., Gentleman Jack, to my taste has more of the overpowering Jack aromatic signature and taste than the other brands in the family, yet it is twice long filtered through maple charcoal. One would think this would strip out much of that flavor, yet somehow it seems to enhance it. (Yet we know charcoal leaching does not itself impart the flavor: George Dickel doesn't have it).
My best experiences with the Single Barrel are when I vat a few up, I have one now that is very rounded, full and with a long finish. It has some of the trademark Jack taste but drinks mostly like a fine bourbon to me. In effect it is a small batch, very small (maybe 6 bottles).
This too may find its place on the Gazebo table soon.
Gary
Vatman