First off not much talk of this so I'm not sure if my thoughts / post belongs here or in the bourbon straight category.
Anyway Jefferson Reserve no longer carries the 15 year age statement. I first heard of the new thought from an enthusiast in a foreign setting - mentioning that the whiskey was 12-17 years old. I just assumed he was speaking of something on the foreign market.
Since then of course I've heard yapping stateside about the removal of the age statement. Recently I was told that the new bottles are infact a blend of whiskey between the ages of 12 and 17 years to maintain consistency in taste.
Ok, so now I'm wondering... Does the above mean they admit the product was inconsistent prior to this point? Are they perhaps saying the whiskey they now have on hand in the 15 year range is not consistent with past whiskey used? Or is it all smoke screen and they just don't have enough 15 year old whisky on hand, so they add a drop of 17+ year old whiskey here and there and say it's at least 12 years old mixed with 17 year old.
I raise this point because in reality 12-17 year old whiskey is TWELVE year old whiskey. Right now it appears that the marketing component stresses that there is 17 year old whiskey present and the obvious point is to say it's no longer 15 years old but if you average it out - you can consider it 15 years old.
*Note: Keep in mind I've owned exactly ONE bottle of JR15 about 3-4 years back. I've had tastes maybe 4 times outside my own bottle both prior and after. Always was pleasant at least and no complaints (other than the price of the actual bottle I bought), but the point being I'm in no position to judge consistencies "then or now".