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Jack Daniel’s released a 10-year-old whiskey last year to great acclaim, the first to carry that age statement from the distillery in more than a century. Now Jack is upping the ante with a new 12-year-old Tennessee whiskey as part of its Aged Series, and this is one that both fans of the brand and those who generally ignore Old No. 7 should give a try.
Robb Report had a chance to visit the distillery a few weeks ago to get an in-person taste of the new whiskey with master distiller Chris Fletcher and assistant distiller Lexie Phillips, both of whom were clearly excited by this new expression. The 12 Year is not from the same barrels as last year’s 10-year-old that have been aged an additional two years; instead, according to Fletcher, this whiskey came from a different lot of casks. “Lexie and I started tasting these barrels a year ago,” he said. “We were hoping to get this out last fall, but weren’t able to because of supply chain issues. It’s a different batch, different barrels, and production from the 10-year-old. We continue to hold back barrels to increase this pool that we can create these batches from. Age statement whiskeys are part of our history.”
Indeed, the Jack Daniel’s visitor center has some bottles on display with age statements ranging from eight years all the way up to 21—which is incredibly old, especially given the maturation climate in Tennessee that affects the interaction between wood and whiskey. Fletcher said that the distillery will continue to age different lots of barrels to see how they taste as they get even older, although the majority will remain in the four-to-six-year-old range that is the DNA of Old No. 7. But the main criteria is flavor, so if a future 15-year-old Jack Daniel’s turns out to be an oak bomb, it won’t be released.
Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old is bottled at 107 proof, much higher than the minimum 80 proof of Old No. 7. That helps to amplify this flavorful whiskey, which retains elements of the Jack DNA while bringing a new range of flavors to the palate. The mashbill is the tried-and-true JD recipe—80 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and 8 percent rye—and the whiskey is charcoal mellowed using the Lincoln County process as is required for Tennessee whiskey (and a source of pride for the distillery). The nose is full of caramel, butterscotch, dark berries, and a hint of pencil shavings. The palate opens up with brown sugar, burnt creme brûlée, and rum raisin ice cream, followed by notes of espresso, caramel apple, and a whisper of menthol on the finish.
Batch 2 of Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old is also being released now, a 97-proof expression that comes from a different lot of barrels than the inaugural release. There’s a great deal of barrel influence on the palate of this whiskey, perhaps even more than last year’s, with notes of tobacco, dark fruit, leather, and blackberries. If you happen to have a bottle of Batch 1, it would be fun to compare the two for yourself.
Both whiskeys are available starting this week (in 700 ml bottles instead of 750, as seems to be the future of the American whiskey industry) from retailers like Caskers, with SRPs of $80 for the 12 and $70 for the 10. These tend to sell out quickly, and you should expect to pay much more than those prices when you find a bottle, so let the hunt begin.
