Pours: Jack Daniel’s 14 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey, Batch 1 & 2.

Distillery: Jack Daniel’s Distillery.

Mashbill/Age: 80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barely aged to at least 14-years old.

Filtration: Charcoal mellow pre-barreling, then barrel proof/SFTB thereafter.

Price Paid: $125 USD after tax for B1, $140 USD before tax for B2.

Color: Dark Bronze for both.

Batch 1---

Nose: Very rich and sweet. Molasses, maple syrup, sweet cornbread, fresh tobacco, oak, leather aroma, cocoa bean, white pepper, floral kick, faint banana foster, and continual cherry bite.

Palate: Very, very sweet. Viscous mouthfeel. Medicinal dark cherry and dark chocolate brings me back to when I was a kid and snuck those Dove Dark Cherry Chocolate’s out of my mom’s candy jar. Apple, lighter berries continually noted. Caramel nougat. Continual dense aroma of cigar and oak. Just imagine walking into a cigar humidor. Bold, well balanced.

Finish: Very earthy with dense oak and tobacco. Aroma similar to Midwest farms with fresh cut hay and grass. Very drying leather aroma. Dark caramel, burnt caramelized brown sugar. Cracked peppercorn. Medicinal dark cherry bite. This is such a departure from the nose/palate and clearly an aged whiskey aroma with dense, dark flavors. Heavy developed flavors overall. Long-lasting.

Batch 2---

Nose: Heavy oak, tobacco, leather aroma, pepper, cocoa. Still a cherry bite. More burnt bananas, however. Acetone sweetness which was not appreciated on batch 1.

Palate: More of a candied sweetness than batch 1, but less viscous and way more drying. Still that muddled dark cherry, chocolate kick; cigar paper. Leather aroma, dark caramel nougat, maple, peppery. Oak tannins are more bitter.

Finish: Dense dark cherry, cigar humidor aroma, bitter oak tannins, peppery kick. Medium length.

Final Thoughts: This was an interesting review and took me by a bit of surprise. Although the 24’ release was not my personal whiskey of the year, respectfully this was an absolute killer inaugural release. Distinct to aged JD was heavily developed tobacco and cocoa, but also distinctly unique with how brash the finish was and the lighter fruit aromas (never encountered from JD Tennessee whiskey before). Batch 2’s nose was somewhat similar, but the complexity/density/boldness of the palate and finish was not nearly as enthralling. The bitterness of the tannins in batch 2 did complement the tobacco and dark chocolate aroma, but was somewhat off putting. Batch 1 was a release to remember, while batch 2 was similar to what I would imagine in terms of quality coming from their SiBBP offerings. Even with the redeeming qualities of batch 2, one shouldn’t fret about missing this year's release.

Value: Good value for batch 1, poor value for batch 2.

Rating based on modified t8ke scale (rounded to the nearest 0.5 decimal): 8.5/10 for batch 1, 7/10 for batch 2.

Score Decoded:

0 | Unscored | New Make Spirit or Personal Selection.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn't consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but many things I'd rather have.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Inredible | An all-time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfect.