Tastes

Vanilla bomb. I'm no particular fan of standard Jack, but these Single Barrel Selects have consistently impressed me. For this tasting: Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Nolan glass. The nose is vanilla and banana. Pure Jack, but the best of Jack. This bottle has been open for a while and is about half full, so it has certainly opened up naturally. I think I'd expect a bit more ethanol from a freshly uncorked bottle. The palate is vanilla, vanilla, and more vanilla. Love it. I'm guessing this might be an older barrel (rick R-5, barrel 16-3220, bottled 5/11/2016). I say that because I'm also getting some oak sweetness and a bit of tannin in here too. I wouldn't call it complex, but I would call it tasty. Still a little hot, but I'm not complaining. The finish is much longer than I'd expect from regular Jack. Leave the entire mouth feeling coated and warm. Vanilla dissipates to leave baking spices behind. The finish is the weakest leg on this three-legged stool, but it isn't bad.

Room temperature / Glencairn glass / no water or ice added. Barrel: 2024, dumped 10/17/2017, warehouse H, Rick 56. 93 proof. The nose is full of sweet spices, vanilla is especially prominent. Maybe a little butterscotch too. The palate hits me with citrus fruits and a great coating, accentuated by a very clear presence of vanilla. I really enjoy the mouthfeel on this one. Lingers nicely and it's so refined. The finish is pure joy... All desert to me. All the way through the finish, I'm still getting vanilla. Such a wonderful whiskey neat.

Room temperature / Glencairn glass / no water or ice added. Barrel 50. The nose just hits me with young whiskey. And oak. I know. I don't even believe what I just wrote, but that's what I'm getting. The palate has more alcohol in it that I would have expected, but there's vanilla / caramel too. Maybe a bit of orange mid-way. After the initial heat you're left with sweetness like honey. The finish is the best part, IMHO. It lingers a bit with a nice coating in your mouth, honey and gentle, soft spices. Still getting the vanilla and a caramel hint in there too.

Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Glencairn. Barrel / Batch: undeclared. The nose is leather. Lots of leather for me, with a little bit of sweeter spices and vanilla. The palate is very pleasing... For me, more so than the nose would have led me to believe. Cherry and vanilla take a back seat to oak and sweet subtle cinnamon. Very smooth. Oak isn't as strong as some other ten year whiskeys. Great balance. The finish is probably over sooner than I'd like. Leaves my mouth with a sweet, warm sensation. More vanilla and cherry than the oak in the palate. Overall, well balanced and surprisingly sophisticated for such an inexpensive whiskey.

Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Glencairn. Barrel / Batch: undeclared. The nose is sweetness and oak, and very gentle. Enjoyable nose, but subtle while still full of character. The palate is a mirror of the nose for me. Sweet with vanilla. More wood (youth?). Smooth and pleasant. Gentle influence of rye spice. The finish is a bit too quick for a neat bourbon. Over before I really got to enjoy it. Probably a function of the 80 proof bottling. Overall, a solid "intro" whiskey. Good in cocktails. A gentle sipper.

Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Nolan glass. The nose is very subtle. Far more gentle than most other whiskeys I've tasted. It is floral, lightly sweet like faint honey and a little orange. Really unique and very enjoyable. I'd like to do a second tasting in my standard Glencairn glass to see if the nose is affected; this is my first written tasting from a Nolan glass. The palate is, like the nose, sophisticated and subtle. Caramel and baking spices...still a fruity influence. Oranges and apples? Delicious is the bottom line here. This is complex, balanced, and masterfully crafted. The finish is spicy and warm, but still gentle and, again, sophisticated. Hard to believe the value in this bottle. Overall this is an outstanding bottle of whiskey. I didn't add a price because I can't positively remember, but I seem to recall $55 in the Boston area.

Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Glencairn. Barrel / Batch: (hard to read their font) 7817344 (???). The color is amber. The nose is initially slight alcohol, but as it got to open up over the course of ten minutes it mellowed to a warm spice, with notes of wood and grass. Pleasant. The palate is generally vanilla for me, with some hint of sweetness that is reminiscent of baked apples. It is not overly complex, but it still hits a lot of happy receptors. Warm going down, and overall satisfying. The finish is long and subtle. The aromas of the taste linger in the back of your throat and nasal cavity, mellowing as they fade. I'm getting spice and vanilla, and more of that odd yet enjoyable sweetness from the palate. I like this whiskey. It's a good value and a nice daily sipper.

Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Glencairn. Barrel / Batch: undeclared. The nose is vanilla and oak, and it isn't subtle about it all. It kind of leaps out of the glass and smacks you. There's a certain spiciness in there too... pleasant as a background note. The palate hit me as a lot hotter than the 100 proof should be. Heavy on the alcohol, very woody. But the major impression left was hot. A second sip seemed hotter than the first. I've got barrel proofs in the 120's that have less of a bite. The finish was better, but took a little while to get to appreciate. It is a long finish, driven by the full-body tackle that was the palate experience. Once the tingle has subsided, I got to enjoy the vanilla and spice in the finish. Orange too??? And certainly oak is still prevalent all the way through. Second taste, added water to dilute a bit, still room temperature in Glencairn: The nose is sweet, hot, oak, vanilla, and something else sweet... honey perhaps? More complex and pleasing than before. Worthy of multiple deep inhales. The pallet was still warm, even with the addition of water, but greatly improved. More spice than my first taste. Still lots of oak. The burn has hints of ginger in it. The finish is more enjoyable with water added. It is still quite long and leaves the tongue warm and coated for a while. Oak, oak, and more oak prevail. Vanilla is dancing in there too. Overall the barrel dominates this whiskey. I wanted to like it more than I do, but it isn't bad... it's just heavy handed. I suspect this would make an excellent Old Fashioned.

Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Glencairn. Barrel / Batch: undeclared. The color is gorgeous... Deep golden brown with a slight reddish tint. The nose is wonderful. I poured this into a Glencairn and let it open up for about 20 minutes while I was tying up a couple of loose ends in my office. The smell filled the office... Classic bourbon vanilla. A closer sniff was all oak, leather, and vanilla. Very satisfying. The palate is slightly less inspiring than the nose, but still good. Sweet, berry, and a bit of spiciness... Warm going down but certainly smooth. Personally, I lost the vanilla on the palate, which I was hoping would carry through. The finish is pleasant but too short. Spicy, warm, nutty with a bit of caramel. Toasty too.

Neat, Room temperature, no water added in subsequent tastes, from a Glencairn. Barrel JB6177. The nose is vanilla with a bit of spice... cinnamon. I do get a bite of alcohol in there too. It is a full nose and can really get the olfactory glands working. The palate is initially warm from the very first second. You've got to swirl this one around the entire tongue to let all of the taste buds fire. Surprisingly, I got very little flavor off the tip, where I was expecting sweetness to dominate. Hold it in your mouth for a bit. You will be rewarded. As it settled in, I got a nice warm "classic bourbon" tingle... lots of caramel and oak. More layered than I expected, a very satisfying initial sip. The finish is not short, but certainly not long either... and a little spicy, but not overwhelming. I'm getting that cinnamon again near the back of my throat, and vanilla / caramel warmth remaining on the tongue. The oak is still certainly there too. Overall this is a smooth, classic bourbon. Easy to sip, simple, but just complex enough to be interesting. I could see a lot of folks settling in on this one as a daily sipper.