Jack Daniel's Gentleman Jack

There is a moment, separated by hours, not days, when your banana has too many brown spots. A few is fine, it’s not that much different than a pure yellow one. But then the spots begin to converge. And you’re like, “Dammit, what do I always buy 8 bananas and only eat 2?” So you grab one of these bananas and peel it. The first bite is pretty good. You tell yourself it’s actually not overripe. It’s halfway through the banana where you finally admit it’s creating that bitter, dry sting on the sides of your tongue. It tastes a little fermented. So you have 2 choices: throw it away or make something else out of it. You feel bad throwing it away. Here’s what I do: I drop it in the blender with ice, milk, vanilla and black toasted ground sesame seeds. And it’s delicious and I tell myself I’ve been waiting for the banana to reach this exact stage so it can be put to this exact use. I’m going to do the same thing tomorrow with the rest of my bananas. But I don’t. They go to waste and I move on to another treat.

Banana pudding with some sweet spice. Usually not much on lower proof whiskey but this is damn tasty.

Nose: The nose gives off caramelised banana and wood varnish, but not in an off-putting way. Palate: Oily body. Sweet caramel and banana leap forward with a touch of oakiness and vanilla. Finish: A distinctive charred wood note on the finish, possibly the maple, with gentle barrel spices. Long after finishing I'm still getting a lingering banana bread flavour. Quite pleasant. Notes: Certainly mellow and I like it for that. It's a super easy-going whiskey to sip at any time. A couple drops of water does what I usually find with bourbon (sorry, Tennessee whiskey); intensifies the ethanol on the nose and wood spice on the finish, and strips out the sweetness. Which actually may be preferred by some but I like it neat.