Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye (2020 Special Release)

Nose is pungent and full with snickerdoodle cookie, mint, oregano, white pepper, charcoal, maple, sea salt, brown sugar, fresh milled rye grain, and oak. Some ethanol presence, but it diminishes after a while in the glass. Very inviting. Flavors are punchy as hell and matches the nose well with additional notes of banana, clove, vanilla, butterscotch, menthol, and graham cracker. There’s a good amount of sharpness here. Finish is extremely long and brings white chocolate, cinnamon, black pepper, bitter oak, and wintergreen. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly grainy, with prickly heat. Not for the faint of heart; everything here is turned up to 11. Somewhat lacking in refinement; this rye doesn’t whisper sweet nothings in your ear; it beats you up and steals your wallet. I paid a straight retail of $69.99 for this and at that price it’s well worth it, although it’s also very much a “have to be in the mood” whiskey due to a somewhat challenging profile, and I’d definitely have an issue paying much more. Rebuy at retail only.

131.3 proof: molasses and fruity nose. Palate is remarlably smooth at the proof, hints of dark chocolate, butterscotch, oak, and dr pepper on the palate 4.5/5 130.8 proof: molasses and caramel. Palate is cinammon, caramel, oak palate 4.25/5 133.1 proof: wow, this is top notch 4.75/5

Really great, I don’t usually love minty ryes, but this is an exception. Leathery, spicy, banana, and some sweet vanilla icing. Delicious. 131.5 proof.

One phenomenal rye. Has loads of complexity ranging from bananas, cloves, mint chocolate, cinnamon, raisins, plums, molasses, treacle, pecan pie, nuts, and spices. From these tasting notes one might think it was aged in sherry casks when tasting it blind. This special release and the coy hill special release I tried earlier this year shows Jack Daniel’s is capable of producing stuff nothing like the Jack Daniel’s people took shots of and mixed with coke in college and ones that can hang in there with BTAC, Four Roses Limited Edition, Booker’s Rye, Wild Turkey Masters Keep, Michter’s, etc. Would be interesting to see what this year’s Jack Daniel’s single malt oloroso cask finish entails. Nose: Bananas, Raisins, Cloves, Molasses, Toasted Marshmallows, Maple Syrup, Plums, Milk Chocolate, Caramel, Blood Oranges, Ginger, Cotton Candy, Mint Chip Ice Cream, Peaches, Luxardo Cherries, Cinnamon, Lychee, Lavender, Blackberries, Buttercream Frosting Palate: Honey, Butterscotch, Vanilla, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Spearmint, Dill, Brown Sugar, Pecan Pie, Toffee, Raisins, Smoke, Figs, Molasses, Treacle, Christmas Cakes, Maple Syrup, Raspberries Finish: Honey, Banana Bread, Walnuts, Toffee, Pecan Pie, Mint Chocolate, Plums, Raisins, Nutmeg, Licorice, Cinnamon, Dill, Maple Syrup, Treacle, Hazlenuts

Very rich and powerful. 130.5pf. Banana, bread, maple, spicy redhots, long hot finish. After my tongue recovered, further sips bring out big flavors of chocolate covered banana and mint.

Tons of flavor. Very spicy but so much smoother than you'd think from the proof. Banana bread, maple, red hots, rye, mint and faint floral notes. Long spicy finish.