Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Rye

Yummy fruity rye. Heavy on the caraway, with some licorice, cherry, butterscotch and oak. The finish is mellow and salty.

Nose on the first pour from the bottle is a fruity ethanol. Appears viscous in the glass, but mouthfeel is a bit thinner than expected. Not bad, and not thin, just thinner than it looks. Nice mellow flavors on the palate. Long, spicy rye finish. 8/1/22 - Nose seems sweeter than the first go round, otherwise nothing new to report. Very easy going sipper, and makes a fantastic Old Fashioned. I’d like to try the Special Release version of this one someday.

Half pint, comes with decorative pewter plaque stating “Specialty Selected by Lexie A. Phillips Assistant Distiller 2021.” Barrel house 2-25, barrel #22-01672, bottles 2.18.22. Amber-red in color with a thin appearance. The nose evolves like a go stopper of sorts. At first it’s all prickly oak, caraway, pepper and signature bananas foster - maybe with a side of pie crust. Over time there are bits of spearmint and eucalyptus, tobacco, caramel. The palate is equally interesting and leans heavily toward tannic territory with the oak (somewhat of a toasted profile - EC toasted in particular) but still plenty of pastry, banana and earthy notes to stay at least partly balanced. There are some younger grain notes in there as well but rye far outweighs corn. Proof drinks like it should be 115, while in reality it’s 94. The rye spice and heavier oak make this a more bitter departure from the bananas-foster, clove and marshmallow bomb of their barrel strength. It’s solid on its own and would likely make an unbelievably good Boulevardier. I wouldn’t spring for this over Willett 4y, Rare Breed rye or Russel’s Single barrel rye. Kicker is that I can get the 375ml size for $25 to taste and play around with and not be out much. Overall satisfied with this particular barrel and figure others are +/- but probably won’t rebuy unless it really opens up over its foreseeably short lifespan.

Tasted during Angel's Share tour at the distillery 6/18/22.