Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select

The strange thing about my whiskey journey, which I imagine is true for a lot of other people as well, is that I've tried a ton of brands -- including some relatively rare, hard-to-find drams -- but I have missed some of the best-selling whiskies along the way. Jack Daniel's is one of them. I honestly can't remember if I've ever had standard Jack Daniel's, either in a mixed drink or neat. Anyways, I tried to make up for it by trying the single barrel variant at a behind-the-unmarked-door-in-the-taco-shop kind of bar. This "Tennessee whiskey," which in my understanding technically qualifies as a bourbon but is subject to an extra charcoal filtration step known as the Lincoln County Process, is a high-quality drink for under $50 a bottle. The nose is full of vanilla, toasted oak, and candy corn. The palate is sweet and syrupy, and again the vanilla and oak are the highlights for me. After swallowing, I detect some marshmallow. I did not get the purported Jack Daniel's signature note of banana, but these sorts of forgotten flavors are one of the pitfalls of trying whiskies at the tail end of a long night of drinking. 9/2/17 update: Tried this whiskey again in a more sober state -- I get the banana now as part of a syrupy scent and flavor, akin to bananas foster. In comparison, Gentleman Jack has a lot more fresh banana or banana bread smell.

oak, honey, ripe banana, vanilla. Actually very pleasant