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Jack Daniel's Gentleman Jack
Tennessee Whiskey — Tennessee, USA
Reviewed
November 11, 2020 (edited February 27, 2023)
Nose: Banana flambé in brown sugar, nail polish, vanilla, a hint of cherry syrup and a little oak.
Palate: Sweet, smooth arrival turning quickly spicy and slightly aggressive. Popcorn, bananas in syrup. The body is light but the mouthfeel slightly creamy, which is pleasant, however it seems two-dimensional.
Finish: Short. Brown sugar and banana. There is a note of coconut in the aftertaste and once you have noticed it there you also detect it in the palate on subsequent tastes.
This does not have the depth of character you want in a sipping whisky and while the nose is well defined the palate is thin. Adding water just dilutes it without bringing anything notable forward.
However, dilution with a sweet soft drink like Coke, lemonade or dry ginger ale is a different story as that fills in the gaps in the palate, creating a more enjoyable and balanced drink. In particular, when it’s diluted with Coke I noticed a pleasant apple flavour that I'd missed initially.
A dash of bitters also seems to work magic with this whiskey (and with all Jack Daniels) but in the end I can't shake the sensation that what I'm smelling and tasting here is just essence of toasted American oak and sugar-maple carried in an ethanol and water solution.
At first I didn’t think much of this whiskey but as I worked my way through the bottle over a fortnight, using it exclusively in long drinks, I came to enjoy it. It's not very interesting but neither is it unpleasant when used as a mixer, and it certainly has less of the prominent, thick sweetness of Jack Daniels Old No. 7.
"Average" : 79/100 (2.75 stars)
53.0
AUD
per
Bottle
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@Ctrexman Unfortunately for some odd reason U.S. spirits are particularly expensive here, and in the case of the lower priced ones they are almost always watered down to 40%. Around AUS$42 is the starting point where you find Beam White Label and occasionally JD #7 on special. Makers is $47 at the moment, but only 40% 🤬. Probably the best value here is Wild Turkey Straight Bourbon, which is not the version you guys get - it's actually the old Wild Turkey 8 year old 86.8 proof that was never discontinued in Australia. It's usually around $44 and is my bourbon mixer of choice. Around the $52-55 point you get Dickel 8, Old Forester, Woodford, Bulleit, Buffalo Trace, Longbranch etc. but as I said, they are all only 40% abv versions. To get better (and undiluted) bourbon you have to go up to the $60-75 bracket where you find Turkey 101, Russell's, Clyde Mays, Dickel 12, Evan Williams and so on. Eagle Rare and Rittenhouse are around $80, and anything more premium is at least $100.
Seems a bit pricy for a mixer but I get it. JD was made for coke.........The single barrel barrel proof is the only JD I would buy again. If offered I would drink any of them.
Update: I'm about half way through this bottle now and just like the first bottle I had I'm enjoying it more and more, but exclusively as a mixer. I don't love it enough to keep it in the bar, but I'd buy a bottle once in a blue moon just as a change of pace.
Was drinking this over the weekend with some friends and was thinking about this as I was drinking (always evaluating). You summed the experience quite accurately. Not greater than than the original. Fine as a mixer, not worth the premium, however, as a mixer
Exactly how I think of this, a boring Jack Daniels that costs more for no reason. Apparently even more ridiculous in Australia.
I've never had a full bottle, but it's interesting to hear that it's an acquired taste. Bitters make a lot of sense for this one because it tastes like they took regular Jack and stripped out the character in order to mellow it out.
Nail Polish. That nails it perfectly. The sour note is very off-putting, but like you, I don't mind it in a tall glass of Coke or Ginger Ale. Nice review.