Nose: Spirity but full. Banana and apple, vanilla, corn syrup and oak. There is a spicy heat to the aromas. Palate: Sweet, hot arrival. Caramel and oak tannin. There is a hard bittersweet note and overall the palate is harsher than the nose. Finish: Short. Spicy. Burnt sugar, burnt bananas and ethanol on the aftertaste. This is the first pour of Jack I’ve had in years, and it seems different. I recall it being sweeter and less tannic. It also displays little complexity. Pretty rough and ready stuff really, and to be honest I thought it was close to undrinkable unless mixed. However adding sweet soft drink to this transforms it. Coke is the classic mixer but ginger ale and even lemonade work just as well. It is exactly the same trick that affordable blended scotch plays – the hard tannic notes balance the sugar and dilution allows what little personality it has to bloom. It’s also much improved by a dash of bitters. If I had to choose a Jack Daniels’s to buy I’d go for Gentleman Jack over this. Part of the issue is the price in Australia, as at $55 this is very poor value in comparison to any budget scotch, which offers similar quality for 2/3 the price. Re-tasted from a 50ml distillery miniature. “Adequate” : 70/100 (2 stars)