This is Jack Daniel’s first age-stated release in over a century, unveiled this summer to great excitement. Does the whiskey itself live up to the fanfare? Our verdict is that it most certainly does. Made from the same Jack Daniel’s recipe used for the core Old No. 7, this liquid has aged well, and taken on lively, dynamic dimensions. Sweet cherry notes and wood spice swirl around the nose and palate, integrating with baking spice, brown sugar, candied orange, and melted butterscotch, all tempered by espresso and cedar chest. This will be an annual release, and the plan calls for it to reappear next summer. Number 4 in the 2021 Top 20

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2021)

Bright, clean, and fruity, with spearmint and oak, this smells of chewy marmalade, with pretty wildflower, waxy crayon, and solvent notes adding intrigue. On the palate the fruit feels dense—dried apricot and a cardboard box of prunes—before veering toward citrus and Peanut Chews. The generous finish lingers with bitter orange peel, vanilla, and sweet creamed corn. Complex, fresh, and immensely likable.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2018)

An inspiring surprise from America’s largest whiskey maker. Distilled and put through the Lincoln County Process just like Old No. 7, the distillate was filled at 100 proof into heavily toasted, lightly charred barrels—similar to what would have been used in the 19th century—that were placed in the highest, hottest parts of the warehouses. The whiskey is pure bliss, with aromas of peanut butter crackers, honey, dark plums, and gingerbread cookies. Chewy and rich, with dark chocolate, blackberry cobbler, allspice, cloves, and refined oak, it retains liveliness and verve. Longtime Jack fans will find a lot to love here, as will those who haven’t revisited the brand in years. Number 3 in the 2018 Top 20 

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2018)

There’s a lot going on here, and it starts in an unusual place—corn, specifically corn husk, followed by caramel, vanilla, oak, banana, pineapple, crème brûlée, vanilla, a hint of cedar, cherrywood, sautéed porcini mushroom, and cinnamon. Over a mouth coating texture, the velvety structure drips down the jawline, offering butterscotch, paprika, nutmeg, baked apple pie, bread pudding, caramel chew, roasted walnuts, and baking spice, which lingers over a long finish. Must-have Tennessee whiskey. Price is per liter.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Winter 2016)

Concord grape jelly, blackberry jam, Coca-Cola spices, leather, iced tea, tobacco barn, and maple syrup on the nose; with water, the fruitiness blooms and takes on sweet banana and marzipan. The palate is hot, with heaps of baking spice, cacao nibs, and mouthwatering oak; add some water and the rich interplay of dark fruit and velvety spices returns, along with dark chocolate-covered banana, cola, and chocolaty oak. Warming and lengthy finish.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Spring 2021)

Rich and sweet on the nose: crème brûlée, unfinished oak furniture, circus peanuts, overripe warm melon. Corn puffs and sweet cornbread, vanilla cream, oak density, firm heat, and an affably full mouthfeel that doesn’t thin till the very end. Easily one of the best Jack Daniel’s whiskeys I’ve ever had, but the price is jaw-dropping even today (the package does include a previously-unreleased 1966 concert recording of Old Blue Eyes). Price is per 1 liter.

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2015)

The nose entices with confections: milk chocolate and nougat candy bars, Whoppers, and honey. The flavors unwind vivid and bright, with warming candied ginger, vanilla-frosted birthday cake, a beam of bright citrus, and toasted nuts and baking spice uniting with Jack Daniel’s estery house character to suggest warm banana bread. Lots of drying oak seals the finish.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Spring 2019)

Part of the Tennessee Tasters’ Selection series, this rye was matured in barrels located at the top of barrel house #1-05 in Lynchburg. The nose offers custard, coffee cake, bitter orange, orchard fruit, spice, and toasty oak. Candied apple and orange fill the palate, along with black cherries, cinnamon bread, and pepper. Green apple, dark chocolate, and raisins mark the finish. Water or ice recommended. (Available at the distillery and in Tennessee only)

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2019)

Finished in Jamaican allspice barrels for six months. Candied bakery shop notes on the nose, with grape jelly, cherry cola, vanilla, and abundant spice. A burst of cooked dark fruit greets the palate, followed by bitter chocolate, coffee, and fragrant oak. A warming finish offers more spice, candied kiwi, and chocolate. Powerful and spiced, with subtly interwoven flavors and superbly balanced oak. (24,000 bottles)

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Spring 2021)

Fruity and fresh, there’s a whole lot to parse out on the nose, starting with citrus zest, Asian pear, cantaloupe, and banana peel. A drizzle of honey is a precursor to a palate that beautifully balances sweet with spice; fruit gummies and strawberry frosting mingle with black pepper and library books. The mid-length finish delivers much of the same, with pronounced notes of fruit syrup. Best Value

Reviewed by: Julia Higgins (Fall 2022)

Hot barrel wood, like opening a rickhouse in July; light allspice, vanilla, and fiery alcohol. Drinkable without water, surprisingly. Hot syrup, corn sugar caramel, tannic oak, and a bit of stickiness. An interesting look at Jack Daniel’s: unblended, undiluted, untamed. It’s still Jack—sweet, insistent—but it’s taller, bigger. I could say I’d like even more heft, more complexity…but would that be asking Jack to be something it simply is not?

Reviewed by: Lew Bryson (Winter 2015)

With a mashbill of 70% rye, 18% corn, and 12% malted barley, this rye doesn’t disappoint. Butter-toasted rye bread and vanilla, with hints of herbs and campfire smoke. Then fruit…a lot of fruit: pear, banana, pineapple, followed by a bevy of sweets—caramel, butterscotch, and toffee, mainly—with a delightful cinnamon bread finish. This skews more toward bourbon than the Indiana ryes, and that’s a good thing.

Reviewed by: Fred Minnick (Summer 2016)

Spice and oak on the nose, along with melted caramel, crème brûlée, and milk chocolate. Loads of heat on a palate of cinnamon, butterscotch, mince pie, and baking spices galore. Water is absolutely required, and brings out sweet notes of coffee cake, blackberry jam, and bitter chocolate, along with leather and toasted oak. A spicy finish of bitter chocolate and black coffee. Overpowering, but with a solidly built profile behind the high proof.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Spring 2022)

An herbal, lightly malty nose starts with notes of sweet barrel char, cherry hard candy, raspberry pastilles, and a hint of green banana. The palate is rich, with flavors of chocolate and burnt espresso beans, bitter orange, pepper spice, and burnt almonds. The lengthy finish has notes of candied raspberries riding atop some deeper notes of allspice and pepper. Balanced and fruity overtones throughout, anchored by earthiness and spice underneath. (24,000 bottles)

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Summer 2020)

Jack’s first malted whiskey, this blends 60% rye, 20% Tennessee whiskey, and 20% American malt, all bottled in bond. Banana bread, peppermint, menthol, grape Pixie Stix, and toasted coconut highlight an aromatic nose. A creamy palate delivers more bananas, vanilla bean ice cream, and a nice balance of sweet and earthy flavors. Cherry pastry mingles with vanilla and spice on a lengthy finish. Luscious texture provides a cozy bed for those classic Jack notes.

Reviewed by: Ted Simmons (Fall 2022)

Reunions are usually sweet, and this is no exception, with aromas of blackberry jam, dark plums, orange Popsicle, grape candy, almond, and cracked grain. It turns nutty on the palate—roasted peanuts, almond croissant—with raspberry jam and oatmeal cookie. The full and rounded finish continues the nutty, jammy flavors, along with oak and milk chocolate. Finished in red wine barrels that had previously been used to age Jack Daniel’s.

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Summer 2019)

A blend of whiskeys distilled on the same date. Dulce de leche, cherry cordial, vanilla custard, candied raspberries, and dark chocolate on the nose. The palate has a creamy texture and notes of peppery spice, sweet red berries, raspberry ganache, and chocolate ice cream. It opens up well with water, becoming even fruiter, with roasted walnuts and allspice. More cherries on the finish with a light tobacco note. (Tennessee only)

Reviewed by: Ted Simmons (Fall 2021)

Instantly evokes buttered pancakes drowning in maple syrup, but on closer inspection there is a lot of depth here, with a distinct charred-hickory note that suggests smoked meat or back bacon. Flavors slowly steer closer to the Jack profile, with tropical fruit, grape soda, and Pez candies on the finish lingering with a note of spent tobacco pipe.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Spring 2019)