Ah, the good old Jack Daniel's Old No.7. This is a whisky so famous, so popular that it really needs no introduction. It is the most popular bourbon brand in the world and in terms of whisky, the brand is second only to Johnnie Walker. It is a whisky that has fueled many-a-university student's social life across the western world in the form of the classic Jack and Coke, a staple of every single university district bar.
The origin story of Jack Daniel's distillery is an interesting one. The story starts with Nathan "Nearest" Green, a former slave who not only taught Jack how to distill, but also how taught him to use charcoal filtering to remove some of the more unpleasant congeners in the distillate and thus improve the quality of the new make. Today the owners of the distillery recognize Nathan Green as the first master distiller in recognition of his work. Jack Daniel would also later employ his children at the distillery and to this very day, descendants of Nathan Green still work at the distillery. And about that charcoal filtering technique that he taught Jack... it's actually an integral part of Jack Daniel's and is one of the key things that separates the products of this distillery, and a few others in Tennessee from other bourbon distillers. For decades it has been the main point of contention over whether "Tennessee Whiskey" such as Jack Daniels's can be considered bourbon or not, as most other bourbons don't do much additional filtering outside of the industry standard chill-filtering for low proof whisky.
Vitals:
ABV: 40%
Colour: Dark Gold
Chill-filtered: Yes. Additionally, also Charcoal filtered.
Nose: Pungent aromas of wood and vanilla strike the nostrils before caramel and roasted corn on the cob creep in and bring a sweet balance to the oak. There's a rising, cloying sweetness to the aroma that's somewhat reminiscent of hard-boiled candies.
Palate: Initially a burst of oak tannins hits the tongue but, interestingly enough, there's little of the spicy bite that usually comes with oak frontloading on the palate. Instead, it quickly gives way to more cloyingly sweet notes of brown sugar and corn syrup and even caramel popcorn. There's a note of bananas too, but it's more akin to that artificial banana candy flavour, rather than actual, real bananas. The combination of corn and banana reminds me of a Korean banana-flavoured corn chip brand, "Banana Kick". overall, it's pretty simple on the palate. Pleasantly sweet, but not that interesting.
Finish: As it draws to the finale, the corn and bananas fade and the oak returns, bringing with it herbal, slightly medicinal notes that could be described as boiled ginseng. All in all it's relatively short, but with the ginseng note, that could be a saving grace for some!
Conclusion:
It's drinkable in the sense that it's easy-going and simple, but it's not something that I would go out of the way to get unless I was back in my early 20s and looking for a mixing whisky that can hold up well to cola, and that really is what Jack Daniel's is. I can't say that I was enjoying the bitter ginseng notes I found on the finish, but that's not an issue when it's dropped in a glass of coke!
Perfection.
한국어 시음평:
향: 우드, 바닐라 → 카라멜, 구운 옥수수, 사탕.
맛: 오크 탄닌 → 흑설탕, 콘 시럽, 캐러멜 팝콘, 바나나킥.
끝맛: 오크, 허브, 인삼. 피니시가 짧고 쓴맛이에요.
결론: 좋지만 너무 단순해요. 콜라와 섞으면 더 맛있어요.
Review by Glasgowhisky
2020/11/22
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