*Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Batch 2 and 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Bottles, Image Courtesy of Jack Daniel’s and FINN Partners.*

I’ll get to the reviews in a second but I just have to say this, with the utmost sincerity and humility: getting samples of Jack Daniel’s new releases kinda makes me feel like I’ve made it - or at least I’m getting damn close.

Self-aggrandizement out of the way, on with the day…

When Jack Daniel’s released their first 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey last year (what would become Batch 1), it was the first age-stated Jack Daniel’s product in over a century. When the man himself was alive, according to Master Distiller Chris Fletcher, they had age-stated whiskies up to 21YO - it boggles the mind, but just maybe it was excellent (or oak water - if you find a bottle, let me know).

When creating the first new age stated product in over a century, Chris and his predecessor, Jeff Arnett, knew it would have to be something both unique enough to be worth the wait and familiar enough for wide release. If done right, this wouldn’t be a one-off release like the Tennessee Tasters’ (now Distillery Series) releases. It would be the start of a new chapter of Jack Daniel’s, the return of age-stated Tennessee whiskies from Lynchburg.

To find that sweet spot, they went to the sweet spots: their single barrel sweet spots, that is. The places across their 96 (!!!) warehouses that produce the best single barrels. Not every warehouse has these spots, but according to Chris plenty of them do, around 60 or so. From these 60, they pull single barrels from the top floor(s) at between 5-7 years of age. These 10-year-old barrels are very much an extension of the single barrel plan - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

To survive 10 or 12 years, though, those barrels couldn’t stay there or there wouldn’t be anything left in the barrel. Case in point: Coy Hill Single Barrel (2021) and Coy Hill Small Batch (2022). These barrels were aged in the pitch of the roof on the top floor of the warehouses on Coy Hill, as high a place as can be found on Jack’s vast properties. There was very little left in those barrels, and what was had risen in some cases over 150º (compared to average single barrels that come in within a few proof points of 130º). The Coy Hill bottlings were between 9-9.5 years old, just shy of what would be the 10-year-old but evidence for what could come.

Except, as you may know from reading between the lines, no barrels that went into the Coy Hill releases were used for the 10-year-old releases. I did my own side-by-side later, proofing down a little of what Coy Hill I had left to 97º and tasting side-by-side, but in a press event before the release I asked Chris whether the two products would taste similar at the same proof: he said not exactly. The Coy Hill was subjected to such extreme temperatures and variations that it resulted in more extractives and, thus, more barrel influence, including tannins. The barrels that became the 10-year-old were subject to those big shifts for the first few years, but they knew what would happen if they were left at the top.

So, Jeff and Chris (and I’m sure other unnamed team members) did something they never do: they rotated the barrels.

A thousand or so barrels, rotated within the Jack Daniel’s warehouses, allowed to keep aging in a calmer environment and (hopefully, one would think at the time) for longer. By the time they were ready, Chris estimates the barrels ranged in the upper 120s in proof (about eight years in the upper floors would get them into the 130s, but they’d lower in proof when moved lower in the warehouse).

Before we move to the most important thing - the taste - let’s talk about that proof.

The 10-year-old is proofed at 97 (48.5% ABV) and the 12-year-old at 107 (53.5% ABV). The former’s proof was chosen to provide a stepping stone from Jack Daniel’s regular single barrel proof of 94º, and it will stay at that proof going forward. Chris sees it as an opportunity to do some collecting and longitudinal tasting experiments - all future 10-year-old releases, planned as an annual release, will be that proof. This year’s batch will have double the volume of last year’s, to that end.

The 12-year-old is proofed slightly higher at 107º, another step forward. As good as the 10 had been, Chris and the team felt like once they started tasting the 12-year-old, it would be hard to screw it up. It was just that good.

The 12-year-old will be a more limited release than the 10 simply due to supply. Fewer barrels are set aside, fewer can survive to that age, and less whiskey comes out of the barrels, all putting downward pressure on the volume for sale. Unlike the 10-year-old, however, the 12 won’t always be 107º. But we’ll have to wait to find out about that.

Thank you to Jack Daniel’s and their partners for providing these samples free of editorial constraint.

Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 2: Specs

Classification: Tennessee Whiskey

Origin: Jack Daniel’s Distillery

Mashbill: 80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barley

Proof: 97 (48.5% ABV)

Age: 10 Years Old

Location: Tennessee, United States

Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 2 Price: $70

Official Website

Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 2: Tasting Notes

Eye: Golden amber. Thin rims and thin legs, no drops.

Nose: Banana extract, warm brown sugar. Dark spices, almost burning while toasting in a pan. Soy- and ponzu-sauce-led umami richness. The caramelized edges of cinnamon raisin bread. “Dark” keeps coming to mind.

Palate: The core Jack Daniel’s profile is here in spades, with mature and increased oak spice that stays away from being woody. Spice builds towards the back of my palate, cinnamon and strong star anise notes that give more black licorice than many would expect from this brand. Back-palate smoke builds, too, like barrel char not fully extinguished. Moutheel is medium-bodied and oily, quite coating with an oak lacquer and rye spice on the tip of my tongue. White pepper develops from the initial round of baking spices.

Finish: “Dark” regains a solid foothold on a long and coating finish. Caramelizing, almost burnt bananas in a sugared pan, and a warm feeling throughout.

Overall: If dark, warm, and Jack Daniel’s core profile had a baby, this would be it. A great follow-up to Batch 1. An oak that shows multiple facets, particularly warmth, all of which bolster the baking spice to the back and keep the oak going without being woody. Hope to grab a bottle for myself.

Final Rating: 7.5

Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey: Specs

Classification: Tennessee Whiskey

Origin: Jack Daniel’s Distillery

Mashbill: 80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barley

Proof: 107 (53.5% ABV)

Age: 12 Years Old

Location: Tennessee, United States

Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 2 Price: $80

Official Website

Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey: Tasting Notes

Eye: Dark amber maple syrup, though oddly a little lighter than the 10-year-old. Medium drooping rims and teardrops on thin legs.

Nose: Warm cinnamon coffee cake. Warm, warm, warm. The Jack profile is surprisingly understated here, present but not dominant. Some proof and oak, not distracting. Banana and caramel syrup flavoring freshly ground coffee. Remarkably balanced nose.

Palate: Peppery, spicy soy sauce and aged ponzu in oak, lots of Asian sauce vibes: savory and dark and sweet all at once. Berry cobbler with a slight char on the crumb. Mouthfeel is light on the tongue but deeply rich, hints of the Coy Hill and whatever Jack Daniel’s extract would taste like. Oddly less oak and less concentrated Jack flavor than the 10-year-old, maybe from a longer time at lower places in the warehouse. Caramel and spice more characteristic of a similarly-aged bourbon than Tennessee whiskey (let that one lie - don’t focus on the semantics).

Finish: Medium-length, nuttiness developing exponentially at the end. Warming al over with oily, creamy, and mouthfilling banana custard.

Overall: While the 10-year-old concentrated the Jack Daniel’s profile, the 12-year-old gives an entirely new dimension. Berry sweetness but not acidity, a slightly burnt crumb topping, and a slightly underdone banana bread. The umami and soy notes at the top are wild, and I had to double-check to make sure I wasn’t the only one getting them. If I have to go with only one bottle, I’m going with this one.

Final Rating: 7.7

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary

8 | Excellent | Exceptional

7 | Great | Well above average

6 | Very Good | Better than average

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary

4 | Has promise but needs work

1-3 | Let’s have a conversation