Jack Daniel’s Eric Church Single Barrel Select
Celebrity whiskies are becoming a thing - surprisingly, there are some good products out there (plenty of shitty ones), and some that are kind of in the middle ground: you can tell there was thought, it just didn’t execute (I’m looking at you, Longbranch). Musicians in particular are getting into the whiskey game - Bob Dylan (Heaven’s Door), Metallica (Blackened Whiskey), Conor McGregor (Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey). A lot of these are really just hype jobs - Heaven’s Door is Dickel under a fancy label, for example. Sometimes it’s more a life story thing - Conor McGregor has always held the number 12 close (and the whiskey is ok - not bad, just ok).
Then, there are products like this, where I just don’t know what’s going on. I try to put myself into the mindset of the celebrity and the distiller partner. I don’t know what the goal was, here - if you’re going to do a partnership bottle with Jack Daniel’s, it should be something that is recognizably Jack, even if it’s slightly off profile in order to differentiate it.
This has nothing reminiscent of Jack Daniel’s, plus it tastes young and woody. For $60, you can get a good single barrel pick (probably 2), or a Jack Daniel’s single barrel select barrel proof rye, four Jack Daniel’s Old No 7 bottles, or three ryes. Any of those would be better. And if you think I’m being too harsh here, like I said, when there’s something different I want to know why, and I do not understand what they were trying to achieve here.
Jack Daniel’s “Eric Church” Single Barrel Select: Specs
Classification: Tennessee Straight Whiskey
Origin: Jack Daniel’s Distillery
Proof: 94 (47% ABV)
Age: NAS
Location: N/A
Jack Daniel’s “Eric Church” Single Barrel Select Price: $60
Jack Daniel’s “Eric Church” Single Barrel Select: Tasting Notes (Blind)
Eye: Light amber. Thin rims, quick thin legs.
Nose: Old - woody, smoky, also something…fruity? This is odd. There’s whiskey there, but it’s smelling young.
Palate: Very oaky and drying, with lots of heat and fruity oak. Coconut and vanilla from the wood but not much from the whiskey itself. Mouthfeel is oaky and coating, slightly spicy - mouthfeel is much more mature than the nose and palate.
Finish: Lots of coconut and a hint of roasted nuts. Remains creamy throughout, though.
Overall: Eh? After the reveal I really don’t have much to say. It’s not a great profile, doesn’t taste anything like a Jack Daniel’s product, so I’m not really sure what the point of this is.
Final Rating: 4.6
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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