Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested for about 15 minutes.
Distillery: Jack Daniel Distillery.
Proof: 126.3. Batch 1.
Mash Bill: 80% Corn/12% Rye/8% Malted Barley.
Price: $150.
Appearance: Dark copper.
Nose
This opens with caramelized dark brown sugar, wood smoke, root beer, maple, butterscotch, cocoa, black tea, toasted pecans, cloves, nutmeg, peaches, raisins, and cinnamon spice. The emphasis on this profile is its excellent, dark-barrel flavors. With more time and sips, this opens up with sweeter oak with more butterscotch, maple, toffee, and stone fruit.
Palate
The nose rolls right on to the palate with root beer, caramelized dark brown sugar, maple, raisins, cloves, banana rind, black tea, toasted pecans, and tobacco. Cinnamon spice gradually builds as it coats the palate without overpowering the sip. There’s a creamy, viscous mouthfeel and tons of barrel character.
Finish
Cinnamon spice lingers with maple, leather, cloves, root beer, cocoa, banana rind, black tea, wood smokiness, and dark tobacco. This has a very long, dark, oaky finish with musty oak at the very end, with no bitterness.
Conclusion
The consistent and outstanding dark, rich barrel character from nose to finish is the star of the Jack Daniel’s 14-Year flavor profile. It shares a similar profile with the 12-year, including caramelized brown sugar, maple, root beer, wood-smokiness, and herbal notes. But two more years in the barrel and higher proof make the 14-Year darker, bolder, and spicier. On the other hand, the 12-Year is more polished, with more upfront fruit notes, and offers a more enjoyable drinking experience. I found that adding about 4 drops of water to the 14-Year brings out cherry, more stone-fruit, and banana notes and softens the oak, adding more butterscotch.
I could be wrong, but from what I’ve read, it seems that most folks preferred the Jack Daniel’s 12-Year over the 14-Year. The 12-Year is an excellent release, and I scored Batch 2 an 8.5, but I preferred the 14-Year slightly more. Call me an oak hound, but what the 14-Year lacks in profile diversity it makes up for with its bolder, darker, barrel character that I just love. Still, there’s room for improvement. Maybe we’ll see more complexity and balance in future 14-Year batches? Someone suggested I try a 50/50 blend of the 12 and 14-Year, and I think they’re on to something. I don’t see a need for a 16-Year release in this series, but it got me thinking about what a Jack Daniel’s batch using 12- to 14-Year-old barrels, bottled between 110-115 proof, would be like. But I digress. As they are today, the 12 and 14-Year batches are my favorite Jack Daniel’s releases so far, and you can’t go wrong with either one.
Rating: 8.9/10.
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all-time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
