Spirit Of The Week: Jack Daniel’s 14-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey
The pride of Tennessee releases an age-statement whiskey it hasn’t produced in a century.
The pride of Tennessee releases an age statement whiskey it hasn’t produced in a century
“This is one of the most rewarding things that I’ve ever done in whiskey, in my 20 something years in distilleries, that we’re doing a whiskey that hasn’t been done in Lynchburg, Tennessee, since Jack Daniel did it himself,” Chris Fletcher shares in his friendly drawl. “It’s one of the things that as a distiller, you just have to pinch yourself.”
What Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller is discussing is the latest edition of their fairly new Aged Series, which sees the label mature its beloved Tennessee Whiskey in new, charred American oak barrels beyond the usual (at least) four years employed in its famed “Old No. 7” juice.
Launched in 2021 with a 10-Year-Old Batch, then the following year with a 12-Year-Old, we are now lucky enough to live in an era where we get to taste the newest Aged Series: Jack Daniel’s 14-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey. What a time to be alive.
For this is the first time since the early-1900s that Jack Daniel’s has offered an expression of this age. And it is a truly remarkable whiskey, taking the already superb 12-year version and adding even more richness and complexity, further dialing up its core vanilla, butterscotch and caramel flavors while somehow adding more subwoofers of abundant depth.
Instant fanatics of the 12-Year-Old Aged Series as soon as we took our very first sip, we were astounded to learn this was the same exact same juice that produced their ubiquitous ‘Old No. 7’ flagship bottle. Not that we don’t appreciate that trusted expression – unlike a lot of bourbon connoisseurs who dismiss the base Jack Daniels offering, we’ve always been appreciative of the level of quality their team manages to maintain throughout such a voluminous production.
Imagine, every drop crafted in that bucolic Lynchburg campus — all 2,000 barrels distilled and dumped every single day. And yet you cannot find a cocktail lounge, dive bar, cantina, bodega, or gin joint anywhere on the planet that seemingly does not have a bottle on its shelf. That unimpeachable level of quality control is worthy of acclaim.
But the fact that that same whiskey — with the exact same classic recipe of 80% corn, 12% malted barley and 8% rye — can mature into what you will taste in the 12- and 14-Year-Old juice is truly astounding. For not only do these further aged spirits stand brightly on their own, but they also speak volumes to the quality of that Old No. 7 sitting on your shelf.
Of course there is one small twist to the alchemy. Fletcher explains that most, if not all, the Aged Series barrels come from a top floor of their rick houses, where they’re left to age for about eight years. At that point they’ve lost a good amount of angel’s share in the torrid Kentucky summers, so the barrels are moved to the ground floor where they’re allowed to continue aging more slowly.
“Think of that top floor like you’re grilling a steak,” Fletcher suggests. “Like you’re searing that steak with hot temperature right on that top floor, and then we move it down to that bottom floor and just let it simmer for the rest of its time.”
If it works for wagyu, it works for this sublime classic mash bill. Jack Daniel’s eighth Master Distiller, who took over from previous MD Jeff Arnett in 2020, goes on to note that process has now become standard operating procedure in Lynchburg, so Jack Daniel’s can hopefully continue to recreate this family of age stated whiskey in perpetuity.
“I’m excited about how much balance of flavor, and how much inherent sweetness made its way all the way through to the 14,” Fletcher adds.
“It’s amazing to think that we can take this grain bill and still evolve it today and create these different offerings, and put these different spins on the flavor.”
Fletcher largely credits the 12% malt in the grain bills to convert the starches, and especially their in-house yeast grown fresh every week for the “big, bright fruit notes.”
“It’s been really fun to follow along with the 10, and now the multiple batches of the 12, and see how they are evolving and just kind of shifting,” Fletcher continues. “They each kind of have their own personality each year, which is so much a part of the fun — and that we’ll continue to enjoy as the years go on.”
Jack Daniel’s 14-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey comes bottled at a potent but shockingly smooth 63.15% ABV (126.3 proof), with a SRP of $150.
Follow our Deputy Editor on Instagram at @nickstecher and @boozeoftheday.