What about Jack?

[nor02lei]

I think some here simply won't drink Jack in any form, but many do appreciate it once in a while, especially the Single Barrel and Silver Select (same thing but 100 proof, Single Barrel is 94 proof). The whiskey, even at its best, does not seem to approach complexity of the best bourbon, but it has its own profile and the single barrel bottlings do vary somewhat in palate (some seem more bourbon-like than others, basically). Recently to 3/4's of a half pint of regular JD I added 1/4 of a JD Single Barrel. The advantage of doing this is you retain the complexity (relatively) of the regular JD, clearly put together from hundreds of barrels, but can improve the taste and proof by adding to it from a single barrel bottling. Anyway, JD has its place, but after some experimentation with it I feel the extensive, preliminary maple charcoal treatment really does alter the product (Dickel too), they do stand apart from bourbon in this respect.

Gary

Must admit I had language difficulties here. By “alter” do you mean change or make less good Gary?

Leif

[nor02lei]

When I did visit Stockholm beer and whisky festival for the second time on Thursday I did struck lucky and got to taste JD white dog filtered and not filtered. Must say the unfiltered spirit tasted simpler and more neutral than the white dogs I did taste in Kentucky last year. However the filtered one was very different and had lots of nice flavours from the maple charcoal and in the same manners as the Kentucky white dog this was really a nice positive surprise.

Leif

[Gillman]

Leif, my feeling is that the extensive charcoal leaching treatment removes many of the fusels and other congeners that stay in, and give additional character to, straight bourbon. As Chuck has noted in his book, much of the flavor of JD seems on the surface, I think he wrote you have to "tease out the flavours" and I agree with that. This was of course an intentional result of the Lincoln County process, the idea was to pre-age the drink and render it palatable without years of barrel aging (or other means of rectification).

Today, JD is given, and this has been so presumably for a very long time, at least 4 years of barrel aging too. I wonder if perhaps the earthy/woody notes of JD would be reduced if it was aged only two years. Possibly, but I don't think it would taste better at 2 or 3 years of barrel age. The Green Label shows that a presumably less mature JD - whatever any actual differences in age between the black and green labels - does not (IMO) result in a better palate. In fact, JD is complete after its 4-5 years of aging but, to get back to my main point, in single barrel form you can best appreciate it: it is easier to tease out those flavours, in other words, and they can be quite good.

One of my current two single barrels is excellent, the other is okay. My blend I mentioned is superb and has a marked fruity note, not just banana, but dark fruit, similar in this respect to a Silver Select I had last year and which does not generally obtain with JD. This is what a mingling can do and by the way, JBBL also sometimes acquires that dark fruit note and that is when I like it best.

Gary

[polyamnesia]

Hey Big Larry,
IMO, JD sucks! High $$, low proof and filtered flavor. This is not what I look for in whisky value. I would pass on the whole line. I would also pass on most of the JBeam line for the same reason. If you would like to stick with one distillery....I would look for Wild Turkey or Buffalo Trace and explore thier lines. Both serve excellent flavor and great value. They also have a large variety of labels and profiles.
Good luck!

when there is nothing else around and you want a decent COCKTAIL, then ok...the JD mystique is part of it's power. not the actual product...

but then, i will give the gentleman jack a try if ever offered it. for scientific purposes, of course...!

and i do prefer JB's higher end selections over anything by JD distilleries.

but speaking of tennessee, i'll take GD sippin' whiskey anyday over that black label pop culture image!

and over that? give me Wild Turkey 101. any day!

[Megawatt]

I really enjoyed Gentleman Jack the first time I had it. Definitely smoother and sweeter than their regular No. 7. Tasted to me like apple cider more than anything else, but had a strange, almost salty quality on the tongue that kind of threw me off at first.

[squire]

I like the Daniels products, always have and keep them on hand. Gary has covered the tasting notes so I won't repeat them here. Oh I don't drink the brand everyday, or ever month for that matter, but its on my list of top five recommendations because it simply is a classic.
Regards,
Squire