What's The Woop-De-Doo About Jack Daniel's?

[wadewood]

It's all de-doo and no whoop?

[theDon]

I wouldn't know about 101, as only the 80 proofer is available here. To my palate it seemed rather dull and lifeless. Maybe I was expecting too much. I would take Jim Beam Black any day, for roughly the same price.

[polyamnesia]

Wild Turkey 101 is in a class of it's own far far above the likes of a Jack Daniel's or Jim Beam. Far Far Far above. If just comparing 80 proofers I would still choose Turkey. Those three names should NEVER be used in the same sentence. How dare you!!! I kid of course, to each his own, but your wrong none the less.:grin:

yeah, turkey has it's own marketing strength, but it's done with class...and it's a class pour. i admit i've missed out on the 80 and the bottles that cost over $100...

i admit, i wish i had a bottle of the old jack. i like the banana notes. alot.

[theDon]

I wouldn't know about 101, as only the 80 proofer is available here. To my palate it seemed rather dull and lifeless. Maybe I was expecting too much. I would take Jim Beam Black any day, for roughly the same price.

I just caught this. Forget Haiti, we have a much bigger crisis on our hands. There is NO WILD TURKEY 101 available in all of Canada (I exagerate a little for affect), but seriously. No 101. You guys have universal health care and NO Turkey 101. The UN is on it's way with supplies. Please don't hold the US accountable.

[leebo]

Not a fan of regular Jack, but I enjoyed a sample of the single barrel. George Dickel is the other Tenn. whiskey, which I think is a much better product at almost 1/2 the price and 45% vs 40%.

[ggilbertva]

I don't buy regular JD. The export Silver Select is excellent and at 100 proof, loaded with flavor. I just wish it was available stateside and not so pricey.

[nblair]

I did a side by side with JD Single Barrel and Lot B. They are both around $45 in my area. IMO the Lot B, which I find lacks the complexity of some other bourbons, tasted like GTS next to JDSB (ok so its an exagerration). Still, the JDSB did nothing to impress me. I was surprised it got so much love on the board, maybe I'll have to give it another chance...

[theDon]

I did a side by side with JD Single Barrel and Lot B. They are both around $45 in my area. IMO the Lot B, which I find lacks the complexity of some other bourbons, tasted like GTS next to JDSB (ok so its an exagerration). Still, the JDSB did nothing to impress me. I was surprised it got so much love on the board, maybe I'll have to give it another chance...

I think it's more a, "If I was going to buy Jack, it would be the Single Barrel," type situation.

Now if I was going to spend $45 on a bottle, it surely would be bourbon.

[Josh]

I did a side by side with JD Single Barrel and Lot B. They are both around $45 in my area. IMO the Lot B, which I find lacks the complexity of some other bourbons, tasted like GTS next to JDSB (ok so its an exagerration). Still, the JDSB did nothing to impress me. I was surprised it got so much love on the board, maybe I'll have to give it another chance...

I think a fairer head to head would be JDSB vs. Dickel Barrel Select, both being Tennesee Whiskeys. Not that I think JDSB would do any better, mind you...

[thanis]

One good thing about Jack, it makes a good and unique sour.

I just purchased a bottle of Jack in my quest to go back to basics and try it from the bottom up. Memory was correct, and though once my favorite, I just can't take it now. I think the only think left for me and Jack is my sooner or later comparison to George Dickel to see if it is just Jack, or all TN whiskey. Depending how that goes, might be a while before I even try the premium versions (hopeful on my trip down south later during the summer I might find 50 ML or 200 ML versions).

I don't know what it is about JD, but it makes me sick. The last two times I drank any (many years ago), I ended up throwing up...

As I have stated many times in ten years, I can become sick just by the taste (maybe I just over consumed in my youth with Jack, and it is a Pavlov’s dog situation).

... I think as far as hype vs. quality, it is in the same boat as Crown Royal, Glenfiddich, Jameson, Johnnie Walker, etc...

Some valid points, however you should be bit kinder to Johnnie. The black is good for the price, even if it costs a bit more then the other scotch brands' step ups. I would agree with you on the red.

[OscarV]

I wonder if it is the water?

I love bottled spring water, I can tell the difference between spring water and filtered tap water like Aquafina or Dasani and others.

My current favorites come from springs in PA and MI.

Recently I haven't been able to get them and I picked up a case of spring water where the source was from a spring in TN.

This stuff blows!!!

It's just there, no life, hard to swollow, irony and hard.

I would like to try the water that Jack uses, I'll bet it's not so good.

[Dramiel McHinson]

I live just a 45 minute drive from the Jack Daniels distillery. Jack Daniels or Brown Foreman to be exact, puts on a heck of a show. They have a great tour presentation, distillery only limited editions and an entire town square dedicated to all things Jack. I still can't drink their whiskey with any degree of high level enjoyment straight.

But! Old Number 7 goes very well with coke as if it were formulated for it. The Gentleman Jack blends perfectly with good quality ginger ale. The single barrel is the only JD brand I can drink straight and it doesn't rate as high (on my taste buds) as Elijah Craig 12 which in my area is much cheaper ($19 vs $43).

I believe JD's popularity is primarily brand identity and image as well as the great job they do with their annual BBQ, race car, Miss Bo Bo's, tour, collectibles etc. In the end, JD is much more than just whiskey. For some, it's also a way of life.

All of this is at great risk in the hands of Brown Foreman bean counters who demand tweaks for profit and spend millions on non-whiskey marketing of the JD way of life instead of concentrating on a whiskey whose taste alone would put it on the top shelf.

Last of all, that underground spring has ducks swimming in it all the time and anybody that's been around ducks knows the secret recipe in JD is duck poop. Just kidding. I'm sure they get the big pieces out before they bottle it.

[cowdery]

I believe JD's popularity is primarily brand identity and image as well as the great job they do with their annual BBQ, race car, Miss Bo Bo's, tour, collectibles etc. In the end, JD is much more than just whiskey. For some, it's also a way of life.

I agree pretty much with everything in your post except the paragraph above, plus I'm not so sure about those underground ducks.

Your last sentence above is more correct than your first, which is an insult to every happy Jack Daniel's drinker who thinks it tastes better than every other liquid on the planet. You're saying they're so flummoxed by marketing that even their taste buds deceive them. I don't think you mean to say that, but you do.

Also, other than the proof cut from 86 to 80 that was made more than six years ago, what have the 'bean counters' at Brown-Forman done that has degraded the product, in your opinion?

[Dramiel McHinson]

I agree pretty much with everything in your post except the paragraph above, plus I'm not so sure about those underground ducks.

Your last sentence above is more correct than your first, which is an insult to every happy Jack Daniel's drinker who thinks it tastes better than every other liquid on the planet. You're saying they're so flummoxed by marketing that even their taste buds deceive them. I don't think you mean to say that, but you do.

Also, other than the proof cut from 86 to 80 that was made more than six years ago, what have the 'bean counters' at Brown-Forman done that has degraded the product, in your opinion?

Let me see if I can elaborate. But first a caveat. I never intend to disparage someone of enjoying whatever drink or brand they prefer. I do have my own ordered list of preferences and while I remain rigidly flexible, I still have to say no sometimes.

I don't dislike JD at all. I can't drink the Old #7 and Gentleman Jack straight. It just doesn't work for me so when I drink it, I mix it. I also enjoy a lot of the other aspects of the JD community. For all the folks that just like the whiskey and don't care about the extended JD community then I believe this is simply a matter of personal taste and there is no right or wrong. For me, I enjoy the total more than the piece. I think they do a great job of making JD more than just a shot in a glass.

The ducks are almost always swimming in the area shown to the public as the cave entrance and also in the stream that flows in front of the entrance to the visitor center. I'm not alone in some of the observations there about the ducks. It's a joke. We all have commemorative bottles under our arm from the White Rabbit saloon while we are questioning the duck's contribution to the whiskey.

With regard to bean counters. I could have left that statement off. That is a personal glitch in my appreciation for all things artisan in the making of bourbon. Although I poked at Brown Foreman, many spirits corporations past and present are in the same boat in my opinion. Sometimes when they get it wrong. They and their product go away and their dedicated followers mourn the loss.

In spite of all that Jack Daniels or other brands are to all consumers, whiskey is often a product of corporate decisions. In every effort there is trade space. Often the final product is the result of necessary compromises in cost, schedule and performance. I suppose if it was easy, the world wouldn't be littered with defunct distilleries and the lineage of iconic brands wouldn't be traced through a long list of owners.

What is my nebulous point you ask? I guess I'm trying to say I am more fond of the artisan skill that produces fine bourbon than I am of all the business decisions that got it to my table. That's not realistic, I know. But, that's how I compartmentalize size ten thoughts in my size 5 brain.