Jack Daniels Unaged Rye

[smknjoe]

Must be a thing of the "gentrified" South. Most of the mountain folk I knew of grew "greens" for extra cash. I'll look the book up.

[squire]

Maybe I need to get out more.

[tmckenzie]

I come from south Alabama. Monroe county. They busted a still down there last week. I am told it has made a comeback with the economy being bad. It is still pretty popular down there. I still have one cousin I know of still doing it, and last I knew I had one uncle still bringing it in from one pretty good size operation in south Mississippi. Last I bought was in 2004, was good sugar and corn liquor and 28 bucks a gallon. Made in Montgomery county by a sherrifs deputy. He had an eighteen wheeler that would come through and would drop the stuff off in various locations. Generally in the black communities where they still have shot houses. 28 bucks a gallon if I recall and dead on 90 proof. Sealed red gap on gallon plastic jugs. A lot of people look at it as superior to store bought. I know of one local doctor that still will only drink it and buys it in bulk and has it sent off and tested for lead before he will drink it. Last I knew his supplier was in north Florida. I have to say, some of what I have tasted is way better than any white dog off a legal still. But I have had some of what is really popular now, which is flavored and sweetened up. Coconut is a popular flavor. Tastes like suntan lotion.

[bad_scientist]

My sister used to date a guy whose family had a still in rural Middle Tennessee. It was a pretty darn big one, capable of making too much just for the family to drink. They were big in the local community so I doubt anyone would give them guff for it. We got a tour and had a little party once. Things were going great until his dad actually tried to seduce my cousin. Good times!

[squire]

This thread seems to be bringing out some colorful family history.

[luther.r]

There are two documentaries, called Making Moonshine, and Still Making Moonshine, that are pretty entertaining if you can get your hands on them. They follow an old, barely-understandable moonshiner in North Carolina and show him going to the hardware store, buying copper, and making a still from scratch.

[mosugoji64]

I come from south Alabama. Monroe county. They busted a still down there last week. I am told it has made a comeback with the economy being bad. It is still pretty popular down there. I still have one cousin I know of still doing it, and last I knew I had one uncle still bringing it in from one pretty good size operation in south Mississippi. Last I bought was in 2004, was good sugar and corn liquor and 28 bucks a gallon. Made in Montgomery county by a sherrifs deputy. He had an eighteen wheeler that would come through and would drop the stuff off in various locations. Generally in the black communities where they still have shot houses. 28 bucks a gallon if I recall and dead on 90 proof. Sealed red gap on gallon plastic jugs. A lot of people look at it as superior to store bought. I know of one local doctor that still will only drink it and buys it in bulk and has it sent off and tested for lead before he will drink it. Last I knew his supplier was in north Florida. I have to say, some of what I have tasted is way better than any white dog off a legal still. But I have had some of what is really popular now, which is flavored and sweetened up. Coconut is a popular flavor. Tastes like suntan lotion.

You should try aging some of the local stuff and see how it turns out. Might be a new product line for you!

[Restaurant man]

Would somebody please look at the retail package and see if they're still calling it 'neutral spirit.' Better yet, post a picture.

Finally got presented in GA today. Product doesnt land till Tuesday though. $50 wholesale :bigeyes: I can get some really old scotch/bourbon for that price. As expected neutral spirit is on the label under the heading (type). That's all I need to know. The word whiskey is no where on the label. So it's a 50$ vodka in a 750 ml bottle. PASS:slappin:

[squire]

I figure it was intended for the hotel/bar/restaurant trade. They could name their own price for a shot/call drink.

[cowdery]

Would somebody please look at the retail package and see if they're still calling it 'neutral spirit.' Better yet, post a picture.

Finally got presented in GA today. Product doesnt land till Tuesday though. $50 wholesale :bigeyes: I can get some really old scotch/bourbon for that price. As expected neutral spirit is on the label under the heading (type). That's all I need to know. The word whiskey is no where on the label. So it's a 50$ vodka in a 750 ml bottle. PASS:slappin:

Thanks, but you say they don't have live product yet, so that may just be the old art. I need someone to look at one for me that is actually on sale.

[tanstaafl2]

Thanks, but you say they don't have live product yet, so that may just be the old art. I need someone to look at one for me that is actually on sale.

If they arrive next week as expected I will go by and take a picture. Whether I get one is still to be determined. But knowing me....

[LostBottle]

Since this is not a rye whiskey, can we create a new "Garbage Rye" sub-forum to move it to?

[HighInTheMtns]

But according to Jack Daniel's it is a rye white dog, not a neutral spirit - the only reason it can't be labeled whiskey is because they didn't go through the charade of barreling it for a negligible amount of time.

[MyOldKyDram]

Well, if they wanted it to be labeled as such I reckon they should have gone through with said charade. I'd wager they don't give a flip one way or the other though, as they'll have no problem moving it.

[HighInTheMtns]

I think that's true. JD drinkers will buy it up because it says JD no matter what else it says.

[cowdery]

Subsequent to the announcement about the JD product, and after they made their explanation, I challenged TTB to justify calling it 'neutral spirit' since it doesn't meet the definition of neutral spirit and they confirmed my interpretation. But because their policy prevents them from commenting about specific labeling decisions, we don't know if they required JD to change the label. That's why I'm so interested to see how it's labeled on the actual production bottles.

[Restaurant man]

Subsequent to the announcement about the JD product, and after they made their explanation, I challenged TTB to justify calling it 'neutral spirit' since it doesn't meet the definition of neutral spirit and they confirmed my interpretation. But because their policy prevents them from commenting about specific labeling decisions, we don't know if they required JD to change the label. That's why I'm so interested to see how it's labeled on the actual production bottles.

[tanstaafl2]

JD Rye, aka "The Abomination", has landed in at least some stores in Georgia. Somehow one managed to fall into my shopping basket. A few pics for those interested.

The full presentation. Cost me $49.99 for this one. I decided I was going to try at least one despite the cost since I had been able to try it first and found it a good deal more enjoyable than I had expected to.

Batch #1 described as "Spirits Distilled from Grain"

Right side of bottle with a little blurb indicating that most of it will be aged. "Signed" and dated "Sept 2012". It notes rye is the "lead grain" but does that mean corn or other grains are also part of the mashbill? Or is it a 100% or at least "high" rye mashbill? If that news has been published then I guess I missed it.

Back of the bottle. The left side of the bottle is unadorned.

Front of the neck with a little string "necklace" proudly declaring its origin.

Back of the neck indicating the bottles individual number. No indication of how many bottles were produced.

Well, there it is. Let the fireworks begin!

I do like that, unlike the Dickel Rye which no matter how good it may be is still sourced rye, it appears that JD will eventually have their own aged rye for sale.

Edited January 16, 2013 by tanstaafl2

[MyOldKyDram]

Thanks for the pics.

Wonder how much a four year rye from them will cost if this is $50 a pop. Oof.

[tanstaafl2]

Thanks for the pics.

Wonder how much a four year rye from them will cost if this is $50 a pop. Oof.

A lot I would guess!!! Maybe even more than a lot...

[squire]

Well, lead grain certainly implies it's not 100% rye. Now that you have one to drink at leisure how about some more tasting notes.

[Gillman]

Looks like no mention of neutral spirit, which is all to the good.

Gary

[tanstaafl2]

Looks like no mention of neutral spirit, which is all to the good.

Gary

Had a sample of it last week. Much sweeter than the few other rye white dogs I have tried (suggesting at least some corn I would think?) and much smoother than I had expected. A tremendous amount of bready sour dough/rye taste. Only a passing resemblance to the Koval white 100% rye I tried earlier this week. Not much in the way of a finish not that I expected much.

Never had anything quite like it before.

[tanstaafl2]

Presuming this post on Drink Spirits is correct I seem to have found my answer about the mashbill.

"The new Jack Daniel’s Unaged Rye has a considerable amount of rye in it, with a mashbill consisting of 70 percent rye, 18 percent corn and 12 percent malted barley."

[cowdery]

If you'll permit me, a moment of gloating. I made Jack Daniel's change a label. How cool is that?