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Jack Daniels Sinatra Select


VAGentleman
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Summerhill is where I tasted it. LIkely it will be the same bottle I tasted from, since they said it was just put on and it is 1 litre.

No way I'll pay that price. I was thinking of U.S. duty free when I next get the chance, it will be 50% less.

It was $4.00 per half ounce and I had 1 ounce. Well worth it. Johnnie Blue was the same price.

Gary

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...Anyway, the bottle I had today was superb. I may buy it now, but I hope the next one is as good as the one I tasted today..

Gary

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John's opinion has to be taken seriously, and I have no doubt of his advice based on that sample. However, the bottle I had yesterday, and I had another ounce today to confirm the experience, was magisterial. I'm sorry the Squire, John, and other cognoscenti weren't in situ to appreciate. One day this will happen I believe, perhaps though at an elevation which even NASA's rockets don't aim for…

Gary

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Well, vertically anyway, which is being an optimist, especially in this line of business. :)

Gary

Edited by Gillman
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Of course anecdotal to actual sales but observed at two separate stores the sale of one each today. I, with the aid of my daughter, as I'm still on crutches and can't get down to sort through the bottom shelf, was at said stores in search of a 100 proof bib whiskey priced at $13.99 that still has a verb before 6 and a noun after :grin:.

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Yes, and a good chance to wish again a rapid recovery, Thad, from this medical intervention.

Gary

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John's opinion has to be taken seriously, and I have no doubt of his advice based on that sample. However, the bottle I had yesterday, and I had another ounce today to confirm the experience, was magisterial. I'm sorry the Squire, John, and other cognoscenti weren't in situ to appreciate. One day this will happen I believe, perhaps though at an elevation which even NASA's rockets don't aim for…

Gary

Gary, the only thing that matters is that you like what you have. I spiked mine with some JD Single Barrel I have, and all is one with the world. Cheers!

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Interesting, and mingling is (frequently) second nature to me, as are its close cousins vatting and blending.

Portwood, since you will be at Summerhill LCBO tomorrow, maybe you would be good enough to see if the bottle (almost full today so there is no question it will be the same one) has any batch or other number on it, something of a kind to suggest not all the bottles were made from one batch. Just for the fun of it it would be interesting to know. Certainly the sample I had from the bottle obtained in Europe seemed rather different than this current one..

Of course even if this is the case, it is all good since it emphasizes the artisan-like approach for this kind of special edition. I'd rather a product with interesting and usually not grand differences rather than something consistently brilliant in the same way.

Gary

Edited by Gillman
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Hi Gary,

140123413B

4419653

I can't guarantee the code on the sampling bottle is the same since I could not find a number on it. The above code is from a full, sister bottle, that is on display in the sampling room. the code was on the inside of the front label but I could not see evidence of a printed code in the same place on the sampling bottle.

I can't say I'm an expert on anything bourbon in general, or JD in particular, but if I had tasted it blind there is no way I would have picked JD. If pressed, I would have said it was a pot still whiskey - probably Irish. Although the sample was small I would say it is EXCELLENT whisky - too bad about the $300 tag.

By co-incidence I met a guy I follow on twitter that was also trying it and he commented that it must contain older JD whiskies. We both commented on the oily texture of the liquid. The lack of alcohol burn would suggest an older whisky but the wood notes are balanced - which would suggest to me it might not be that old.

Anyway, Thanks for the tip, I don't think I would have tried it if you hadn't pointed to its quality.

Cheers

Edited by portwood
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Thanks in turn for all this information, excellent. All your comments resonate with me including viz. the pot still-like, oily quality (oiliness contributes to the smooth finish, also there was an interesting copper-like quality, which is where the Irish comes in). It's a grand one, really.

The Gazebo crowd would love it.

Gary

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Thanks in turn for all this information, excellent. All your comments resonate with me including viz. the pot still-like, oily quality (oiliness contributes to the smooth finish, also there was an interesting copper-like quality, which is where the Irish comes in). It's a grand one, really.

The Gazebo crowd would love it.

Gary

You're welcome.

I see it sells for about $150 (half the lcbo price) at Binny's. Even though its good & a 1L bottle I still think its steep. There are many other quality bourbons for far less.

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Surely a good part of the price must be due to the luxury packaging. I wish a version was made available in a plainer package…

Gary

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It's an interesting observation, Gary. From limited experience what I have observed is that American whisky has stayed away from the Scotch over-packaging syndrome. They tend to be more creative with the bottle itself but avoid the boxes/tubes/velvet etc. The sad reality is that American companies may have caught on to the idea that by adding a dollar or two of crap surrounding the bottle they can increase the price by a factor of 10 or 20 of the cost of the extra packaging.

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This could be. Hopefully though this grooved barrel thing will become a regular offering in a plainer package. I will try to get a bottle in U.S. Duty Free when next there and hopefully it will be the same as or close to this Toronto bottle we tried. If as I think now must have occurred, the grooving was in part of the regular barrel staves (not additional ones suspended into the whiskey), I'd think they would get less red layer because the non-charred parts have no red layer. The bare oak wood would touch the spirit and impart its character which may again explain part of the pot still Irish-like effect (a raw grains, mostly, whiskey aged in a non-charred or at least reused charred barrel). I think this is good for Jack since it is subjected to charring/heating 3 times: 1) the leaching through maple charcoal; 2) the storage in a (still largely) charred barrel, factoring too this is a blend of pure Sinatra and Old No. 7; and 3) the Jack barrels undergo some kind of preliminary toasting, not a charring to be sure but some kind of heat treatment IIRC. So all this wood treatment probably contributes to the charcoaly taste Jack has and if you drop it down a notch, no pun intended, maybe that works an interesting change to the whiskey. Or not. Anyway, quite a bottle that was at Summerhill in Toronto. For the crowd: Summerhill is named after a train station and a train still travels over a bridge whose rail bed extends over what is now the liquor store. It is a very pretty building, restored some years ago by an inspired urban renewal plan.

Gary

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  • 1 month later...

My local store just got this back in stock and my jaw hit the floor at the price. I'm an impulsive buyer at times, even finding and buying the JD rye at a discount, but this is way too much for me. My constant affinity for trying new whiskies makes me really want to try it, but I only limit my moron purchases to $30 or $40. I'm very intrigued at how much you guys enjoyed it

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I'm not a big fan of the JD whiskys generally so I'm not curious enough to exchange the going price for a slightly different taste experience. If I were so inclined I would go for the JD Single Barrel which is higher proof (94) and cost 1/3 as much.

Some observations on the aging effect of the grooved stave barrels used for Sinatra have been posted generally and not all are favorable. Gary Gillman has posted some tasting notes here so maybe he can weigh in.

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I was very impressed with the Sinatra I tasted at LCBO. It was rich, complex, sweet, like a bourbon version of a fine malt.

The price is very high. Unfortunately, the packaging surely contributed to this. Anyone from B-F reading should consider putting out similar-quality whiskey in a plainer package. In fact I haven't bought one, I consider the price beyond what I wish to pay even for a superlative product.

The Squire is exactly right about JD Single Barrel - it is a fine value in that it offers a considerable step above regular JD but for much less than the Sinatra. It doesn't have the wood grooving but on the other hand gains authenticity for not doing so. No American whiskey can be said to be more traditional. Buy that one if you can and report taste results, I doubt you will be disappointed. By the way JD is an acquired taste: it took me 30 years but I like it now. :) I also feel the palate is much improved over the last 10 years and probably closer now to what it was in the 50's than any other time since.

Gary

Edited by Gillman
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I bought one about a month ago and liked it better than the first bottle I tried (beginning of thread). This one was a little more rich with a bigger mouth feel and was very enjoyable. The first bottle I tasted was from overseas duty free while the one I bought was from the American release. Not sure if anything changed between releases (could have been me also) but it's an excellent pour in my book.

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I had the same experience. My first taste was from an overseas DF bottle and the second, the LCBO one which was much better. Odd, sounds like there was some inconsistency in the bottlings, but the ones available here at any rate (from various things I've read) all seem first class.

Gary

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