🥃Review #44: Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey

A Brown-Foreman brand since 1956, Jack Daniel's flows from its historic distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee to glasses all over the world. Ironically, Moore County, home to Lynchburg, remains dry to this day other than an exception for sampling at the distillery. Jasper Newton "Jack" Daniel's learned the distillers trade from local preacher and moonshiner, Dan Call. The "Old No. 7" brand was simply the number assigned to Daniel's distillery for government registration (Number 7 of District 4). Though later redistricting changed this ID number, Daniel's kept the name all the same. The brand garnered wider recognition after winning the Gold medal for finest whiskey at the 1904 St. Louis World's fair. Today, Old No. 7 joins a bustling lineup of flavored, Single Barrel, Bonded, and Barrel Proof editions. Though some will protest greatly, Jack Daniel's meets all of the legal requirements to be considered a BOURBON in addition to being classified as a Tennessee whiskey. 

🛒Sourced: Gifted - Commonly $21.99 for 750ml

🧪Proof: 80 proof, 40% ABV - Bourbon Minimum. Jack Daniel's was produced at 90 proof until 1987, when it was bumped down to 86 proof, and then finally reduced to 80 proof in 2002.  Folks around in the 1980s may remember Jack Daniel's Black Label as a premium product. Previously, Jack Daniel's had a lower quality green label which held the 80 proof point. Sales continued to increase, so Jack got away with both higher volumes and profits.

🎨Color: R3 - Gardner 6 - straw or light honey

🥔Mash Bill:  80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barley. 

🏭 Production Notes: Friend Jack makes pretty much their whole process known in a lovely bit of transparency.

• Fermentation lasts six days prior to distillation, and is done using the remnants of starter yeast from a prior mash in what is known as the "sour mash" process (virtually all whiskey in the US is sour mash for quality reasons as it makes the mash more acidic and resistant to bacteria). Corn is first added and heated to 100C, cooled to 170C when the Rye is added, and then further cooled to 64C for the final addition of the barley. These temperatures optimize the solubility of starches from the different grains to help the yeast process those sugars to alcohol during fermentation.
• Distillation proof is 140 and barrel entry proof is 125. Jack Daniel's is single distilled with just one vaporization/condensation cycle from a distiller's beer of around 10.5% ABV.
• Water - Jack Daniel's, like many brands, likes to make big claims about the impact of its limestone spring water, bubbling up from a two mile deep cave system, but water hasn't been found to have a huge impact on whiskey flavor and most producers will have some similar spiel. Limestone does act as a natural filter to remove iron, a metal detrimental to the distilling process, from the water, but is also widely prevalent in Kentucky and other riverbeds. 
• You have likely heard of the "Lincoln County Process", also known as charcoal mellowing, which is simply the process of running the unaged 140 proof distillate through charcoal. There is no mechanical pressure applied, so this process takes around 3-5 days. The charcoal itself is made at the Jack Daniel's distillery where they burn five foot high pallets of hard sugar maple three days a week, three times a day, after dousing the wood in distillate. Charcoal mellowing is thought to help remove the bitterness present in whiskey distillate by accelerating the exchange of molecules that would otherwise slowly occur in the barrel. Master Distiller Jeff Arnett reported to Difford's Guide that the company views this as giving Jack Daniel's a two-year head start in shedding any bitter graininess. 
• No age statement, straight bourbon must be at least four years old. Jack Daniel's does not control for temperature and moisture or practice barrel rotation. Whiskey from the top two floors goes into Jack Daniel's single barrel while the lower floors are blended to produce Old No. 7. Brown-Foreman operates their own cooperage where barrels are prepared using a proprietary two-stage charring process, toasting and then charring each. You can identify these barrels by the "B" on the rivets. 
• Batch size is 200 barrels which are then diluted to final strength and bottled immediately onsite. Note that this is a similar size to many products with the unregulated term "Small batch" applied to them (looking at you Elijah Craig). 

👃Nose: Faint with oak wood, caramel, and something I would describe as bubble gum. I really have to stick my nose in there to get much of anything.

😜Palate: Thicker than I expected on the tongue, but lacking much flavor. I can only detect a small amount of corn and oak vanilla, perhaps charitably resembling bananas foster. No burn whatsoever and only the faintest rumblings of a hug. A good example of how "smooth" as a north star can be taken too far.

💦Finish: Short, a pop of nuttiness and then it's gone. Like it was never there. No wonder country music singers can drink a whole bottle. 

🏆 Overall Rating: 4/10 - Serviceable - Mixing is the best and highest calling for Old No. 7 in its current state. Alone, it doesn't have enough flavor to do more than help you forget about your ex, though it does get better over the course of a large glass as the flavors accumulate on your palate. Canned cocktails have been performing well the past few years, maybe scratch that Old No. 7 itch with one of those? That being said, I would say "sure" and not regret it if someone offered me a pour at their house.

From Jackdaniels.com

💵Would buy again? I didn't this time and I won't. Jack Daniel's puts out some fantastic whiskey. The Bonded whiskeys are very good and the Single Barrel Barrel Proof offerings are downright excellent. Age-stated Jack Daniel's special releases such as the 10 and 12-Year are among the best in the world. Old No. 7 by comparison is a hollow example of what happens when a business profit optimizes its flagship. That being said, I am eternally grateful to No. 7 for providing the funding flexibility for the distillery to explore these other premium whiskey releases.

⚖️Rating Scale: 

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out 
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume it by choice. 
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws | Struggle to get through the bottle
4 | Serviceable | Mixing or ice recommended.
5 | Good | Drinkable Neat | An agreeable dram indeed.
6 | Very Good | Any flaws offset by interesting flavors | A cut above.
7 | Great | You find yourself reaching for this one often | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Serve to Impress Guests | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite | You guard this bottle jealously.
10 | Perfect | You didn't think anything could be this good | A clear champion.