Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A-

I was abroad visiting my son not too long ago, and found myself looking at the contents of a quite modestly equipped hotel bar, choosing the Jack Daniel’s. Part of the reason why is because it had been years since a pour of Old No. 7 had passed my lips, and I knew a bottle of JD 10 Year Old was waiting for my attention at home. I decided a fresh memory would be useful in taking on that rarest of things from Lynchburg: a whiskey with an age statement.

The rest of the reason? American whiskey crowned my dinner better than Scotch or Irish.

To understand why that should be so strange, one needs to think about what the Lincoln County Process really is: the original shortcut to American whiskey maturation. By filtering the new make whiskey in charcoal prior to barrelling, one subtracts some of the trace, volatile chemistry from the whiskey that makes it so harsh. The result is right there in every bottle of Jack Daniel’s, especially if one is familiar with the higher proof versions: the whiskey is smoother and mellower at an earlier stage than its Kentucky bourbon cousins.

This is the first age statement whiskey to come from Jack Daniel’s in a century, and I am not surprised it is set at 10 years old. One should recall that those chemical elements removed by charcoal filtration are exactly what years of maturation in a breathing, oak barrel is intended to break down and convert into the elements we enjoy in middle aged American whiskeys. Just as ultra-aged bourbons turn out to be too oaky as often as not, middle aged and ultra-aged Tennessee Whiskeys turn out to be uninspired as often as not. So, I think Master Distiller Chris Fletcher has done the right thing to peg his age statement whiskey at a sweet spot rather than shoot for a high, attention getting age statement.

Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old is planned as a new annual limited edition, so expect another batch in 2022. This one is bottled at 97 proof.

The Whiskey
Right from the nose, it is recognizable as Jack, but also recognizable as much more than Old No. 7. It’s led by brown sugar, caramel and fried plantains, but enhanced by a spiciness of cinnamon, peppermint and wood. On the palate, the whiskey becomes noticeably drier compared to the predictably mellow Jack Daniel’s standard, developing much more character. The sweet side deepens with notes of mixed dark, dried fruits (think raisins and cherries), but the dry spices and wood comes much more forward than on the nose as well. Although this whiskey is only pushing the top of the range of what I would call “mature” for American whiskeys, and not properly middle aged, the barrel time really shows. The finish rolls on with the oaky spices, adding a leathery character into the mix.

What I say to fans of Jack Daniel’s is go snag a bottle of this right now, because it is what you should pour to convince your skeptical, bourbon-loving friends to give that distillery in Lynchburg a second look.

The Price
Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old costs $70 a bottle, and is well worth it.