Jack Daniel’s 14 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey Review (2025)

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A+

All through the Bourbon Boom, the Jack Daniel’s company men in Lynchburg and Louisville were resistant to the idea of putting age statements on Mr. Jack’s whiskey. That was despite the historical fact that Jack Daniel himself released age statement whiskeys in his day.

Why is not exactly clear, and I’m not one of the people who subscribes to the notion that Jack Daniel’s culture was slow to adopt the wider practices of the industry, namely having many brands doing many variants under one roof. JD has always been much closer to Maker’s Mark than Jim Beam, in the sense that neither Maker’s or Jack has ever been a holding house for multiple brands. That notion also ignores that some players in the business, foremost among them Heaven Hill, have retreated away from age statements.

Regardless, Jack was slow in coming to the party, but they eventually arrived under Master Distiller Chris Fletcher’s direction. Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old came out in 2021, followed by the 12 year old take on their Tennessee Whiskey in 2023. These age increments follow the historic pattern of Jack Daniel himself, drawing on actual bottlings made by him. What the next step would be was therefore already known to historians and bottle collectors, as well as when it would come out: it is now two years later, so Jack Daniel’s 14 Year Old has followed in sequence.

The Whiskey
I’m going to start this review by holding up the metaphorical hand of Jack Daniel’s 14 Year Old and declare it the undisputed world champion of sucker puncher whiskeys. I routinely begin evaluations as blind as possible, so I don’t check the strength of the sample until after I do the nosing, and sometimes not until after the first sip. Basically, I let me senses tell me if the whiskey is so strong (or harsh) as to merit water. JD14 is bottled at 126.3 proof, and gave no hint of it whatsoever. JD10 was bottled at 97 proof and JD 12 at 107, so basically strong, but-sub bonded level and something strong, above-bonded level, but not cask strength.

So, I had no idea how strong this superlatively mellow pour was until I stood up after draining my first shot. The facts came as quite a surprise, especially as I routinely add water to whiskeys over 120 proof.

The pour has a deep reddened tone to its amber coloring, while the nose is rich and syrupy. The nose leads with brown sugar, dried cherries and a current of nuttiness chained to wood. Further nosing brings out hoary leather and just a hint of banana, that last customary note almost subsumed in the presence of all the other elements. On the palate, that syrupy suggestion from the scent really comes across in the liquid’s viscous texture. This is some thick stuff. It smacks as a handful of chocolate-covered and caramel-covered dried cherries and raspberries, with just one banana chip having found its way in. Behind that rises a wave of cinnamon and dry oak. The finish rolled over on that pleasant woody note, before fading down to leave behind a long lasting trace of nuts.

This step up the ladder for Jack Daniel’s is an order of magnitude better than its predecessors, and truly befits Jack’s reputation. This one belongs in the same class as cask strength, ultra-aged classics like George T. Stagg and Pappy Van Winkle, all the while retaining Jack Daniel’s signature mellowness. Putting those two characteristics into the same glass is simply amazing. Although not especially complex, a middle-aged, potent whiskey that hangs onto its approachability is truly something special.

The Price
In its age statement line, Jack Daniel’s has finally turned the heads of the toxic whiskey nerd set. Although they might sneer at Jack Daniel’s generally, they were waiting for the release of this expression and pounced accordingly. Although officially the whiskey is priced at $150 a bottle, the market value for it is currently sitting at $950.