Jack Daniel's Bonded Tennessee Whiskey

VITALS:

- $36

- 100 Proof

- 4 Years

- Tennessee

Excitement for Jack Daniel's releases seems to be at its highest these past couple years. With the limited annual releases, including their single barrel rye and the Coy Hill release, not to mention the 10 Year, Jack Daniel's has been cranking out some limited bottlings that bourbon fans have been actively hunted.

On the heals of Coy Hill, Jack Daniel's announced two releases in one -- a triple mash and this Bonded Tennessee Whiskey.  It's not clear to me whether these will be regular staples on the Jack Daniel's section of the whiskey shelves or not, but they might be given that after the initial wave of their release I'm now seeing these bottles fairly regularly on liquor store and grocery store shelves. If that's the case, then great! I'm all for more good, available whiskey appearing on shelves!

The nose was immediately and noticeably sweet.  I got a load of brown sugar, along with a somewhat more refined caramel note. I even got a vanilla note, but a very sweet vanilla note, reminding me of those vanilla wafer cookies. There was also a slight burnt sugar note, offering a touch of char on the nose.

Surprisingly, on my initial pours I didn't get any of that banana note that I've come to expect from Jack Daniel's products. I don't refer to that note negatively by any stretch, just more that it's characteristic of the brand. However, it did eventually make its way through, particularly on later pours. It wasn't that fake banana note, however, almost more like a cooked and caramelized banana.

It definitely had a lot of that sweetness that I got on the nose, though. I got that vanilla wafer note, and I certainly got a healthy amount of the brown sugar that I got on the nose. In fact, those two notes together were a fairly strong flavor in this bottle. 

The char came through as well, but more in the form of a toasted marshmallow.  This was particularly the case on the finish. In fact, the finish was the most interesting part about this bottle, as that's where I also got notes of cherry and toffee.  Even the last few pours left a distinct bananas foster note in the back of my throat.

If it were just the finish, this bottle would be a standout. But, ultimately it was just too much on the sweet end for me, and in that respect a bit one dimensional.  However, there's a lot to like there, and for some people this is definitely going to hit the right spot for them.

Grade: B-