7/29/2022»»Friday

Double Black Vs Jack Daniels

7/29/2022
  1. Accounting for almost 96% of Jack Daniel’s annual whiskey sales, the Black Label brand is the #1 selling whiskey in the world with over 150 million bottles sold worldwide every year. Gentleman Jack The year 1988 was an exciting one for the Jack Daniel Distillery as it was the first time in decades that a new brand of whiskey was introduced.
  2. Jack Daniel’s The Old No. 7 Jack Daniel’s with 40% Alcohol by Volume. One of the top selling whiskeys in the world, Jack Daniel’s is a brand of Tennessee whiskey that was founded by Jasper Newton, “Jack Daniel’s” himself. While the brand label states “Est. In 1866”, it wasn’t actually established until 1875.

The next night's mission was to drink Evan Williams and Jack Daniel's with my only Kentuckian friend, Meredith the pizza girl, who brought Addy, the Evan Williams junkie. I read somewhere that EW tasted like a knock-off JD, and I wanted that to be true, because the bottle and marketing are very clearly imitations.

Jack Daniels is the world’s top-selling American whiskey.

Double Black Jack Daniels Price

It has a delicious flavor with hints of caramel, oak, banana, nuts, and crème anglaise and is considered a versatile spirit that can be enjoyed straight or with a variety of mixers.

Many people believe that Jack Daniels is an American bourbon.

While it has ingredients similar to those found bourbon, it actually is Tennessee sour mash whiskey.

This article will explain why Jack Daniels isn’t bourbon (or at least, isn’t called a bourbon) and share some interesting information about the history of Jack Daniels.

Why isn’t Jack Daniels bourbon?

Bourbon whiskey is one of the world’s most popular types of spirits. It has a distinctly sweet aroma with a delicious flavor profile. For a spirit to be considered bourbon it must be:

  • Produced in the United States
  • Made with a mash bill that is at least 51% corn
  • Aged in new, charred oak containers
  • Distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume)
  • Entered into the barrel for ageing at no more than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume)
  • Bottled at 80 proof or more (40% alcohol by volume)

Jack Daniels has a mash bill of approximately 80% corn, 12% rye and 8% malt.

It is fermented in copper stills then aged in new charred American white oak barrels for at least 2 years.

The ingredients and distillation process used to make Jack Daniels fulfil all of the requirements necessary for it to be considered an American bourbon whiskey — yet it is not called a bourbon.

The reason it is not called a bourbon is the additional step that Jack Daniels take when making their whiskey.

Double black vs jack daniels nascar

Before the distillate is placed into barrels for ageing, it is slowly filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal.

This process removes some of the impurities and harsh flavours from the spirit, making it smoother and easy-to-drink. It also makes the whiskey take on a slightly smokey character.

This filtering technique called the “Lincoln County Process” is why Jack Daniels is considered a Tennessee whiskey instead of a bourbon.

Having said that, it is Jack Daniels themselves that choose not to call it a bourbon. Technically it could be called bourbon despite the Lincoln County Process as nothing is added during this stage.

So the jury is still out really!

Jack Daniels is also referred to as a “sour mash” whiskey.

This means that the mash has had some wet solids from a previous batch added to it to make the fermentation process work more consistently.

This is a fairly common practice among American whiskey producers.

Interestingly, many of the barrels used to age Jack Daniels whiskey are later sent to Scotland to be used to produce Scotch Whisky.

Jack Daniels will often lease or sell their whiskey barrels for this purpose. Old whiskey barrels are also used to make flavoured Rums and Tabasco sauce.

Double Black Vs Jack Daniels Green

Check out some great ideas for what to mix with Jack Daniels here.

Double Black Vs Jack Daniels

A (brief) history of Jack Daniels

Jack Daniels was co-founded by Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel in 1875 in Lynchburg, Tennessee.

His partner was a man named Dan Call, a local lay preacher who had taken Daniel in.

Dan Call had previously made moonshine with a master distiller named Nathan “Nearest” Green, an enslaved African-American man. Jack Daniels began learning his craft at a young age from these two men.

Black

Shortly after the distillery was established, Dan Call quit the business for religious reasons.

In 1884, Daniel purchased the land where the distillery stands today.

The business grew quickly and by the late 1880’s the Jack Daniels distillery was one of the most productive in the county. The distillery began using square bottles in 1897, which were chosen to symbolise a sense of fairness and integrity.

Daniels

Daniel never married and when his health began to fail in 1907, he gave the distillery to two nephews.

Statewide prohibition began in 1910 and Daniel passed away in 1911 from blood poisoning.

Fortunately, alcohol prohibition was eventually removed and the distillery once again began making the wonderful Tennessee whiskey for which it is known.

I don’t intend to offend any die hard Jack Daniel’s fans by saying this, but I have never held Jack Daniel’s in high esteem. In my mind I’ve always associated the brand with mass-produced mixing whiskey, which is not necessarily a correct assertion but rather based strictly on my own limited personal experience; mostly in college, mixing the flagship Old No. 7 with coke, and typically followed up with a good ol’ toilet hugging session. Those were the days, right?
Years later I approach whiskey in a much different way, typically enjoying neat and always seeking out new, quality experiences. As a result, the buzz surrounding this particular product has successfully landed Jack Daniel’s on my radar. In anticipation of writing this review, I did some exploration into Jack Daniel’s history beyond the modern-day buzz surrounding the Lincoln County Process and heated discussions as to whether or not it’s actually bourbon, which for the record, I don’t care.
What surprised me most is something I already knew but needed a reminder of. The brand is rich with history dating back to the the late 1800’s, so much so that in 1972 the Jack Daniel’s Distillery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite its mass-produced and run-of-the-mill surface level feel, on paper Jack Daniel’s gives purists everything they want; the company makes their own barrels, distills and ages their own whiskey, and shares a reasonable amount of information with those who are interested in seeking it out.
As for the flavor profile of this whiskey, it’s uncharacteristic of others in my collection and pushes the limits on a flavor profile I would typically go for, which is accentuated by it being barrel proof. I’ve sampled from two different Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel Proof bottlings, and while both share some underlying similarities, they offer very different experiences, with the bottle in review having a fuller flavor profile and providing a more interesting experience by comparison. My particular bottle is by no means a perfect balance of flavors, but what it offers is exciting, unique tasting, and enjoyable; albeit a somewhat strange mix of flavors. Love it or hate it, it’s unique yet polarizing flavor profile might just be one of the best things it has going for it.