Jack Daniel's Single Barrel 15-5238

I have two Jack Daniel's bottles I haven't written up yet, so I'm going to review them while comparing them not only to each other, but also to the Single Barrel Holiday Select 2014 (which I scored a 93), Single Barrel 14-5813 (which I scored a 90) and the standard Old No. 7 (which I don't think I've ever scored, but of course I like it).

This is from Rick R-17 and barrel 15-5238. It was bottled on Sept 22 2015.

The colour is a deep, dark copper. On the nose there is a tremendous amount of wood smoke - almost peaty! Extremely rich, with tons of vanilla and black pepper. Tobacco, dark fruits, rum raisin, baked apples and wet leather. Furniture polish, mint...and more wood smoke with water. I could go on and on, there is so much going on with this nose - one of the best I've ever come across in the JD SB range.

On the palate, very fruity and spicy with cloves, cinnamon, cayenne, overripe peaches, brazil nuts and black liquorice. Oily mouthfeel, as it should be - even oilier with water. Extremely oaky, perhaps a touch too much, but definitely an experience.

The finish is peppery and oaky with more cloves, rye spice and savoury herbs. One of the very best JD SBs I've had - very dark and rich (almost overpowering) but a real pleasure. They've done a redesign of the labelling, and one issue I have is that, where it used to give the bottling date, they now label that date as "filled". That could be confusing to the novice who may think that is the date the barrel was filled (of course, it's not, it's the bottling date).

Comparisons. Richer than the 14-5813, though that older one has some interesting lighter spices. Not as fruity, nor as subtle and smooth, as the 2014 Holiday Select. And compared to Old No. 7, it's just more of everything, and then some. Excellent whiskey.

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