Jack Daniel's Single Barrel

This was bottled on March 3rd 2016, from Barrel No. 16-1620 from rick L-20.

The colour is a deep coppery gold. On the nose there is a huge amount of caramel and vanilla, with malt, balsamic, liquorice all-sorts, red apple skins and mint. Maltier with water. Typical JD but with more oomph.

On the palate there is tons of spice, a bit overwhelming. Chewy and mouth-coating. Vanilla custard, creme caramel, more liquorice and molasses. Very oily. Tons of oak here. Much calmer with water, which is good. There's a lot of flavour going on, but it's all a bit too much.

The long finish is very oaky, with burnt sugar and strong herbs like oregano. It's fine if you like your JD but there is no subtlety to this barrel, it comes on like a bat out of hell and blows out your tastebuds. Amazingly, the last JD SB I tasted was from Barrel No. 16-1621, from the same rick and bottled on the same date - they must have lain next to each other! That one I scored 85 and it is very different. That one was much closer to the Old No. 7 profile, while the one I'm tasting today has gone overboard. 1620 must have been maturing longer than 1621, given that other variables should be very similar.

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