Tasting Notes: Jack Daniels:Old No7

Jack Daniels Old No7 (USA: Tennessee whiskey : 40% ABV)

Visual: Shining amber honeyed gold.

Viscosity: Takes a moment before nigh universal puckering breaks out and slides slowly down the glass.

Nose: Big sweet honey and honeycomb. Charcoal is lightly set within. Wheat and sawmills. Distillery mash tuns.

Body: Thin front, apples, toffee. Slight syrup and barley.

Finish: Warming. Hot cross buns. Very light charcoal again. Grain. Charred oak barrels.

Conclusion: So we reach the bourbon (Sorry – Tennessee whisky) so beloved by rock stars and what do we find. Well it’s no great shakes, and far from a world beater.

On the other hand, there is more to it than maybe you remember and it is a more subtle beast than my early teen memories would have suggested. For that I will give a short tip of the hat to its unappreciated elements, the slight apples and toffee that are never its most broadcast elements.

This does not alter the fact that there is a reason why people quite often violate this drink with coke.

Still, on the bright side it’s not Bells.

It remain a drink I have fond memories of, and will return to in nostalgia, but lets not mistake that for a complex spirit.