Category: age statement

A New Era for Blended American Whisky (Episode 1004: May 14, 2023)

Blended American Whisky has been ignored by connoisseurs for many years, largely because the category has been dominated by cheap blends using grain neutral spirits. Now, there’s a new era for Blended American Whisky as blenders explore the flexibility the category offers, from being able to blend Bourbons and Ryes with other styles of whisky to being able to use whisky matured in used barrels. We’ll talk with master blender Ari Sussman about the trend in this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Australian distillers are in a dispute over what should be called a “single malt,” Russian officials raid Read More »

Blended American Whisky has been ignored by connoisseurs for many years, largely because the category has been dominated by cheap blends using grain neutral spirits. Now, there’s a new era for Blended American Whisky as blenders explore the flexibility the category offers, from being able to blend Bourbons and Ryes with other styles of whisky to being able to use whisky matured in used barrels. We’ll talk with master blender Ari Sussman about the trend in this week’s WhiskyCast In-Depth. In the news, Australian distillers are in a dispute over what should be called a “single malt,” Russian officials raid a factory producing counterfeit Scotch Whisky and other spirits, and we’ll learn what not to do when your golf bag catches on fire. In our Behind the Label segment, we’ll look at what researchers say is the proper amount of water to add to your whisky, and our latest Community poll asks whether you’d prefer to try a 50-year-old whisky or a 10-year-old bottled in 1920.

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Links: Whiskey JYPSI | Mammoth Distilling | Sydney Morning Herald | Penelope Bourbon | Spoetzl Brewery | Griffo Distilling | Dogfish Head | Elijah Craig | The Dalmore | Highland Park | Douglas Laing & Co. | Golf Digest | Talisker | Torabhaig Distillery | Foods

A Scottish Rye? Rye Not! (Episode 1002: April 30, 2023)

Rye hasn’t been widely used by Scotch whisky distillers for decades, but Inchdairnie Distillery is doing something different for its first release: A Scottish single grain distilled from 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley. The distillery contracted local farmers to grow the rye grain, and released its first batch of RyeLaw this week. Inchdairnie managing director Ian Palmer joins us to explain the reasons for starting with a Scottish rye whisky. In the news, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says no to reconsidering a whisky tax hike set for August, while Diageo is joining the growing list of whisky Read More »

Rye hasn’t been widely used by Scotch whisky distillers for decades, but Inchdairnie Distillery is doing something different for its first release: A Scottish single grain distilled from 53% malted rye and 47% malted barley. The distillery contracted local farmers to grow the rye grain, and released its first batch of RyeLaw this week. Inchdairnie managing director Ian Palmer joins us to explain the reasons for starting with a Scottish rye whisky. In the news, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says no to reconsidering a whisky tax hike set for August, while Diageo is joining the growing list of whisky makers eliminating cardboard gift boxes from its whiskies.

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Links: Inchdairnie Distillery | Diageo | Johnnie Walker | Westland Distillery | Buffalo Trace | Jack Daniel’s | Nikka Whisky | Michter’s | Wolfburn Distillery | Loch Lomond Whiskies | Glenmorangie | The Mirror | Dewar’s | The Whisky Exchange | Cragganmore | Glengoyne

Jack Daniel’s Revives a Piece of History With New 10-Year-Old Whiskey

August 23, 2021 – Jack Daniels became the world’s best-selling American Whiskey without an age statement, but that’s not how Jack Daniel himself made his whiskey. Before his death in 1911, Jack Daniel regularly bottled whiskies with age statements ranging from 10 to 21 years old. After Prohibition ended and the Motlow family resumed distilling, the lack of older whiskies forced them to bottle Jack Daniel’s without an age statement. That changes with the debut of the new Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey, the first whiskey from Jack Daniel’s in more than 100 years to carry an age Read More »

August 23, 2021 – Jack Daniels became the world’s best-selling American Whiskey without an age statement, but that’s not how Jack Daniel himself made his whiskey. Before his death in 1911, Jack Daniel regularly bottled whiskies with age statements ranging from 10 to 21 years old. After Prohibition ended and the Motlow family resumed distilling, the lack of older whiskies forced them to bottle Jack Daniel’s without an age statement.

That changes with the debut of the new Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old Tennessee Whiskey, the first whiskey from Jack Daniel’s in more than 100 years to carry an age statement.

Jack Daniel's Master Distiller Chris Fletcher explains the unique method for maturing the Jack Daniel's 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey. Photo ©2021, Mark Gillespie/CaskStrength Media.

Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Chris Fletcher explains the unique method for maturing the Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey. Photo ©2021, Mark Gillespie/CaskStrength Media.

“Back in his day, things were quite a bit different…certainly with the level of control we have with raw materials, ingredients, and our know-how with distillery operations and distillation, and of course the barrels that we’re able to produce ourselves at our cooperages, we have so many advantages today that Jack didn’t have,” says Chris Fletcher, the 8th master distiller in Jack Daniel’s history. “Why not do it…why not go back to our roots and do something that Jack himself did…I couldn’t be more excited,” he said in an interview at the distillery.

Fletcher and his team, led by Assistant Master Distiller Lexie Phillips, started the process for this whiskey several years ago, selecting seven and eight-year-old barrels from the upper levels of the distillery’s barrel houses where the temperatures are most extreme and moving them to the ground floor. Traditionally, barrels for the flagship Old No. 7 version of Jack Daniel’s are selected from many different parts of the barrel houses and blended together for a consistent flavor, but Fletcher chose to try something different for this new expression.

“Top floor, single barrel level, that’s really going to bring a lot of rich color, lot of flavor to it, and we really didn’t want to go much longer than about eight on that top floor,” Fletcher said. “Could you pull that off, yeah, who knows…a couple of mild summers, absolutely you could, but we decided in looking at this batch, couple of other batches, to move them down lower just to kind of slow things down and let it simmer out just a bit,” he said. Fletcher also made the call to bottle the whiskey at 48.5% ABV (97 proof), a first for the brand.

The new whiskey will be available in the U.S. as an annual release starting in September at a suggested retail price of $70 per bottle, with no current plans to release it in export markets.

Tasting notes for the Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Old are available now at WhiskyCast.com.

Editor’s note: Our interview with Chris Fletcher was conducted during a press trip for selected whisky writers to the Jack Daniel Distillery, with travel expenses covered by Brown-Forman. However, as with all of our content, full editorial control over this story remains with WhiskyCast.

Links: Jack Daniel’s