Memorable Pours of 2020 - Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof

Straight away, one assumption is very safe to make about this post - there will be no complaining about low bottling proof. Just as the name Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof  leaves one linguistically satiated, the bottling proof does the same in terms of ethanol punch. Only two other whiskeys in the stash compete with this Jack in the potency department, both bourbons - Jim Beam's Booker's and Heaven Hill's Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - each of which often topping 65%+ ABV. While both are delicious, this Jack is entirely unique to its Kentucky siblings and as such is frequently my pour of choice when I settle in after dinner most nights.

I first sampled Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof in month 10 of our whiskey group's year-long tasting extravaganza. I was an immediate fan, but fully admit that this whiskey, for me, is impossible to enjoy neat. I must add water, sometimes a lot of water. Elusively, that quantity of water is often different - some nights it is a tablespoon, other nights upwards of half an ounce, but when I find the 'perfect' dilution, whoa momma, does this whiskey come alive. This is potentially controversial, particularly in some bourbon-biased areas of the Internet, but when I find that dilution sweet-spot in a pour of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof, the experience not only rivals, but exceeds that of virtually all super-premium, nearly-impossible-to-find bourbons that are out there; to my tastes at least.

One downside to be aware of however, as the verbose name indicates, this is a single barrel product. A bottle you really enjoy may or may not be equaled by the next bottle you purchase (assuming it came from a different barrel of course). Thus far, I've enjoyed four bottles, each from a different barrel. While all four were fantastic, there was one that really stood out. Since I did not keep a sample of that star barrel, who's to say how trustworthy my nostalgia is. To combat nostalgia, beginning in 2019, if a single barrel product really curls my toes, I immediately transfer four ounces of it into a smaller bottle to keep archived away for future reference. Full disclosure - not all of those toe curling whiskeys remained so as I revisited them at later dates, almost certainly due to a disproportionate romanticization of them initially.

As for Jack's specifics, as I said in my initial impressions back in 2018, the barrel proof version is radically different than Old No. 7. This is a dense, mouth-filling whiskey. Caramel, charred oak and vanilla are certainly present, but so too is an amazing cooked corn, think corn pudding or creamed corn combined with the smell of sugar being torched atop a crème brûlée. For Jack purists out there, the hallmark smell and taste of banana is indeed there, but I'd say it takes a back seat to the corn, vanilla, and oak.

Throughout the bulk of 2020, my much better half and I typically spent late afternoons on weekends and holidays lounging in our home cocktail lounge (formerly known as a Florida room). Affectionately called the Snaggletooth Lounge (long story, perhaps another time), filled with Tiki and cocktail memorabilia, we'd sip away the final hours of the Sun's time with us for a given day. After a round (or two) of cocktails, I'd typically go grab a bottle of the good stuff, and pour an ounce to sit and contemplate life with. One such night, I poured a bit of the Jack and upon smelling the glass, my better half grew wildly enthusiastic. I took a sniff, and sure enough, she was right - there was a symphony wafting up from the glass. It smelled sweet, smokey, savory, complex, bold, but not obnoxious and certainly not harsh. She summarized it best - 'this smells like a world-class whiskey that is not here to waste anyone's time '. Oh how I agree.

Happy New Year!

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof
Classification: Tennessee Whiskey
Country: United States of America
Region: Tennessee (Lynchburg: 35.285N, -86.368W)
Mash Bill: 80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Strength: Varies by barrel, ~60-68% ABV (120-136° Proof)
Color: Natural Color
Filtration: Non-Chill Filtered
Maturation: Unknown Age (thought to be 6-8 years) in 100% New Charred Oak
Price: $64.99 (Most Bottle Shops)

Memorable Pours of 2020 - Woodford Reserve

Well 2020 was certainly a year. I'll leave the superlative recaps of the year to other commentaries, but I do hope all have coped as well as can be expected in what was a remarkable year. As for me, while our extracurricular activities were greatly curbed, there was still a fair amount of hooch consumed in the household. Over the course of the following week or two, I'll post some quick blurbs on some of the pours that stuck out for me over the course of the year. 

I'll open with what some might consider an unlikely standout, but throughout the year, this seemingly 'ordinary' bourbon consistently reminded me that being rare and/or expensive guarantees hype, but not quality. If you were to scour many of the whiskey-centric corners of the Internet, you'd discover that Woodford Reserve is unlikely to garner any significant hype. Perhaps a victim of its early success being regarded as a 'boutique' bourbon or perhaps being widely available wherever spirits are sold, Woodford tends not to wake up the echoes of the whiskey enthusiast world. Owned and produced by Brown Forman, Woodford Reserve was first helmed by master distiller Lincoln Henderson who sought to create a bourbon that satisfied all tastes and had no emphasis in any one area. Woodford Reserve's website proudly shows a flavor wheel that highlights their bourbon touching every area of the wheel, with no single attribute dominating the experience.

It had been some time since I had a pour of Woodford, the bottle sitting in a distant, infrequently visited corner of the whiskey stash. But then the quarantine-centric days of the summer inspired a bout of cleaning and organizing which brought the bottle of Woodford out of hiding and into the glass. Sip after sip left me rather amazed at how tasty the bourbon was. Intrigued, I decided to taste Woodford alongside a handful of other favorite bourbons to determine if my enjoyment of Woodford was due to absence making the heart grow fonder or if Woodford really was bringing a gun to a knife fight. Time and again, I kept coming back to the Woodford - it really held its own against the competition for me. Side note: a silver lining to the quarantine was eliminating the need to drive anywhere which simultaneously opened up plenty of time to sample hooch.

Bottled at 45.2% ABV, Woodford is easily enjoyable neat, in fact, I don't even bother adding water. To me, Woodford sips perfectly just as it pours from the bottle. One secret to Woodford's success, to my palate at least, is just how well it tames the charred oak and wood astringency that is found in a lot of bourbons. The oak is really well controlled, which allows so many other flavors to emerge from the glass. All the classic bourbon hallmarks are there - brown sugar, caramel, vanilla. But there is so much more - oranges, cocoa powder, dried fruits (apple, raisins, apricots), and baking spices (clove and cinnamon).

Because nothing in life is perfect, Woodford does have a handful of shortcomings for me. Foremost, the finish is a tad too short. I would describe the finish as medium in length, it lingers for a bit, but oh how I would love it to linger longer. The second criticism is probably related to the first - the bottling strength. 45.2% ABV is good, but I'd personally prefer an even 50% bottling strength. While 45.2% ABV is perfect for sipping neat, the downside is there is not much room to play with when using in any application that will dilute the whiskey. A bit more proof would ensure robustness in cocktails and allow neat drinkers to adjust how they see fit. In recent years, Woodford has produced a 'batch proof' version of their bourbon bottled undiluted (typically in the 60 - 65% ABV range) which has earned heaps of praise on the Internet, but sadly, I've never sampled the batch proof personally. Perhaps one day...

Woodford Reserve

Classification: Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Country: United States of America
Region: Kentucky (Versailles: 38.125°N -84.854°W)
Mash Bill: 72% Corn, 18% Rye, 10% Malted Barley
Strength: 45.2% ABV (90.4° Proof)
Color: Natural Color
Filtration: Non-chill Filtered
Maturation: Unknown age in 100% new charred oak
Price: $29.99 (pretty much everywhere spirits are sold)

A few final footnotes for Woodford - The Woodford Reserve Distillery uses only traditional copper pot stills rather than the more-common column stills used at most bourbon distilleries. The finished bourbon however is actually a combination of this pot-distilled whiskey and column-distilled whiskey from Brown Forman's Old Forester/Early Times distillery in Shively, Kentucky. If you ever happen to be remotely close to Versailles, Kentucky it is absolutely worth the time and effort to visit Woodford Reserve. They offer a number of different tours, each easily worth the price of admission, and the grounds are truly spectacular.

The Brooding Manhattan

Keeping up with the previous posts's theme, I return this holiday weekend with yet another concoction I first had at a Disney property. Located adjacent to Disney's Boardwalk Resort, the AbracadabraBar is a small space themed after a 1920s speakeasy, a favorite haunt of the magicians that work the boardwalk's various venues... or so the Disney story goes. While the theming story is a bit of Disney magic, the actual space is indeed well worth a visit - intricate and interesting decor in a fairly small space. The cocktail menu, in keeping with the theme, features many brown-liquor based cocktails - negronis, side cars, whiskey sours, and manhattans.

It was here at AbracadabraBar that I was introduced to a cocktail I'd never heard of - the black manhattan. After enjoying one (or three) on that trip, I returned home inspired to master the drink myself. 

Most, but not all, Manhattan recipes (black or not) call for rye, but I've found bourbon works to my tastes in this drink a tad better than rye. The next variable is the amaro - there is no standard amaro and in fact I am led to believe that the variance among amaros is quite high. Thus far I've used Montenegro Amaro with good results, but as soon as that bottle is finished, I'll be trying other amaros out of sheer curiosity.

Below I've listed two different proportions for a black manhattan that I came across on the Internet. The first is a 3:1 bourbon:amaro ratio, the second is a 2:1 ratio. Because I enjoy the herbal bitterness that the amaro brings to the drink, I tend to stick with the 2:1 version. If however that does not sound to your liking, give the 3:1 a whirl.

Ingredients

1.5 ounces (3:1 ratio) - 2 ounces (2:1 ratio) bourbon
0.5 ounces (3:1 ratio) - 1 ounces (2:1 ratio) amaro
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

Cocktail Cherry Syrup as desired

Composition

Because I garnish this drink with Luxardo cherries, I typically prep the garnish first and then put a small amount (~1/2 teaspoon) of the cherry syrup in the bottom of the cocktail shaker. Add all ingredients to the shaker, stir and taste. Adjust to your preference in terms of sweetness, booze, bitters, etc. 

Once the drink tickles your fancy, add ice to the shaker and stir until well chilled. Strain into your preferred glass. Here I deviate from tradition and serve in a double old fashioned glass with a large chunk of ice. Garnish with cocktail cherries.

Cheers to the holiday weekend(s) conclusion to 2020 - a truly remarkable year...