Sunday, February 9, 2014

Review #61: Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, George Dickel Classic No. 8 Recipe

charcoal mellowed

This is the world's favorite whiskey and its near neighbor. Each is produced by a giant multinational corporation. Both subject their newmake to the "Lincoln County Process," which involves soaking maple charcoal with it. The idea is presumably that it takes out yucky stuff. Of course, there are other paths to the same goal, notably: aging, and not putting yucky stuff in in the first place. I know how this is going to turn out, but I thought I'd get some fresh samples to check.


Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Tennessee Sour Mash Whiskey, 40% abv

Smells like wet, dusty cardboard. (Wet and dusty at the same time is a kind of achievement, I suppose.) I'll play Candy Crush till I'm dead and come back ... The cardboard is still there, but some fruit (apricots?) and vanilla and nail polish come in, too. There's some charred wood and creamed corn. The palate is surprisingly like the nose: like getting smacked in the tongue with an old cardboard box filled with tinned fruit, corn, and lumber. Finish is the same. Consistency, that is.

score: 65


George Dickel Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky, Classic No. 8 Recipe, 40% abv.

The cardboard seems a little drier and woodier. The whole seems leaner and grassier. I don't have any Candy Crush lives. Umm. Now it's chalky -- it reminds me of the amox suspensions that babies with ear infections get. Or is that powdered milk? Better come back in a few minutes ... Sure enough, some fruit come out, but it's still lean. There's a very high fruity-medicinal note, as if from a Lifesavers-branded cough syrup. Palate is softer, fruitier, and cleaner than the JD, though. More pleasant to drink and less woody. Cracked corn and vanilla on the finish.

score: 67


ok, let's try them in their natural habitat, with Coke.

JD: weirdly, the woodiness and some funky medicinal notes are what stand out from the Coke. Maybe on the rocks with more Coke is the way to go.
GD: works much better, although it gives a sour edge to the Coke's sweetness. It becomes interestingly vegetal and spicy, though. Reminds me of a place that sells handmade soaps with herbal fragrances. Plus Coke. (I'm not sure this is a tasting note.)

Neither of them are bad. They're perfectly ok. But they're marketed as premium and here (in NYS) they're really quite expensive, actually -- comparable to much better whiskey. (The Dickel is much better on that front, but the Dickel #12 is outrageously priced here.) I have trouble thinking of the Lincoln County Process as anything other than a way of making cheap booze palatable, so I have trouble figuring out why this is supposed to merit a deluxe price.




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