During my recent exploration of the new, single barrel offerings from Jack Daniel’s Oak Liquor Cabinet happened to get in store of the Select; naturally I couldn’t wait to do a side by side comparison of the store pick and a regular bottle. Without further ado let’s get to the review
Single Barrel Select #17-3241
Age: NAS
Abv: 94 proof
Color: A red tinged amber
Price: $43.99
Neat
Nose: A balance nose with sweet bananas, caramel, warm spice and oak
Taste: Weaker notes than the nose with mostly caramel and oak notes. Nice mouthfeel, viscous for being sub 100 proof.
Finish: The flavors pick back up in the medium length finish with vanilla, spice and oak notes
On a rock
Nose: Muted by the ice but still sweet with predominantly caramel notes
Taste: Caramel and vanilla
Finish: Shorter but not short, no spice, nice vanilla
OLC Pick Barrel #17-0657
Age: 5 years
Abv: 94 proof
Color: A shade lighter than the normal offering
Price: $47.99
Neat
Nose: Sweet with caramel, banana, vanilla and oak notes but not nearly as much spice
Taste: All bananas and oak Mouth felt a bit thinner than the normal offering
Finish: Significantly longer finish with strong sweet bananas, vanilla and oak alongside a touch of warm spice
On a rock
Nose: Also a bit muted by the ice but with clear banana and caramel notes
Taste: The taste held up better to the ice with that banana note shining through
Finish: The finish is again more powerful than the normal offering with more banana and oak
Conclusion
Leaning in on the signature JD banana notes and the better finish put the OLC pick up a notch over the Select for me but not enough to get to an 8. These bottles don’t live up to the very high bar the Heritage Barrel set for me but as a significant step up over previous JD releases. I could see myself occasionally grabbing one of these bottles as an alternative to a Four Roses SiB or OF 1920 as change up.
Single Barrel Select #17-3241
7 - a solid whiskey I’d happily order at bar if they don’t have something 8+
OLC Pick Barrel #17-0657
7 - a solid whiskey I’d happily order at bar if they don’t have something 8+
You can also follow me on Instagram(@atxbourbon) or reddit to keep up with these reviews and my other whiskey-centric adventures.
Scale
My reviews are mostly about taste but occasionally take price into consideration generally dropping a point from whiskies in the 8-9 range that seem significantly more expensive than similar quality bottles.
10 - an all time favorite, must buy
9 - a favorite that I almost always have a bottle of on my shelf
8 - an excellent bottle I’d be happy to buy
7 - a solid whiskey I’d happily order at bar if they don’t have something 8+
6 - a decent whiskey that I don’t prefer but don’t avoid and would be fine having as a mixer or in a pinch somewhere with a poor selection
5 - I would drink it if offered and I didn’t have to pay for it
4 - Fine as a mixer, bring on the Coke Zero
3 - Maybe a mixer if I’m in pinch
2 - no thanks
1 - pouring out the bottle