Distillery: Jack Daniel’s
Proof: 97
Age: 10 years
Mashbill: 80% Corn, 12% Rye, 8% Malted Barley
Price: ~$70
Company
Located in Lynchburg, Tennessee and owned by Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel’s is one of the most well-known names and highest-selling brands in whiskey. They’re most known for creating sour mash Tennessee whiskey—which is like bourbon but the distillate goes through an extra step called the Lincoln County Process (charcoal filtering).
Production
This is the 2nd batch of the Jack Daniel’s 10 year expression, which is the first 10 year whiskey from the brand in over 100 years.
Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Review
Nose – 4.25/5
Classic Jack Daniel’s notes on steroids – rich caramel, oak, vanilla, brown sugar, and banana. Smells sweet and incredibly inviting.
Palate – 3.75/5
Initial heat, almost an unexpected amount, with notes of banana, raisin, cinnamon, caramel, brown sugar, and oak. It’s much drier than anticipated and continues to dry up even more as you chew.
It’s a solid pour and definitely rich, but the heat and dryness is a bit of a bizarre surprise.
Finish – 3.5/5
Hot and medium length finish with notes of red hots, banana, leather, oak, and candied pecans. The heat and leathery oak are a bit overpowering, which is a bit disappointing compared to the complexity of the nose and palate.
Value – 3/5
You likely won’t find this for it’s $70 MSRP. Since it’s allocated, and since it’s JD, you can expect to pay upwards of $100 for this bottle. And while I think $70 is relatively fair, anything over that really isn’t.
It’s a great pour and takes the JD flavor we’ve come to know and love to the next level. But it’s not $100 good. There are many better options for that pricepoint that you can readily find on the shelves. For what it’s worth, I liked the new Jack Daniel’s 12 Year release substantially better and would opt to pay the extra $10 for that instead.
Jack Daniel’s 10 Year Review: The Verdict
3.625/5
We score each bourbon based on nose, palate, finish, and value.
Scoring System:
- Platinum – 4.25 – 5
- Gold – 3.25 – 4.24
- Silver – 2.75 – 3.24
- Bronze – <2.75
Hunter Branch is the Founder and Director of Editorial for Bourbon Inspector. He has been writing about and professionally reviewing bourbon since 2020 (and has been drinking it for much longer). He’s been able to interview big names in the bourbon industry like Trey Zoeller from Jefferson’s Bourbon and his work has been featured in publications like TastingTable, Mashed, and more.