Making a good whiskey isn't easy; making three solid whiskeys and blending them into a fourth, good whiskey might be darn near impossible. The folks at Jack Daniel's have taken whiskey to heights with Jack Daniel's Triple Mash Tennessee Whiskey.
A Whiskey that's More than Just the Sum of its Parts
Jack Daniel's (owned by Brown-Forman of Louisville, Kentucky) recently introduced its Bottled-in-Bond lineup, which includes Jack Daniel's Bonded and Jack Daniel's Triple Mash.
Each of these expressions are produced according to the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897. As such, it is the product of a single distillation season and is produced by a single distiller at a single location (no mingling of whiskeys from different seasons, ages, or locations). In addition, it has been aged in a federally bonded warehouse under U.S. government supervision for at least 4 years. The finished product is bottled at 100 proof and is labeled to identify the distillery where it was produced (DSP-TN-1).
The Triple Mash finished product is a blend of three Bottled-in-Bond products:
60% Jack Daniel's Tennessee Rye (70% rye, 18% corn, 12% malted barley)
20% Jack Daniel's Whiskey (the flagship JD product of 80% corn, 12% rye, and 8% malted barley)
20% Jack Daniel's American Malt (100% malted barley)
If the American Malt product isn't familiar to you - no worries. I had to do a little sleuthing myself. Jack Daniel's has distilled the product since 2013 and this is the first release using the 100% malted barley spirit.
The Tasting
The whiskey is bottled in a classic, shouldered Jack Daniel's bottle. If it looks a little smaller than a typical bottle - it's because it is. Along with Jack Daniel's Bonded, the Triple Mash whiskey is bottled in a 700ml bottle (vs. the more typical 750ml bottle). This aligns more closely with international distributions that use the slightly smaller bottle size (and may be an indication of where these products may see significant targeted sales).
Color: Brilliant copper with a host of legs displayed inside the tasting glass.
Nose: Warm vanilla laced with lighter notes of cherry and dark berries. There is also a note of delicious malted breakfast cereal that reminds me of the Woodford Reserve Malt Whiskey. Finally, there are notes of toasted wood from the barrel. There is truly a lot going on in this one!
Palate: There is a delicious, creamy mouthfeel. Vanilla is present, but there are tons of delicate sweet cherry fruit notes that are not overwhelming, well balanced with oak and spice. There is almost a little cherry cola / Dr. Pepper taste to this. This is incredibly tasty, and I find myself going back again and again to taste more.
Finish: Traditional rye spice is balanced perfectly with sweeter notes of vanilla, fruit, and malted cereal. There is a light cinnamon-sugar note here, too, like the topping you'd sprinkle on toast.
Overall: I really, really like this Bottled-in-Bond whiskey. At around $35, this is a bargain for a truly unique expression. While not a bourbon, there is enough going on in this whiskey to make it very interesting. In all honesty, based on its originality, it could have been priced 50% higher and would still be a good bargain.
The uniqueness of the mash bill is another selling point. I spent a few minutes doing some math to discover the overall blended mash bill consists of 44% rye, 27% corn, and 29% malted barley. I'm truly amazed that there is this much balanced flavor coming from the blend of these three grains.
And you don't have to take my word for this. Mrs. Joseph Bourbon is slowly warming up to the idea of whiskeys and bourbons - perhaps from all of those distillery tours in the Bluegrass. As she tasted this, she exclaimed, "Be sure to let me know when you're pouring this - I might just need another sampling [wink]". I think I'll have another.