After making whiskey for more than 150 years, Jack Daniel’s has distilled something new: an American single malt whiskey.
When a spirits lover hears the phrase “single malt,” they may think of single malt Scotch whiskys — often known for their grassy flavor because the malted barley may be dried with smoke from local peat moss. There are few American single malts currently being made but those that are mostly come from craft distillers.
The new Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt Whiskey ($99.99, 90 proof, available in select-duty free retail locations worldwide) is different from its Scottish relatives — there’s no peat involved. It’s made with the same yeast used in its Tennessee whiskey and rye whiskey. But, unlike whiskey, which is made with corn and rye, as well as malted barley, the only grain to be used in the single malt is malted barley.
Still made in Lynchburg
For the single malt, Jack Daniel’s used a different kind of barley than used in its other whiskeys — but it’s still ground, fermented and distilled in Lynchburg, Tennessee — and the grain results in a nuttier or biscuit-like flavor, said its master distiller Chris Fletcher.
After aging in new, charred American oak barrels for about five years and finished in Oloroso Sherry casks, the whiskey has aromas of honey, malted chocolate and dark fruits. Flavors exuded include bread and dry cherry and “an interesting texture and viscosity that you get from the barley,” he said during an online tasting of the new whiskey this week.
“When we began experimenting with a 100% malt grain bill back in 2012, we knew it would be critical to put our own stamp on timeless Single Malt traditions and craft something that was uniquely Jack Daniel’s,” Fletcher said in a press release. “There was a lot of excitement surrounding our limited edition American Single Malt Special Release last year, and we are thrilled to now offer Jack Daniel’s American Single Malt to our friends around the world.”
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Where to get Jack Daniel’s Single Malt Whiskey
Last year, the distiller, which began experimenting with making a single malt whiskey in 2013, released a special one-time single malt whiskey made from single barrels — one of several new innovations coming out of Jack Daniel’s in recent years. This new single malt whiskey, which Jack Daniels plans to continue to release, will have a “more consistent flavor profile” from a blending process, Fletcher said.
Americans will have to travel and go to a duty-free shop in an airport to find it. Some U.S. military bases are expected to have it, too.
But Fletcher hopes the new single malt will help elevate Jack Daniel’s brand globally.
“The goal of this project was really to create a modern twist on this, an American version of single malt whiskey,” Fletcher said. “Our thought was to make a malt whiskey the best that could do in a Tennessee style, in a you know, an American way, not to every try to recreate what is going on in the world of Scotch whisky, which I have all the respect in the world for.”
Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.
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