The barrel selection took place at Australia’s Brown-Forman headquarters, June 1st. Jack Daniels Assistant Master Distiller, Chris Fletcher, hosted the tasting live via video-conferencing, streaming all the way from the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee.
Also a trained chemist, Fletcher expertly talked the bartenders though the individual flavour profiles of each of the three single barrel whiskies. Fletcher attributes the unique flavour of each Jack Daniels whiskey to not only the traditional nature of their distillery process, but also to the rich flavour added by the barrels themselves.
After some debate about commercial viability versus bold uniqueness, the group came to a unanimous decision - choosing the darkest and most barrel-focused sample of the three. The consensus was that this barrel had a point of difference with its bolder flavour, something the bartenders would enjoy adding to their whiskey kits.
When describing the winning barrel, Fletcher said, “On the nose there’s a little more toasted oak. When you taste it, especially out on the edges of the tongue there’s a drying effect, and a little more of that prickle and spice on the back end.”
The most unique part of this barrel selection was certainly the collaborative effort, the first of its kind. Each bar that participated will receive a batch of the collaborative barrel, bottled and labelled with both Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary Australian collaborative label and their own unique venue labels.
Look out for the collaborative bottle at the following participating venues:
NSW: Deus café, Mr Tippley, Mary's, The Unicorn, Prince Of Wales Hotel
VIC: Ms Collins, Blue Diamond, Georges bar, Laundry
QLD: LaRuche, Brooklyn Standard, The Gresham Bar
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