LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — It comes from just 300 barrels that have been sitting in Lynchburg rickhouses for nearly 12 years. And today, it makes its long-awaited debut. On Tuesday, the Jack Daniel Distillery announced the release of its new 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey along with Batch 2 of its 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey. The limited whiskies are the latest in Jack Daniel’s Aged Series, an annual release of age-stated expressions that celebrate the brand’s heritage.
“The Jack Daniel Distillery is one of the most complete whiskey distilleries in the world, and we’re fortunate to have a deep history to draw inspiration from and craft premium whiskeys in a way that stays true to our heritage of quality and innovation,” said Chris Fletcher, Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller. “We released our first age-stated whiskey since the early 1900s in this series about a year ago and were thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response. We know there is a lot of excitement for our Aged Series, and we can’t wait to share Batch 2 of our 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey along with the first release of our 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey.”
Whiskey Advocate Magazine named the original 10-Year-Old as one of the Top 20 Whiskies of 2021 and it earned a World Whiskies Award as World’s Best Tennessee Whiskey from Whisky Magazine in 2022.
Tradition meets innovation
Sometimes the number one global whiskey brand gets overlooked by the connoisseurs but the aged-stated game here in Lynchburg has their attention again transforming the work that Master Distiller Chris Fletcher and Assistant Distiller Lexie Phillips are doing from old standard to innovation.
Like all whiskey made in the Hollow, the 12-Year-Old and 10-year-old started with the traditional mash bill of 80 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and 8 percent rye. And just like every other bottle made here in Lynchburg, it all starts with a proprietary yeast that can be traced all the way back to the days in which Jasper Newton himself walked the streets of Lynchburg.
Both whiskies will have limited availability
The Times got our hands on advanced bottles of both whiskies recently and we were impressed.
Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old smells and tastes slightly sweeter than the 10-year-old despite its higher proof. We got notes of molasses and brown sugar mixed with a smoky, pipe tobacco finish. The 10-Year-old gave notes of dried fruit and a bit of oak mixed with old fashion cocoa powder.
Because the number of barrels used was limited for both whiskeys and the “angle’s share” was a bit higher due to both the higher floors used for maturation and the longer maturation period, Fletcher says the availability for both whiskies will be limited. But no need to worry, they’ve both been added to the list of permanent offerings and will be released annually.
Jack Daniel’s 12-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey is offered at 107 proof (53.5 percent abv) and Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey Batch 2 at 97 proof (48.5 percent). They will be available in the United States beginning in March in 700 mL bottles for suggested retail prices of $80 and $70, respectively.
To learn more about the distillery visit their website. •
{The Lynchburg Times is an independently-owned, community newspaper located in Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We focus on public service, non-partisan, rural journalism. We cover the Metro Moore County government, local tourism, Moore County schools, high school sports, Motlow State Community College, as well as whiskey industry news and regional and state stories that affect our readers.}