Review #207: Jack Daniels 12 Year Batch 2

MASH BILL: 80% corn, 8% rye, 12% malted barley 

AGE: 12 years

PROOF: 107

COST: $80 MSRP for 700mL bottle

I picked up this bottle through an individual who was liquidating their whiskey collection. It was part of a bundle of 3 of the top Jack Daniel’s bottles of recent years: 2024 Coy Hill, JD12 Batch 2, and JD14 Batch 1. Even though the JDCH and JD14 were about half-full and the JD12 was only shy about 1 or 2 pours, I’m going to consider it an even split at $150 for each bottle. So, with the going rate of these bottles on secondary, at $150 it was a hell of a deal. I was very happy to be able to get this JD12 bottle in such a great deal considering how well it has been received in the whiskey world. Let’s pour it up and check it out!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Deep reddish, brown (1.8), syrupy with slow, fat legs. 

NOSE: Deep, rich sweetness. Butterscotch, caramelized bananas, vanilla cream, and maple syrup. There is a nice oaky backdrop to all the sweet flavors with sweet oak and barrel char. Occasional pops of cherry jam and a little black pepper numbness.

PALATE: Medium, creamy mouthfeel. If you’ve ever had creamy maple leaf candies, I get a lot of that right away. A little creamy, rich maple syrup and some vanilla cream. The longer I hold it in my mouth, I start to get notes of Bananas Foster cream pie, brown sugar caramelized bananas, brown butter, and vanilla ice cream. On the back half of the sip, stewed dark fruit, charred oak, cinnamon, and black pepper spice. I get a cherry cola note right before going into the finish.

FINISH: Long finish. Wood and charred/burnt notes really dominate the finish: charred oak, burnt butterscotch, and toasted maple wood. Spicier notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper are quite evident in the finish. Notes of vanilla cream caramels and banana pop up occasionally but mostly yield to the wood and spice notes.

RATING: 9.1/10

OVERALL: The fact that Jack Daniel’s is sitting on older barrels like this is really exciting, knowing that there will be other releases like this in the future. This was so damn good! The richness of this is hard to beat; even at 12 years old the oak notes didn’t overwhelm the rich sweetness going on here. This is quite the departure from regular Jack Daniel’s. Even compared to JD single barrels, both regular 94 proof and barrel proof variants, this is a noticeable step up. It is even more interesting to compare this pour to Jack Daniels Sinatra Select. Sinatra Select uses a proprietary barrel in which circumferential grooves are cut on the inside of the barrel to increase the surface area the whiskey has to interact with the wood. However, Sinatra Select is still 5-7 year-old whiskey and tastes nothing like this JD12! I think that all goes to show that there’s nothing that can replace time. This JD12 batch 2 is a titan amongst other American whiskeys and I’m going to be extremely sad when this bottle is gone.

 

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select, Hillrock Estate Sauternes CS

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, BBCo Origin High Wheat, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, Maker's Mark Wood Finishing releases, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Woodford Reserve Batch Proof 121.2, BBCo Disco #7 and #13, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08, RR15