Review #208: Jack Daniels 14 Year Batch 1

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

AGE: 14 years

PROOF: 126.3

COST: $150 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. This JD14 is a bottle that I never thought I would actually get the chance to own – the only bottle that I saw locally was going for $800 putting it strongly in the hard pass territory for me. But, due to my good luck and fortune, one man’s loss is another man’s treasure! I found this to be a fitting bottle to review for the 200^th review milestone. There's already been so many people that have shared thoughts and insights to this JD expression that I'm not going to spend any time with that here today, but I will give you some thoughts on 200 reviews. But first, let's check out the whiskey!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: Dark, old oak color (1.8), viscous with slow, teardrop legs.

NOSE: Sweet and oaky. Burnt brown sugar and caramelized bananas meet charred, old oak on the nose. Blackberries coated in vanilla sugar and an occasional pop of cherry candy. Warming baking spices stand out most when I pull my nose away from the top of the glass slightly. It’s more oak forward and a bit spicier than the JD12 that I last reviewed, but there’s still plenty of dark, sweet notes.

PALATE: Medium mouthfeel and a little astringent, a sign of the proof more than anything. Heavily caramelized brown sugar, cinnamon dusted milk chocolate, and vanilla crème Brule. Right at the mid-palate I get a nice buttercream frosting note that I adore in this sip. Old, earthy oak starts out sweet at first and grows more tannic as it sits on the palate. Worn leather starts to appear after the initial rush of sweetness. Raspberry jam and tart berries bring a second wave of sweetness, but the oak profile persists.

FINISH: Long, tannic finish. Charred oak, bananas caramelized in dark spiced rum, burnt butterscotch. All the spices that evaded me earlier stand strong in the finish: cinnamon, nutmeg, and black pepper. On the front end of the finish, with a good chew I can revive the red fruit notes from the palate for a few seconds.

RATING: 8.8/10

OVERALL: The JD14 is noticeably oakier than the JD12 Batch 2 I looked at for my last review. It’s still exquisite, but the JD12 suited my palate a bit better. It probably doesn’t hurt that JD12 is at my ideal proof of 107, but I appreciate this JD14 being bottled at cask strength of 126.3 proof. It had zero proof heat on the nose and finish, and just a slight astringent tingle on the palate. No doubt that the higher proof is helping boost some of the spicer notes too. I did proof some of this down to around 105-110 just to see how it compared to the JD12 B2, and I found it was still oakier than the JD12, while the JD12 still had a lot more fruit sweetness. If I had more of this JD14, I would probably experiment with blending some of it with JD12 just to see if the sweeter profile of it can balance out with the oakiness of the JD14.

Thoughts After 200 Reviews

For those that follow me on the r/bourbon, you probably know this is my 200th review on that subreddit. I first got interested in bourbon around 2009-2010 (and as with so many others, Maker’s Mark is responsible). I discovered r/bourbon somewhere around 2018/2019 and lurked around for years before making my first review in January of 2023. While my first trip to the bourbon trail in late 2022 really kickstarted this, there were two underlying drivers for me wanting to start documenting my reviews on r/bourbon:

1. I found that as I read some reviews, I would have a different take on the same whiskey and thought it could be of value to share those differing/alternate views
2. I felt like the exercise of actually writing down my tasting notes would make me develop my palate further.

While I do feel like my palate has developed more and I’ve enjoyed the discussions in my posts with people that have differing takes on tasting notes, there have been some unforeseen developments after becoming more involved with this subreddit.

The first is that I found I’ve become more interested in the history and background of American whiskey, the distilleries, the personalities within the industry (both past and present), and the whiskey making process. This deeper interest has expanded me into exploring international categories of whiskey as well (and doing some reviews on r/scotch and r/worldwhisky).

But the biggest thing coming from doing these reviews has been the relationships developed through whiskey. Naturally, writing and posting reviews requires time in doing research and making these reviews. That led to me becoming more knowledgeable on the topic and capable (and confident) of sharing interesting facts and answering questions that others have about bourbon and American whiskey. As a result, I’ve developed more relationships through whiskey! I’ve met people through my local bourbon club as well as have gotten closer friends more interested in whiskey. But the coolest relationships are the ones that were born solely through r/bourbon. I’ve had the opportunity to meet fellow whiskey enthusiasts that I would have never met otherwise (shout out to u/Prettayprettaygood and u/micro7777), I’ve exchanged samples with folks, I’ve had some great conversations about different whiskies they’ve had or learned about distilleries I haven’t even heard of, and I’ve engaged with a lot of you here on this subreddit. It’s been a fun first 200 reviews, and while I look forward to the next 200, I look forward to more of the camaraderie that develops over the ol’ brown water! Cheers!

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