Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Batch 11 Tennessee Whiskey (Anejo Tequila) Review

Experimental barrel finishes are a rather delicate matter, when it comes to the world of bourbon–or in this case, Tennessee whiskey. Although some types of barrel finish have become common enough to be well understood, such as finishes in fortified wine casks that previously contained sherry or port, finishing American whiskey in other styles of spirits barrels–barrels that have often been reused after beginning their lives as whiskey casks–is more exotic territory, and it’s hard to say what will happen any time a distillery does it. When you’re aging American whiskey in a cask that previously contained scotch, or rum, or tequila, what is the ideal, intended effect? How much presence of that other spirit is allowed, or desired? How subtle are they allowed to be? It’s hard to say, but the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series has for years operated in this gray area.

This series is primarily available for purchase straight from the distillery, and a few select Tennessee retailers, and sees the world’s biggest Tennessee whiskey producer offering 375 ml bottles from batches of JD that have undergone various experimental finishes. In the past, these finishes in the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series have included the likes of “toasted pecan wood chips” or a rye finished in “toasted maple barrels.” For this latest batch (#11), the distillery has instead embraced agave spirits with an añejo tequila barrel finish.

What exactly does this imply? Well, this is mature Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey, aged for its typical “at least four years,” given a pretty lengthy secondary maturation of one year and seven months in casks that were used to mature añejo tequila–a term that itself means at least one year of aging in oak, typically reused American whiskey barrels. Presumably, the tequila brand giving up their barrels is one of the few owned by JD owner Brown-Forman, such as Herradura or El Jimador. This whiskey was then bottled at 45% ABV (90 proof), and it retails for a slightly steep $42, considering that these are 375 ml bottles. You’re paying to subsidize the experiment here, clearly.

Before tasting this, I find that I am a little bit incredulous to the idea that the tequila will manage to shine through this base spirit, even after a long 19 months in that añejo tequila barrel. The character of roasted agave already tends to be minimized in añejo tequila as a style, so how much will it be able to impart on Tennessee whiskey? We’ll just have to see, so let’s get to tasting.