Jack Daniel’s is the best selling whiskey in the world. Not the best selling bourbon or the best selling scotch. No, it’s the undisputed champion of them all when it comes to the sales numbers around this blue-green marble. Chalk a win up for Tennesse whiskey.
So we have to ask, what’s the best bottle of Jack Daniel’s to drink? Where does the line shine its brightest?
To find that answer, we’re breaking down the eight bottles in the core line of the Jack Daniel’s portfolio. We’re not ranking limited editions, one-offs, or flavored spirits. Though, Jack Daniel’s Honey and Jack Daniel’s Apple definitely have their place in our hearts. These are yearly releases that have withstood the test of time.
Before we dive in, there’s really no science here. We’re simply going on taste. We did think about the price, but it ended up not being a factor. Jack Daniel’s is very affordable, even at their highest-end. There’s only one bottle on this list that we’d deem “expensive” and it’s still a killer expression.
Okay, let’s get to it.
8. Gentleman Jack
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $32
The Whiskey:
This bottle was introduced (in its current iteration) in 1990. The key to this expression is that it’s good ol’ Old No. 7 Jack Daniel’s that is passed through sugar maple charcoal — the famed Lincoln County Process that defines Tennessee whiskey — twice.
Tasting Notes:
Jack is known for banana and it’s here in spades. There’s a clear sense of banana cream pie with a buttery crust and plenty of creamy vanilla pudding in the base. There’s a twinge of spice and oak on the backend but not a lot. The finish has a caramel sweetness that plays second fiddle to the banana and vanilla.
Bottom Line:
This really feels like it was calibrated for a different generation’s palate. It’s very pleasant, but too much of the oak and spice have been stripped away in that second filtration.
7. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select
ABV: 47%
Average Price: $52
The Whiskey:
This was first introduced in 1997. The juice is hand-selected from barrels on the upper floors of Jack’s vast rickhouses. The whisky is bottled at a slightly higher proof to allow the nuance of the juice to shine.
Tasting Notes:
The banana notes are drawn way back here and replaced by a clear sense of toasted oak. That oak is the underpinning for notes of caramel corn, mild spice, and plenty of oily vanilla beans. The sweet banana fruit is there and marries well to a peppery spice that amps up as the end draws near with plenty of that toasted wood lingering the longest.
Bottom Line:
This is really nice. I keep a bottle of this on my shelf for after-dinner drams with a rock. It can get a little too oaky for some though, hence it’s spot on the list.
6. Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $25
The Whiskey:
Nathan “Nearest” Green and Jack Daniel’s created this Tennessee whiskey after the Civil War, thanks in part to Green utilizing the Lincoln County Process when making his whiskey. The low-rye (eight percent) sour mash is made with that iconic soft limestone water and then filtered, drop by drop, through ten-feet of sugar maple charcoal. The juice is then aged for at least four years in new oak.
Tasting Notes:
Vanilla wafers, sweet corn, and butter roasted banana greet you. The palate delivers on those promises while adding in a subtle charred oak bitterness with a touch of spicy warmth. The end is short, sweet, and full of that buttery banana.
Bottom Line:
This is probably one of the most iconic whiskeys on the planet over the past 100 years. It’s the perfect shooter, works in a highball, and makes a hell of a cocktail. It’s available literally everywhere booze is sold and it’s cheap. You really can’t ask for more.
Maybe we should have put it at number one, given all of that…
5. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Rye
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $25
The Whiskey:
This fairly new release (2017) from Jack asks “what would straight rye whiskey taste like if it was given the ol’ Lincoln County treatment?” Jack’s mash bill utilizes a 70 percent rye and cave water from the nearby Tennessee mountains. They then treat the hot distillate as they would a standard Tennessee whiskey, with sugar maple charcoal filtration and new oak barreling.
Tasting Notes:
This opens up with a mellow-yet-sharp spice next to rich vanilla and a hint of orchard fruit. The sip leans into the spice while pairing a creamy mouthfeel with an oaky richness. The end lingers in the spice and vanilla while quickly fading, with hints of that oak popping back in.
Bottom Line:
This has no business being as good as it is, especially at this price point. I really dig it in highballs, but also use it for cocktails.
Sazerac, Manhattan, boulevardier, old fashioned … it’s all good.
4. Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $170 (1-liter bottle)
The Whiskey:
Frank Sinatra was one of Jack’s biggest fans. The crooner was buried with a bottle. The actual juice in this expression is a throwback of sorts to how Jack was made in Sinatra’s day. They use special “Sinatra Barrels” that have concentric grooves carved into the newly charred oak, giving the whiskey more surface area to do its thing. Once that’s aged, it’s blended with traditional Old No. 7 and proofed at 45 percent, as it also would have been back in the Rat Pack days.
Tasting Notes:
Stonefruit, caramel apples, vanilla pods, and a hint of that toasted oak pull you in. The sip leans into the fruit with a rich and buttery vanilla-laden caramel, plenty of peppery spice, and more of that oak, along with a very distant echo of tobacco smoke. The fruit leans back towards a mild banana as the caramel, spice, vanilla, and oak slowly fades out and warms your senses, leaving you with one final puff of that smoke.
Bottom Line:
This feels like Jack Daniel’s dialed up to eleven. It’s super easy-drinking and works wonders as a sipper with a little water or ice.
3. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel 100 Proof
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $56
The Whiskey:
This is Jack’s bottled-in-bond expression. It started out as a yearly release for the travel market, meaning it’ll be a little harder to find outside of duty-free shops — though not impossible anymore. The juice is classic Jack from a single distilling season that’s then aged in a bonded rickhouse for at least four years under the government’s watchful eye.
Tasting Notes:
The oak really comes through with hints of vanilla, fruit, and buttery and sweet toffee. The palate leans into the vanilla and adds in plenty more oak with a full billow of pipe tobacco smoke cut by mild fruit. The end is enriched by spice, orange zest, and more of that toffee as the oak and vanilla fade through the tobacco smoke on the long end.
Bottom Line:
There’s a reason folks colloquially call bottled-in-bond whiskeys “the good stuff.” This is just really f*cking solid in every way. It’s a great sipper and really blooms with a little water or a rock. It’s also inexpensive enough to work into a Manhattan cocktail.
2. Jack Daniels’ Single Barrel Rye
ABV: 45%
Average Price: $55
The Whiskey:
This expression is the same process as the Tennessee rye above — 70 percent rye mash bill, cave water, sugar maple filtration, new charred oak barrels. The difference is that these bottles are pulled from barrels that were deemed perfect just the way they are.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a rich marrying of bright fruit (mildly banana and tropical) with rye spice that greets you. The vanilla is there to support the peppery rye as toasted oak edges in. The spice leans into a Christmas cake spicy matrix with more of that subtle tropical fruit and vanilla. The end is warming, peppery, and has just enough fruit to sweeten your senses.
Bottom Line:
This is almost too-easy of a sipper. A little water really helps open up the Christmas spices and orange zest. While you can sip this, it’s also a killer cocktail base given the relatively low price for a single barrel expression.
1. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof
ABV: Varies
Average Price: $65
The Whiskey:
Where the Single Barrel Select is cut with soft limestone water to bring it down to proof, this is the straight juice from the barrel. These barrels are all hand-selected from the rickhouses. What’s left from the angel’s share then goes straight into the bottle.
That means the ABVs and tasting notes for this bottle will vary depending on which bottle you snag.
Tasting Notes:
Expect an experience that’s full of rich vanilla, caramel, and toasted oak, next to a rush of spice. The sip should have a mix of that vanilla, oak, and spice with a nice dose of bright fruits and a texture that’s more velvet than liquid. The end really holds onto that vibe as the mild spice, toasted oak, rich vanilla, and almost maple syrup sweetness slowly fade across your senses.
Bottom Line:
This will be shockingly smooth. You really don’t need water or ice, but a little water does let it bloom — with more spice, orange peel bitterness, and richer vanilla. Frankly, there are bottles of single barrel bourbons out there that cost twice what this does and are far less satisfying (or easy to drink).