Jack Daniel’s invited the Chicago Chapter of Women Who Whiskey to a private, behind the scenes tour of Jack Daniel’s distillery that included parts of the distillery not open to the public, and a stay in the Jack Airstreams. But the real highlight was that we got to pick the first ever single barrel of Jack Daniel’s barrel proof rye whiskey!
This is Women Who Whiskey Chicago’s second single cask bottling. Our first was a single malt aged in a Syrah cask from Starward Distillery in Australia. While it was our pick, we didn’t get to try other casks to decide which one we liked. But at Jack Daniel’s, we got to pick between three different single barrels, which made it all the more exciting and personal.
Here’s how the process of picking a single barrel at Jack Daniel’s worked, and the breakdown of how we picked the one we did.
The First Ever Single Barrel of Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Rye Whiskey
What is a Single Barrel?
Most whiskeys are blends of dozens (if not hundreds) of barrels of the same whiskey. (Even single malts, which often confuse people because of the name.) As long as the whiskey is from the same distillery, it’s not considered a “blended whiskey.” (A blended whiskey contains whiskey from two or more distilleries.)
A single barrel, on the other hand, is just one individual barrel. They are prized because they are unique and often have interesting flavor notes not normally found in the regular whiskey bottlings. Because it’s only one barrel, the number of bottles is limited. Depending on the size of the cask and the amount of evaporation that took place, the number of bottles vary.
Additionally, single barrels are usually bottled at barrel proof or cask strength. Most whiskeys on the shelf have had water added to them before bottling, bringing the proof down to a more approachable (and often drinkable!) amount. But single barrels are usually bottled at whatever proof the whiskey happens to be at the time of bottling.
(Proof, or alcohol by volume, varies during aging and depends on the geographical location of the warehouse. In warmer climates like Kentucky, proof goes up as whiskey ages. In places like Scotland, proof goes down. The location inside the warehouse also affects proof. Barrels on higher parts of the warehouse tend to age faster than those on the bottom.)
Thieving the Whiskey
After an entire day touring behind the scenes of Jack Daniel’s Distillery (known as Jack Backstage), we met Assistant Distiller Lexie Phillips in one of the warehouses. Before we arrived in Lynchburg, Lexie and Master Distiller Chris Fletcher picked three single barrels of rye from different warehouses — and much different flavor profiles.
But before we could taste them, we had to open the barrels first! Lexie taught us how to open the barrel bung holes by drilling a massive corkscrew-like device into the hole, then yanking it up and out of the barrel.
Then we used a whiskey thief — a long metal tube that can be plugged with your finger to grab liquid — to get a small amount of whiskey out. Then we carefully poured it into a small bottle. (It was a lot harder than it looked!)
Once we’d grabbed samples from all three barrels, we were ready to taste.
Tasting the Whiskey: Three Barrels, One Decision
We returned to the tasting room, where it was nice and quiet, with less barrel smells, so there weren’t any want any distractions when tasting our whiskey! We lined all three whiskeys side by side, then walked through their tasting notes and flavor profiles with Lexie. She made sure not to tell us the barrel ages, proofs, or warehouse locations so it wouldn’t influence our opinions.
It was really interesting how spread out the opinions were. But at the end, we really liked how unique the first barrel was. The other two were fantastic, but they were very similar to regular Jack Daniel’s single barrel ryes. And if you’re going to pick your own single barrel, you want it to be unique! (While Jack Daniel’s offers single barrels of ryes, the Women Who Whiskey pick is the first barrel proof single barrel of rye.)
Barrel No. 15K02
Once we’d made our decision, Lexie told us the ages, proofs, and warehouse locations of each barrel. Our pick was distilled on November 2, 2015 and placed in a Track 2 Warehouse that is four stories high. And it’s a staggering 135.8 proof!
But because Jack Daniel’s hasn’t even designed a label for their single barrels of barrel proof rye yet, we’ll have to wait until Spring 2023 to bottle our whiskey. Until then it will hang out in the warehouse where we left it, slightly maturing just a little while longer. (And possibly changing slightly in flavor and proof.)
Single Barrel of Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Rye
The Women Who Whiskey Chicago single barrel of Jack Daniel’s barrel proof rye will be exclusive to our whiskey club. But don’t worry; Jack Daniel’s will be releasing their own single barrels of barrel proof rye to the public shortly after ours is bottled. (And you can barrel your own too, if you’d like!)
So keep an eye out for it mid-2023, and be sure to try as many as you can. That’s the best part about single barrels — each one tastes completely different!
Related :: Behind the Scenes Tour of Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Women Who Whiskey Chicago’s Starward Single Cask, and more on Women Who Whiskey
