Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye 2020

Another Amazing Whiskey from 2020...

By Not Masters of Malt

March 30^th, 2021

FROM THE DISTILLER...

Jack Daniel's Distillery Notes:

This annual special release Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye celebrates the early craftsmanship of the Jack Daniel Distillery, honoring a time when American whiskey was often high in rye content and offered at barrel strength. Bottled in its purest form right from the barrel and uncut at full proof, it’s packed with Jack character with our signature smooth finish. Proof will range from 125-140.

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye 2020

BEHIND THE BOTTLE:

Another heavy hitter from 2020, Jack Daniel’s Barrel Proof Rye was a highly anticipated whiskey release that I lucky enough to get my hands on. According to the distiller, only 200 barrels of the Rye was bottled, making this release very limited and hard to find. As a fan of Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof whiskey, I was excited to my hands on this bottle and dig in! The bottle I will be reviewing is from barrel 20-06868 and is proofed at 129.4%.

REVIEW:

Nose (9/10):

This whiskey smells delicious! It reminds me mint chocolate chip cookies. You get the typical herbal rye notes, followed by a cocoa scent, mixed with some barrel oak. Going back to it after a bit, you get just a hint of that typical banana note that Jack Daniel’s is known for.

Palate (9/10):

Oak and bitter chocolate with hints of herbal rye notes dominate the first sip. The whiskey walks a fine line of being almost too bitter, but does a great job balancing that out so as not to be off putting. Subsequent sips mix the chocolate and mint with the banana note from the nose which makes me think of chocolate chip banana bread! This is pure dessert in a glass.

Finish (8/10):

The finish has a nice burst of baking spices with hints of maple syrup, oak and cherry. This is where you really notice the proof. It has nice “Kentucky hug” burn in my chest, but nothing over the top. My only real knock on this whiskey is that the finish is not overly long, which is just a tad disappointing.

Price (10/10):

For a whiskey with this much going on, $65 is a complete steal. I would not think twice grabbing multiple of these for that price if they were available.

Aesthetics (5/5):

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel bottles are some of my favorite bottle designs. I love that the bottle looks like a decanter and the cork topper is a nice touch. The distiller really knocked this out of the park!

Availability (1/5):

Another amazing bottle that unfortunately was a limited release, highly sought after and almost impossible to find. Isn’t it funny how that works? I was able to grab the last bottle of this rye from my local Giant Eagle and I never saw it again in Ohio.

Overall (42/50): Top Shelf

Final Verdict:

This was just an overall delicious whiskey and probably my favorite from 2020! I will be nursing this bottle as long as I can and will be sad once it is gone. Jack Daniel’s really shines with their Single Barrel program. If you were not lucky enough to get your hands on this rye special release, I highly recommend the regular Single Barrel Barrel Proof whiskey.