Best Jack Daniel's Whiskey label?

[Anonymous]

My friend is retiring from the military soon, and I want to buy him some celebratory alcohol. His favorite brand is Jack Daniel's. When I asked him which label he prefers, he said he likes them all.

There are so many JD labels, and I know nothing about whiskey. Any recommendations?

[Anonymous]

Johnnie Walker Blue is the best 'merican brand. $230 a bottle. Jack doesn't have anything to match. They have some flavored crap, some mellowed southern comfort crap, and a single barrel which I have never tried, but there is a reason these are blended and I don't feel a reason to start.

[Anonymous]

Johnnie Walker is scotch, and Jack Daniels is Tennessee whiskey--totally different alcohols. Your friend might like scotch, but if he says his favorite is Jack Daniels, just get him the most expensive bottle your budget will allow.

[Anonymous]

Look for a Single Barrel Select
http://www.jackdaniels.com/whiskey/jack-daniels-single-barrel

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Johnnie Walker is scotch, and Jack Daniels is Tennessee whiskey--totally different alcohols. Your friend might like scotch, but if he says his favorite is Jack Daniels, just get him the most expensive bottle your budget will allow.

Well, scotch and whiskey are essentially the same, only scotch is from a place called Scotland. Otherwise it is known (in Ireland, America, etc.) as whiskey. There are some other differences in terms of what is being fermented, for how long, and filtration, but it is mostly a geographic distinction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Johnnie Walker is scotch, and Jack Daniels is Tennessee whiskey--totally different alcohols. Your friend might like scotch, but if he says his favorite is Jack Daniels, just get him the most expensive bottle your budget will allow.

Well, scotch and whiskey are essentially the same, only scotch is from a place called Scotland. Otherwise it is known (in Ireland, America, etc.) as whiskey. There are some other differences in terms of what is being fermented, for how long, and filtration, but it is mostly a geographic distinction.

Well, all scotch is whiskey but not all whiskey is scotch.

Like wine - Chardonnay is wine, but clearly all wine is not Chardonnay.

Some of the higher end Johnny Walkers are going to be " peat-y", which is a hallmark of Scotch.

Each type of whiskey has it's own "rules" eg. Corn content, filtering process, etc. In a high quality whiskey, like OP is asking, these differences are likely to become apparent in mouth feel, taste, and colour. When you're talking scotch, you're also looking at single malt vs. blend, smokiness, etc.

Johnny walker is basically a scotch (not from Scotland), but a blend as it uses more than one malt.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and as Jack Daniels was the OP's initial brand : the difference in a Tennessee whiskey is that it's made primarily from corn, not barley mash. It actually qualifies as a bourbon, but is marketed as a whiskey

[Anonymous]

Jack Daniels is sour mash, not bourbon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jack Daniels is sour mash, not bourbon.

The defining process for bourbon IS sour mash. I'm not seeing your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Johnnie Walker is scotch, and Jack Daniels is Tennessee whiskey--totally different alcohols. Your friend might like scotch, but if he says his favorite is Jack Daniels, just get him the most expensive bottle your budget will allow.

Well, scotch and whiskey are essentially the same, only scotch is from a place called Scotland. Otherwise it is known (in Ireland, America, etc.) as whiskey. There are some other differences in terms of what is being fermented, for how long, and filtration, but it is mostly a geographic distinction.

…and the difference in terms of tasting completely different. If you have someone who likes Jack Daniels, buying them scotch would just be odd.

Just to add to the general discussion, Jack Daniels is very similar to bourbon. Technically, as the earlier poster said, it's "Tennessee Whiskey".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Johnnie Walker is scotch, and Jack Daniels is Tennessee whiskey--totally different alcohols. Your friend might like scotch, but if he says his favorite is Jack Daniels, just get him the most expensive bottle your budget will allow.

Well, scotch and whiskey are essentially the same, only scotch is from a place called Scotland. Otherwise it is known (in Ireland, America, etc.) as whiskey. There are some other differences in terms of what is being fermented, for how long, and filtration, but it is mostly a geographic distinction.

…and the difference in terms of tasting completely different. If you have someone who likes Jack Daniels, buying them scotch would just be odd.

[b]ust to add to the general discussion, Jack Daniels is very similar to bourbon. Technically, as the earlier poster said, it's "Tennessee Whiskey". [b]

And Tennessee whiskey is just bourbon that is produced in Tennessee.

[Anonymous]

…and the difference in terms of tasting completely different. If you have someone who likes Jack Daniels, buying them scotch would just be odd.

This. I love bourbon and am OK with Jack but have always hated scotch.

[Anonymous]

Get Gentleman Jack or Select. If you want to get really fancy, they do have custom blends, but I'm not sure the minimum purchase (might be one barrel).

I took a tour of the factory last year. It's impressive. Yes, we can debate about naming but it's not going to be the same as Scotch due to different input ingredients, like the water, the charcoal filtering process (and the wood used to make the charcoal) and especially the barrels. JD uses only new barrels, while most Scotchmakers prefer used barrels. In fact, JD sells a lot of their old barrels to the Scotch makers for that reason.

[Anonymous]

You can try Col. E. H. Taylor Single Bourbon Barrel. American made and getting a lot of buzz. It's not jack, but it might be something your friend would like.

[Anonymous]

Sorry Col. E. H. Taylor Single Bourbon Barrel is made in Kentucky and is a small batch offering. American distillers are doing a great job. Check out McCarthy’s Oregon Single Malt Whiskey by clear creek if you want "scotch".