speaker-1: If you love bourbon, if you love whiskey, you're going to love these conversations. So make sure you subscribe to the bourbon lens starting now. Welcome back to another episode of the bourbon lens with your hosts and Jake and Scott. In this week's episode, we are going to be talking about 2026 Jack Daniels aged batches. So sit back and buckle into the latest episode of the bourbon lens. Scott, we don't normally do this. This is about the closest thing to a live podcast that we might. And that is we are going to record on a Sunday and drop this on a Monday. So how do you, how do you feel about that?

speaker-0: News Reporter.

speaker-1: You know, this is kind of, it is kind of breaking. We, saw a really epic meltdown by the Duke blue devils, which, know, as Kentucky fan or, just in fan of college basketball, everyone appreciates. And you know what? It's good that they got Christian lightened. You know, I'm just happy for them. Now they can feel the heartbreak.

speaker-0: Breaking news. So I was just making the comment earlier today. I was like it hasn't really been madness. But that's maddening. I mean, that's that's crazy. Has I mean the 20 point the 20 and 30 point blowouts that just unexpected.

speaker-1: besides the fighting a lion, you know, really battling those, those Hawkeyes in the, region in the South region, which was interesting, but you know, I know, right. have got Yukon, you've got Illinois, Michigan and Arizona. So we have a, two, a three and a one and a one. ⁓ all right. Brackets are out the window. Mine busted a long time ago. Who, who, who you got here?

speaker-0: Well, I had Duke. was like, I got a chance here because nobody else in the, in the league or, know, that's, that was kind of left at the top. And I was like, all I need is Duke not to forget how to play basketball, but apparently that didn't work out. So I don't know. mean, it'd be crazy to see. Yeah. I mean, it wasn't the Atlanta like, yeah. Wouldn't that be wild?

speaker-1: Duke. It'd be crazy. It would be very interesting. think it'd be cool to see Illinois. think it's going to end up being Yukon. I'd say Michigan, but I think Michigan is slightly better than Arizona, but Arizona's got some dogs. So we'll see. think whoever wins the Arizona Michigan game wins the national championship at this point, but we shall see.

speaker-0: You've crazier things, right? Correct.

speaker-1: but on, on a lion eye or whatever their song is. But, you know, I teased this at the beginning. We're to be talking about the Jack Daniels new batches that was just released last week, actually this news, but the bigger news kind of trumped that was very simply per no Brown Foreman merger question mark. What's your thoughts on, you know, talking about this one because obviously there has been an issued statement. So it's okay. It's fair game to talk about, but What do you think about this as an impact to the spirits business, to the city of Louisville, to other things? Just curious on what your thoughts are.

speaker-0: Yeah. mean, my initial thought was this might suck for Louisville. mean, it's, it's a major employer, long standing employer, long standing family, you know, family relationships dating back 200 years. It would be interesting to have Jack Daniel's owned by, I mean, a foreign company. I mean, obviously they've got us based subsidiaries and things like that, but It always felt like Jack was just a little bit different.

speaker-1: It always felt like old Forrester was a little different too, right? And the Brown form and name, especially with all the stuff with King of Kentucky has always felt like the bourbon side of things, the whiskey side of things has been true to the United States of America. But having a combined entity that features Jameson and Jack Daniels, two of the most iconic bar back things that you can find, that would be absolutely insane from a, you know, just owned perspective.

speaker-0: Right. But then I also give it some thought, like, you know, with these mergers and things like that, that sometimes it becomes so big and then they ended up spinning off businesses. So like what might get spun off, you know, like the Ajo and, know, they still own a lot of brands. They still own Guinness, but they could, they could spin off Guinness. somebody else could buy them and they're.

speaker-1: Yeah.

speaker-0: And there's no like connection. You know, I always felt like there's a connection between Woodford, old Forrester, Jack Daniels. Maybe that's just cause we're whiskey nerds, but maybe the average consumer doesn't see that. But I kind of do. It's kind of weird if like old Forrester and Jack Daniels weren't part of the same family anymore.

speaker-1: Yeah, it seems like historic brands with an historic ownership group just kind of makes sense. And I don't know how per no is received worldwide, right? Cause we're not worldwide. We're, we're US based, we're Louisville based. We're the most local to the local. My mom's first cousin who was her maid of honor. Her father-in-law was high up at Jack Daniel, Brown Foreman. And you know what I talked about him and asked the question while we did the luncheon for the small batch. Did you know Jack Davis? And they were like, yeah, like, ⁓ my gosh, he was a legend. And it's like, you know, all those things might go away and that changes and like, has an impact people like Chris Morris and you know, Elizabeth and all these things. mean, even like the Derby sponsorship and all of the things that are associated with the brand and you know, Pernaud just launched, what was it? I forget what the, the bourbon whiskey conglomerate that Cave's heading up here. North American distillers. ⁓

speaker-0: Yeah, NAD. Yeah.

speaker-1: And, ⁓ you know, that has Jefferson's and rabbit hole and TX and smooth Ambler. So it's really interesting. Like those brands seem a little hodgepodge compared to the iconic brands that Brown Forman owns.

speaker-0: Yeah, maybe it's a little bias for us too, because those are kind of like large craft. And if we're just thinking like heritage type brands, but then again, what would for reserve, we think of it as like a heritage brand, but Woodford was really late nineties.

speaker-1: Yeah. mean, Chris, I mean, it's baby.

speaker-0: Yeah, I mean, it's a historic property. It's a historic, ⁓ you know, County in Kentucky, but really it's not that old. And do you know, at one time Jack was not owned by Brown Foreman. was.

speaker-1: by the Motlos.

speaker-0: Yeah. So, I don't know. It's, it's just interesting all around and, and at the end of the day, it might not happen. You know, there might be regulatory things that come into play that block it or, you know, it might not just be worth it. You know, it seems like they're, they've been exploring it for a while. Yeah. I don't think the news would have broke if they just were like, Oh, somebody had a board meeting and said, Hey, we should look into this.

speaker-1: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's absolutely true. You know, these things don't just pop up. That news doesn't just get leaked and they don't confirm it if it's not, you know, somewhere in the realm of possibility. So it's definitely interesting. We shall see. But speaking of interesting, Jack Daniels has continued to, I'll say innovate, but continued to really connect with the bourbon and whiskey consumer, right? With these batches at 10 years old. 12 years old and 14 years old. So we didn't get to see an age extension. We do know that that is on the horizon sometime down the road, but we do get batch five, four and two respectively of each of these. And so we're gonna kind of taste through these, give you all what our thoughts are on these. Again, these are priced appropriately at SRP. The 10 year is under $90, the 12 year is under 100 and the 14 year think is under 150. ⁓ and I'm not going off the press releases off top my head. So I feel like I'm, I'm in the ballpark on that. ⁓ but people are seeing, yeah, people are seeing these all around, ⁓ already at twice MSRP. So.

speaker-0: site they can check it out. course.

speaker-1: Somebody's got to make money. Might as well be the liquor stores. And I know guys, I know it's their liquor store. They can do what they want and you know, margin and blotty, blotty, blot on. I get it. I know how the three tier system works, but if they say you should sell it for $90, sell it for a hundred. Just make 10 bucks extra. Like good Lord, you bought it at a wholesale price anyway. Anywho. So the 10 year comes in at 97 proof. Really nice proof point here. I've seen you taking a few sips. What's your just kind of initial like fly by the seat of your pants, nosing and tasting notes.

speaker-0: mean, first off, it's to me, it's cherry cola. Like it's got a lot of like soda, like sugary, but it's got like this nice like cherry note that I don't usually get from Jack. I'm like trying to find, you know, the typical Jack Daniel characteristic banana note that everybody talks about. And I've experienced numerous times, but I don't, I don't really get that.

speaker-1: No, this does have that, ⁓ cola cherry. It's, it's definitely fruitier than most. think it's, again, the extended age will, will do some of those things with the, their yeast strain. Their yeast strain is supposed to be very fruity. Right. The isoamyl amylate like is the thing that shines the most of it. But like, I think when you let it age longer, the compounds change and do different things. So, but there's a nice like, like artificial caramel. ⁓ that's like, it's really sweet. In there, it's, you know, I, it's kind of hard to pinpoint. Um, it's like, I don't know, like the caramel you put on top of like a cheesecake almost right. Like it's kind of like drizzled over there. It's, it's a great smelling nose. Um, just approachable at 97 proof, don't know a lot of ethanol or anything like that either.

speaker-0: Okay, so I lied. On the pallet. It's... There it is. Quite a bit of oak though.

speaker-1: It is okay.

speaker-0: bittering but kind of dries out your tongue a little bit.

speaker-1: I can, can get behind that. There's a nice chocolate note, like banana nut bread is kind of what I get on, or like a spice, like a spice cake, like a fruit cake. And I hate to say that because there's that fruity note that does shine there, but banana nut bread with some chocolate chips in it. This would pair very nicely with that combination.

speaker-0: Yeah, so the cherry doesn't really doesn't really carry through for me.

speaker-1: No, the, the cherry goes way off the nose, but it is, it is fruity. See last year, I remember the, the 10 being just exceptional compared to the 12 and the 14 and everybody loved the 14 cause it was the higher proof and everyone's like, it's uncut unfiltered, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay. Get it. Understood. Um, but the 10 was exceptional. think that 10 year age statement on Jack Daniel's is just nice. Just in general.

speaker-0: Yeah. And I do feel like it, it benefits from a lower proof. Like Jack sometimes scares me. No, like 140 whiskey. It's, it's a little scary.

speaker-1: Are you talking about tan yard heel?

speaker-0: Tanyard and Coyhill and all the rest is to come. But I like Jack Daniel's ad that that Hunter proof. mean, the bonded is incredible.

speaker-1: value play all day on the bondage

speaker-0: Just forget to get more. It's been, it's been off my bar for a little while. So.

speaker-1: Yeah, the Jack Daniels bonded rye. I would put that up from a price perspective against any rye cocktail, ⁓ you know, mixer or neat pour. I mean, I think it is just exceptional. Got a great value on it for under under 25 bucks. I mean, steel.

speaker-0: They used to say that about the old forest-a-rah.

speaker-1: Mm-hmm.

speaker-0: but I think the Jack does give a little, has a little edge to it.

speaker-1: It does. That's why I think I like the Rittenhouse too. Like when you think about those Ries and that price point, think having a little bit of that extra proof for the dilution of the cocktails makes the spirit stand up a little bit more. And I think, you know, all three of those are great Ries. I just really, really like, really like what they're doing with the bonded dry product.

speaker-0: Yeah, that's a good series.

speaker-1: It has. And don't sleep on the triple mash. Weird, weird, but good.

speaker-0: It is. It's certainly unique.

speaker-1: All right, so let's move on to 12. So this is the fourth batch of this one at 107 proof, um, coming in under a hundred dollars. Um, you know, good price to value. We've always talked, we always talk about the $10 per year. Um, you know, SRP, um, don't think you're going to find it for that, but you know, happy hunting. See, this one doesn't have that cherry note on it, but it is, it's got, um, it does have fruit on it. It's more like tropical and minty. This has a lot of mint on it. feel like.

speaker-0: getting a little bit more like of the rye but it's almost like like graham cracker like cinnamon clove nutmeg

speaker-1: Yeah. Like potpourri almost. Like the notes I'm getting are like tropical is not the way I should have said that it's the darker like raisin plum, like cigar box. Like that's a lot of, a of this kind of like cigar box notes.

speaker-0: Yeah, no cherry.

speaker-1: So crazy though, like, you know, how, how close to, you know, I would love to, I love talking to Chris because he'll tell you kind of exactly where these were pulled from. ⁓ and we've not seen that yet, but like, would be very cool to see like how far these barrels were pulled apart. Cause we know they come down and they put them down below, but like, how is this, you know, kind of coming together to create these three different unique blends.

speaker-0: why it went up in proof with age. Like obviously the natural progression of most of those high in the Rick House barrels, they lose water, but why did they decide to bottle at the progressive proof points that they did?

speaker-1: Mm-hmm. 100 sounds per...

speaker-0: This one's intense on the palate.

speaker-1: It's got a lot of flavor. It is bold. It's a bold 107. I think it does pull some of those chocolate notes come forward again. I like your graham cracker note. Marshmallow is in there I think as well.

speaker-0: aloe on the ground.

speaker-1: The- the- the charcoal Mellow and Marshmallow?

speaker-0: Yeah, I would I would just say this is like a big whiskey like that is punchy. Almost drinks hotter than 107.

speaker-1: think it does drink warmer than 107. But it's crazy that we're just 10 proof points. And when we go to the next one, we're 10 proof points above that. Right. they go 97, 107, 117, six. So it's like, they're all pretty close progression. It's always, it's always interesting to me that the oldest one is the highest proof. Typically you see older whiskeys come down and proof. Yeah. Kind of even them out. Um, I know how I feel about that one just yet. Just gonna let that sit there for a second.

speaker-0: Yeah, I mean, I always think of like Craig 18. It's a lower proof. I don't know if that's just like an historical thing. Like they've just always done it that proof. Maybe they'll change it up and release like a higher proof. did 15.

speaker-1: death.

speaker-0: But sometimes those whiskeys like you lose the sense of age when you proof them down. They might still have a lot of character, but you lose that. Ooh, this is an older whiskey. So maybe that's why.

speaker-1: I don't know, but mickters does a pretty good job at low proof, big whiskies, the 10 year, the fifth, the 20. I mean, a lot of times they're 10 years closer to 15.

speaker-0: tenure. Yeah, for a few of those releases.

speaker-1: I'm going to, I'm just going to move on to the, to batch to the 14. I'm going to come back to, to the, to the 12 117.6. I wasn't this like 130 last year or 120 something if I'm not mistaken.

speaker-0: can't go back but I do remember it being pretty proofy. ⁓ I need to keep an index to my Tasty Nuts here. There's Jack bonded rye.

speaker-1: Could it be inter-proof variants? think they, I think, you know, Sean's in the comments. I think the entry proof stays the same.

speaker-0: Yes, I don't think they have time for that. I don't think they have time for experiments in Barrel Entry Proof. Probably a few, but I don't think on a broads cause this is probably a pretty big release despite how much secondary has gone through the roof. Yeah. Cause of how successful the previous releases have been. wouldn't they?

speaker-1: No, I would eat in a little bit to the older stock just to make them worth more money, more valuable.

speaker-0: And they've already teased the... Older, older.

speaker-1: They want to get up to 21 year old.

speaker-0: Here we are. Jack Daniel's 12 year batch two was 107. Jack Daniel's 10 year batch three was 97. Well, these were two batches ago though. This is batch five and batch four. So that was, yeah, two batches ago. So I don't have that.

speaker-1: going way back in your mental Rolodex. You know what the trusted Google will tell us?

speaker-0: I I skipped a few pages. No biggie. Interesting.

speaker-1: All right, here we go. Jack Daniel's 126.3. So it's come down quite a bit. Are you totally, you know, their typical mash bill.

speaker-0: I like the nose on this.

speaker-1: So, you know, the nose is not even as intense as the 12th.

speaker-0: I'm almost getting like a grape soda. That's weird.

speaker-1: Who loves orange soda? Kale loves orange soda. It's so interesting because they're like, there's like that tingly note, like it is soda on it. This one has a little bit of ethanol. It's got a little alcohol on it. I feel like on the nose. Instead of grape, I would go kind of like blueberry, like blueberry jam.

speaker-0: side by side. Still getting a lot of that graham cracker on the 12s.

speaker-1: Yeah, the 12 is a lot of that like schmores. So I think initial sip, 10 and then 12 drink about the same proofish like on the palette.

speaker-0: Little bit of that banana. This one is like my tongue is going crazy like effervescent almost. It's it's it's activating the taste buds.

speaker-1: Your Scott, your Scott, ⁓ senses are tingling.

speaker-0: Yeah, my Spidey senses have gone.

speaker-1: We do have a new Spider-Man movie coming.

speaker-0: So I think last year my favorite was the 12 year. This I like this. I don't have to say that like that's just basic but.

speaker-1: It's got like a chocolate pudding note, you know like the snack packs?

speaker-0: where it's not like super chocolatey, it's just kind of like creamy.

speaker-1: Yeah, it's like creamy milk chocolate. ⁓ and then you could devour like five of them.

speaker-0: It's kind of like how a Tootsie Roll is chocolate flavored, but it's not really chocolatey. Correct. Like it's just kind of there.

speaker-1: The thing about a wee Glencairn is when you take a wee pour, it feels like a lot, but it's not.

speaker-0: I like it because then I can empty the glass and then go back and smell the empty glass a lot sooner

speaker-1: So the one thing I will say is the nose fails a little bit on this one. The palette is very good, but I don't think the nose is like supreme.

speaker-0: I think for me the nose on the ten.

speaker-1: The nose on the tan is great.

speaker-0: Probably my favorite, but...

speaker-1: I like the palette on the 14 a bunch. Like this is what happens though, when you get to these things, like it's like splitting hairs because the question that people will ask us and it's inevitable. And I'm going to ask you, and I'm going to share my thoughts. How would you rank these? Right. Right. It is inevitable. So rank them.

speaker-0: So the 14 feels like a lot more chewy, like it's just still there. Like after a sip. So I would almost say for those people that are like seeking out those Koi Hill releases, the punchy, proofy Jack Daniels, even, you know, the tannoyard hill, which is a rye. But I think that the Jack rye has a lot of bourbon type characteristics to it. But if you're seeking out those punchier bourbons, Jack 14 is where it's at. If you want traditional Jack, Jack 10, 12 is still, it's a wild card for me. All right, so that didn't give you your answer.

speaker-1: It didn't. If Scott Dilley were to buy one of these three bottles at SRP, I'm not asking you to pay secondary prices. How would you rank these if they were all three sitting in front of you? You'd buy bottle one, bottle two, bottle three.

speaker-0: I'd probably buy the Jack 14 and then the 10.

speaker-1: So I'm flipped on you. think I would buy the 10, 14, 12 would be my last one.

speaker-0: I think the 14 probably gets a little bit more weight because like I'm just trying to think right now. I think the average whiskey consumer or the average whiskey fan should be seeking out time relevant releases. So it's like a moment in time, right? 14 year in 2026 distilled in 2012. Like, you know, you, You can go back to this bottle in 10 years and think about it that way. You know, just another batch product. Like it's like, ⁓ it doesn't really have any time or place. Like maybe I'll look it up and see when it was distilled. But I think that that's why the 14 probably would give me a little bit more pull. So I'm like, ⁓ it's 14 year old whiskey. And plus if the price is right, which is, what did you say? 160?

speaker-1: I think it's under 150.

speaker-0: That $10 a year, I mean, that's about right.

speaker-1: You know, that's the thing I want to say that, um, you know, it, it's well worth, I mean, all of these are worth it. Um, 149.99. So I was, I was right. And I said under 150 149.99, $99. 89.99. It's really interesting. I just want to give you a couple of quick things and I'm, I told you my order, but they say, On the 14, sweet bakery spices, molasses, aged oak, finished to pipe tobacco and leather. On the 12, they say maple candy, caramel, vanilla with a finish of dry oak and baking spices. I will give them the dry oak and baking spices all day, every day, twice on Sunday on the 12. Aromas of cooked apple and caramel leading to a palette of rich molasses and chocolate on the 10. All of them are 80, 12, 18, same match bill. Only difference really is age. They've all gone through the charcoal milling process. Also check out bourbonlens.com because there's actually a chance to win the sweepstakes to buy direct all of these from the white rabbit and entries are open until April 7th. So make sure you do that.

speaker-0: So they said, okay, I'm looking at the release. So I'm looking at the 12 year, subtle banana, brown sugar, graham cracker. Okay. But yeah, I just think the proofiness punchiness of that one. It drinks hotter than the 14.

speaker-1: 12. I agree. I agree. think, uh, yeah, I think for me, the value on the 10 is just phenomenal. If you can get that for $90, like that is a, a win. And I would, I think I would probably drink more of the 10 than I would the 14. It's like when I have a nuanced bourbon, like a 14 or a nuance whiskey, like a 15 year old old fits or, you know, 18 year old Scotch, like I don't, I don't pull from it as often as I probably should. So like I would drink the 10 quicker. I would say for the 14 longer. Is that fair? I don't think you can go wrong with anyone. If you can find one in a reasonable price, I'd say pick it up.

speaker-0: As you should. And if you found a batch that wasn't that five, four or two, you're not going to be disappointed. I mean, if it's the price is right in SRP or around their Jack with an age statement, like if people haven't like pulled back and said, okay, 80 proof Jack, that's one thing, but they clearly are doing something right because they're limited releases. I will say virtually always hit.

speaker-1: They do. And they're, doing some cool stuff. And I think it's going to be one of those things that you just need to pay attention to and you need to enjoy because these might not always be around. They might be under new ownership. Things change when things like that happen. So, you know, if you find one, grab it if you can, and tell us what you think. If you get a chance to try these new ones, tell us what you think. And don't forget to enter as Sean did. And that's one of the other. Many fun things that you get to do as part of the Patreon membership with Bourbon Lens is to catch live recordings. So think about joining. We'd love to have you and we'll catch you next time.

speaker-0: Cheers.

speaker-1: Thank you for listening to this episode of the bourbon lens. If you want more exclusive content, go over to patreon.com backslash bourbon lens and join our growing community. If you just want to stay friendly with us, you can go over to Instagram X and Facebook and follow us there. Also our YouTube page is growing and we're producing more content there like Thursday thoughts and five minute Fridays. So don't forget to smash the subscribe button and catch all the content that we are producing every week. Until next time. Cheers.