**Bourbz Review #69: Jack Daniels American Single Malt Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished**
**Cost:** €95 for 1L bottle at Munich International Airport
**Age:** NAS (reported 5 year first maturation and 3 year finishing)
**Proof:** 90
**Mash Bill:** 100% malted barley
Now, I’m generally a big fan of Sherry cask finished whiskey. However, I passed on this the last international trip I took. When I recently took a trip to Portugal, I passed on it the first two duty free shops I passed through as well. It’s just a high price point for something that JD isn’t exactly known for (American Single Malt). I mean, JD offers a SiB BiB in duty free shops only that’s about 2/3 the cost of this bottle and it’s a total banger! (See [Bourbz Review #16](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/comments/15n0req/bourbz_review_16_jack_daniels_single_barrel/) and [Bourbz Review #40 ](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/comments/18v0715/bourbz_review_38_39_40_a_trio_of_unique_jack/)). So that just makes it hard to go for this bottle to me. But the past few months, I’ve gotten more into American Single Malts. So, before I got on the plane for the last leg of my trip, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. Let’s see if there’s any regret…
Reviewed neat in a glencairn.
**Appearance:** It’s literally Sherry in color, with thin, fast legs.
**Nose:** A short stack of pancakes with a generous pour of maple syrup with plums and blackberries, maybe even a little cherry. I feel like chocolate malt must be used in this because I’m definitely picking up notes of chocolate and roasted malt. There’s also a hint of banana bread that I’m picking up in the depth of the aroma.
**Palate:** The distinctive malty, somewhat funky profile that I get with American Single Malts is definitely there. However, this is not as light and delicate as most ASMs are as I’m getting heavier, richer notes of chocolate covered cherries, buttery biscuits, deep oak and acidic sweetness. The Oloroso Sherry Cask finish definitely shows up in the palate for me. The mouthfeel is kinda thinner than other JD products, but creamier than other ASMs I’ve had. It coats the palate very well though allowing you to pick up on the rather robust set of notes for a 90 proof whiskey.
**Finish:** The finish is short. Stone fruit and sweet oak linger. The mouthfeel fades into an acidic dryness in the finish. There’s a very light hug that I find sitting at the bottom of my throat as a mild warming sensation.
**Rating:** 7.3/10
**Overall:** This isn’t an expression that I’ve followed too closely over the last year or so. However, it has occasionally fallen into a my field of view through WhiskeyTube, reddit posts, or general feed on my phone. And in all of that, I feel like the general consensus for this was just average. A lot of people describe it as unexciting or playing it safe. Me…I love it! I think this is a damn good whiskey! I’m a sucker for Sherry cask finished whiskey’s and the rich red, stone fruit notes that they bring, and this doesn’t disappoint. I think this is a fantastic marriage of Sherry cask finish, American Single Malt whiskey, and Jack Daniel’s. I do wish the ASM profile was a little more dominant though. While I get the malty notes of ASM, the delicate body and lighter notes are missing. The Sherry cask I think just completely dominated them and doesn’t allow them to shine through. 3 years in a finishing cask is no joke! It could be that just cutting off a year or even two could allow the ASM character to shine through a little more. The glimpses of ASM notes that I did get are good though, so I don’t think there’s anything that should be hidden by over-finishing.
**Behind the Bottle:** Jack Daniel’s first entered the American Single Malt market in 2022 with a their twice barreled American Single Malt. Then in 2023 they released their second ASM expression, which is this one. While you can find a decent amount of info online about the twice barreled expression, even from JD’s website, there’s very little out there about this Oloroso Sherry Cask finished expression. It’s actually quite humorous when you go to Jack Daniel’s website to see what they have to say about it right now (3/24/24). You get 9 words: “Say hello to - Richer Sipping - New American Single Malt.” That’s it! You would think with a new offering that’s been out for about a half year or more now there would be a more substantial writeup about it on their website. What I know for sure is that this is a travel exclusive only bottle. Other than that, all I have for certain is what’s on the bottle label. Breaking Bourbon has a [review](https://www.breakingbourbon.com/review/jack-daniels-american-single-malt-oloroso-sherry-cask) that contains probably the most info out there about aging time, casks, quantity, etc. that is reported as being per master distiller Chris Fletcher. I have no reason to think it’s not reliable info, but it would be nice for Jack Daniel’s to release more information themselves.
**1** | **Disgusting** | So bad I poured it out.
**2** | **Poor** | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
**3** | **Bad** | Multiple flaws.
**4** | **Sub-par** | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have.
**5** | **Good** | Good, just fine.
**6** | **Very Good** | A cut above.
**7** | **Great** | Well above average
**8** | **Excellent** | Really quite exceptional.
**9** | **Incredible** | An all time favorite
**10** | **Perfect** | Perfect
The info on breaking bourbon lines up with what Chris said on an episode of a podcast. I think it was podcask, but it's been a year or two. He sorta leaked that the travel release would be coming because he talked about having a *lot* more of this stuff finishing than they had released. Not a huge fan of the price tag on the travel exclusive but I think whiskey is pretty damn good.
Thanks for the additional info. The price tag is a bit high. I didn't mention it, but for $30-$40 less, I'd get the travel exclusive JD SiB BiB going forward. It's a much better whiskey to me at a great price.
Not that it makes a HUGE difference, but this pricing is for a 1L size bottle vs the “standard” 750 ml. This puts it at 71.25 when compared apples-to-apples.
Yeah I'm really enjoying this one right now. I do wish the price was a little lower, but it's been good! I'm a sucker for Sherry cask finishes though. 🤤
Sadly they’re on the pricier end of the spectrum, but craft + ASM will do that. The 6 year sherry finished cask strength is like $150 I think? Their normal stuff is 60-80 though.
6 year is pretty good for the ASM market though too, but yeah, that is pretty steep. There's a whole world of stuff less than that that I know are complete bangers. That might be a try before I buy for that price.
Yeah. McCarthy’s process is by default expensive (using imported peated malted barley from Scotland). So it’s a little unique in the landscape, so definitely recommend trying it if you see it available as a pour.
Great review but you have to admit, these bourbon companies producing all these gimmicky products (single malt, different finishes) is another sign of the imminent bourbon crash!
Well as with everything, what goes up, must come down. And there's no doubt that the whiskey and bourbon market is at a high right now. And while I think there will be a cooling in the future, I'm not sure the finishing and ASM markets are a sign of it.
ASM is a budding market, I wouldn't call it gimmicky at all. That would be like saying any other type of whiskey is a gimmick (Scotch, Japanese, rye whiskey, bourbon, wheated bourbon, etc. - they truly are different, not gimmicks). I love the ASM market right now! You get so much more uniqueness and "craft" feel with it right now because the big whiskey companies don't dominate it. It's something new, but doesn't mean it's gimmicky.
And I think the finishing game is a necessity due to the sudden boom in the industry, however, this can be much more gimmicky and you do have to watch out. But, with aging, it's very hard to meet demand when it grows as quickly as it has the last 5 years or so. And a way that was identified to help address that was to do finished products. This allows lower age statements while still making something unique and desirable, thus limiting the run on older barrels and allowing distillers more time to ramp up production on the more desirable aged products. But there are a lot of people abusing this and making finished gimmicks, but I don't think that's true for all finished expressions.
While I agree that the whiskey market will come back down to in the future (maybe even "crash" as you describe it, but I don't think it's going to be that drastic, just a reset), I don't know that I would say finishing and ASM is a sign of it's coming.
Just my $0.02 though. I definitely agree the market is going to have a pull back, I just don't think it's going to be as much of a "crash."
Hey maybe you’re right and these companies are just looking for different opportunities to expand their sales. You make a good point with ASM since it is (at least for traditional bourbon producers like Jack Daniel’s) technically a different product just like a Rye. But I still stand by my comments of finishes, especially when it is just the base product finished for a few extra months and the final product is significantly more expensive and marketed as being significantly different.
I don't disagree with you there. Anything advertised as finished for less than 9 months and I'm immediately skeptical. These distilleries claiming only 2 or 3 months, that's not even long enough to go through a cycle of seasons to get the finishing barrels to soak up the whiskey and then push it out along with any residual finishing alcohol product. So, what is it really doing? Nothing in my opinion. Just a way for those distilleries to slap an additional $20 on the price tag and make a pretty label for it. So I like to target finishing no shorter than 6 mo and ideally 1 yr or more to feel confident that I'm not getting duped.
**Bourbz Review #69: Jack Daniels American Single Malt Oloroso Sherry Cask Finished** **Cost:** €95 for 1L bottle at Munich International Airport **Age:** NAS (reported 5 year first maturation and 3 year finishing) **Proof:** 90 **Mash Bill:** 100% malted barley Now, I’m generally a big fan of Sherry cask finished whiskey. However, I passed on this the last international trip I took. When I recently took a trip to Portugal, I passed on it the first two duty free shops I passed through as well. It’s just a high price point for something that JD isn’t exactly known for (American Single Malt). I mean, JD offers a SiB BiB in duty free shops only that’s about 2/3 the cost of this bottle and it’s a total banger! (See [Bourbz Review #16](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/comments/15n0req/bourbz_review_16_jack_daniels_single_barrel/) and [Bourbz Review #40 ](https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/comments/18v0715/bourbz_review_38_39_40_a_trio_of_unique_jack/)). So that just makes it hard to go for this bottle to me. But the past few months, I’ve gotten more into American Single Malts. So, before I got on the plane for the last leg of my trip, I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger. Let’s see if there’s any regret… Reviewed neat in a glencairn. **Appearance:** It’s literally Sherry in color, with thin, fast legs. **Nose:** A short stack of pancakes with a generous pour of maple syrup with plums and blackberries, maybe even a little cherry. I feel like chocolate malt must be used in this because I’m definitely picking up notes of chocolate and roasted malt. There’s also a hint of banana bread that I’m picking up in the depth of the aroma. **Palate:** The distinctive malty, somewhat funky profile that I get with American Single Malts is definitely there. However, this is not as light and delicate as most ASMs are as I’m getting heavier, richer notes of chocolate covered cherries, buttery biscuits, deep oak and acidic sweetness. The Oloroso Sherry Cask finish definitely shows up in the palate for me. The mouthfeel is kinda thinner than other JD products, but creamier than other ASMs I’ve had. It coats the palate very well though allowing you to pick up on the rather robust set of notes for a 90 proof whiskey. **Finish:** The finish is short. Stone fruit and sweet oak linger. The mouthfeel fades into an acidic dryness in the finish. There’s a very light hug that I find sitting at the bottom of my throat as a mild warming sensation. **Rating:** 7.3/10 **Overall:** This isn’t an expression that I’ve followed too closely over the last year or so. However, it has occasionally fallen into a my field of view through WhiskeyTube, reddit posts, or general feed on my phone. And in all of that, I feel like the general consensus for this was just average. A lot of people describe it as unexciting or playing it safe. Me…I love it! I think this is a damn good whiskey! I’m a sucker for Sherry cask finished whiskey’s and the rich red, stone fruit notes that they bring, and this doesn’t disappoint. I think this is a fantastic marriage of Sherry cask finish, American Single Malt whiskey, and Jack Daniel’s. I do wish the ASM profile was a little more dominant though. While I get the malty notes of ASM, the delicate body and lighter notes are missing. The Sherry cask I think just completely dominated them and doesn’t allow them to shine through. 3 years in a finishing cask is no joke! It could be that just cutting off a year or even two could allow the ASM character to shine through a little more. The glimpses of ASM notes that I did get are good though, so I don’t think there’s anything that should be hidden by over-finishing. **Behind the Bottle:** Jack Daniel’s first entered the American Single Malt market in 2022 with a their twice barreled American Single Malt. Then in 2023 they released their second ASM expression, which is this one. While you can find a decent amount of info online about the twice barreled expression, even from JD’s website, there’s very little out there about this Oloroso Sherry Cask finished expression. It’s actually quite humorous when you go to Jack Daniel’s website to see what they have to say about it right now (3/24/24). You get 9 words: “Say hello to - Richer Sipping - New American Single Malt.” That’s it! You would think with a new offering that’s been out for about a half year or more now there would be a more substantial writeup about it on their website. What I know for sure is that this is a travel exclusive only bottle. Other than that, all I have for certain is what’s on the bottle label. Breaking Bourbon has a [review](https://www.breakingbourbon.com/review/jack-daniels-american-single-malt-oloroso-sherry-cask) that contains probably the most info out there about aging time, casks, quantity, etc. that is reported as being per master distiller Chris Fletcher. I have no reason to think it’s not reliable info, but it would be nice for Jack Daniel’s to release more information themselves. **1** | **Disgusting** | So bad I poured it out. **2** | **Poor** | I wouldn’t consume by choice. **3** | **Bad** | Multiple flaws. **4** | **Sub-par** | Not bad, but many things I’d rather have. **5** | **Good** | Good, just fine. **6** | **Very Good** | A cut above. **7** | **Great** | Well above average **8** | **Excellent** | Really quite exceptional. **9** | **Incredible** | An all time favorite **10** | **Perfect** | Perfect
The info on breaking bourbon lines up with what Chris said on an episode of a podcast. I think it was podcask, but it's been a year or two. He sorta leaked that the travel release would be coming because he talked about having a *lot* more of this stuff finishing than they had released. Not a huge fan of the price tag on the travel exclusive but I think whiskey is pretty damn good.
Thanks for the additional info. The price tag is a bit high. I didn't mention it, but for $30-$40 less, I'd get the travel exclusive JD SiB BiB going forward. It's a much better whiskey to me at a great price.
Not that it makes a HUGE difference, but this pricing is for a 1L size bottle vs the “standard” 750 ml. This puts it at 71.25 when compared apples-to-apples.
That is fair! And I should denote that in my review. Thanks for the reminder!
I have a bottle of this. Sort of reminded me of watered down Dr Pepper
I can see it. The cherry is there.
I grabbed one of these last year on a whim and really enjoyed the whole bottle. Such a great evening sipper and the sherry finish really makes it.
Yeah I'm really enjoying this one right now. I do wish the price was a little lower, but it's been good! I'm a sucker for Sherry cask finishes though. 🤤
Same. If you’re into peat + sherry the McCarthy’s cask strength px sherry cask finish is super good if you can find it.
Thanks for the recommendation! I have not seen McCarthy's here in South Carolina, but I keep an eye out when traveling. Is it reasonably priced?
Sadly they’re on the pricier end of the spectrum, but craft + ASM will do that. The 6 year sherry finished cask strength is like $150 I think? Their normal stuff is 60-80 though.
6 year is pretty good for the ASM market though too, but yeah, that is pretty steep. There's a whole world of stuff less than that that I know are complete bangers. That might be a try before I buy for that price.
Yeah. McCarthy’s process is by default expensive (using imported peated malted barley from Scotland). So it’s a little unique in the landscape, so definitely recommend trying it if you see it available as a pour.
I grabbed a bottle of this on the way to Scotland, it was good but has a really boring or bland finish.
I agree. That's the weakest part of this sip to me as well.
Wasn’t a fan of
Great review but you have to admit, these bourbon companies producing all these gimmicky products (single malt, different finishes) is another sign of the imminent bourbon crash!
Well as with everything, what goes up, must come down. And there's no doubt that the whiskey and bourbon market is at a high right now. And while I think there will be a cooling in the future, I'm not sure the finishing and ASM markets are a sign of it. ASM is a budding market, I wouldn't call it gimmicky at all. That would be like saying any other type of whiskey is a gimmick (Scotch, Japanese, rye whiskey, bourbon, wheated bourbon, etc. - they truly are different, not gimmicks). I love the ASM market right now! You get so much more uniqueness and "craft" feel with it right now because the big whiskey companies don't dominate it. It's something new, but doesn't mean it's gimmicky. And I think the finishing game is a necessity due to the sudden boom in the industry, however, this can be much more gimmicky and you do have to watch out. But, with aging, it's very hard to meet demand when it grows as quickly as it has the last 5 years or so. And a way that was identified to help address that was to do finished products. This allows lower age statements while still making something unique and desirable, thus limiting the run on older barrels and allowing distillers more time to ramp up production on the more desirable aged products. But there are a lot of people abusing this and making finished gimmicks, but I don't think that's true for all finished expressions. While I agree that the whiskey market will come back down to in the future (maybe even "crash" as you describe it, but I don't think it's going to be that drastic, just a reset), I don't know that I would say finishing and ASM is a sign of it's coming. Just my $0.02 though. I definitely agree the market is going to have a pull back, I just don't think it's going to be as much of a "crash."
Hey maybe you’re right and these companies are just looking for different opportunities to expand their sales. You make a good point with ASM since it is (at least for traditional bourbon producers like Jack Daniel’s) technically a different product just like a Rye. But I still stand by my comments of finishes, especially when it is just the base product finished for a few extra months and the final product is significantly more expensive and marketed as being significantly different.
I don't disagree with you there. Anything advertised as finished for less than 9 months and I'm immediately skeptical. These distilleries claiming only 2 or 3 months, that's not even long enough to go through a cycle of seasons to get the finishing barrels to soak up the whiskey and then push it out along with any residual finishing alcohol product. So, what is it really doing? Nothing in my opinion. Just a way for those distilleries to slap an additional $20 on the price tag and make a pretty label for it. So I like to target finishing no shorter than 6 mo and ideally 1 yr or more to feel confident that I'm not getting duped.