Jack Daniel's Distillery Series No. 11: Finally, a Tequila-Finished Bourbon Worth Drinking
The Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series is one of our favorite quirky, limited-run lines in the whiskey world, and its eleventh release has finally given us a way to explain why: Distillery Series selection No. 11 is an añejo barrel-finished Tennessee whiskey. As you can imagine, this particular mashup tends to flop, but Jack Daniel's has managed to create something stellar.
No. 11 is aged as typical Jack Daniel’s whiskey in charred white American oak barrels, but after an appropriate period of aging, it’s moved into barrels that once held añejo tequila.
Jack Daniel’s has been beefing up its portfolio in recent years. The highest-profile releases have included 10- and 12-Year Tennessee whiskeys, but the Distillery Series (formerly Tennessee Tasters) has been steadily plugging along for half a decade with interesting drops—allspice wood finishes, high angel’s share batches and hickory-smoked whiskey among them.
Related: Jack Daniel's Releases Its First 10-Year Whiskey in Over a Century
“As one of the most complete distilleries in the world, we’re fortunate to have the ability to experiment with every part of the whiskey-making process, and that’s what our Distillery Series is all about," says Jack Daniel’s master distiller Chris Fletcher.
Tequila finishes are hardly an innovation. We’ve seen dozens in the last few years, but what separates this one from the rest is execution.
A lot of distilleries have access to tequila barrels. They’ve also experimented with them. The difference here is that Jack Daniel’s has much better control over where they’re getting the barrels from and the quality of what they’re getting.
Perhaps it’s the size of Jack Daniel’s that allows them to (almost) always hit the mark. Our guess is that the tequila in question was either Herradura or El Jimador—two brands owned by the brand's parent company, Brown-Forman, but there’s no official word from Jack Daniel’s.
There are several ways a tequila finish can go wrong. We’ve tasted tequila finishes that are overly sweet, too woody, and mask a too-young whiskey. Some of them have made about as much sense on the tongue as toothpaste-flavored pizza, with all the minty discomfort included.
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Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series No. 11 is exceptionally well-balanced between the vanilla and baking spices of whiskey, and the honey-fresh, citrusy brightness of añejo tequila. Hints of oak and orange tease the nose, but ripe agave, over-ripe pineapple, clove, and cinnamon all pop on the palate.
The finish is really where most tequila-whiskey experiments fall apart, and yet taster Danny Lamb (who headed this particular project) has managed to harmonize agave, corn, rye, and oak in a delicious and sustained final note that’s neither over-oaked nor tequila dominant.
No. 11 may not be perfect, but it’s certainly the new benchmark for what's possible when whiskey makers play with tequila barrels.
Related: The Best Sipping Tequilas of 2023 to Enjoy Neat
Distillery Series No. 11 is bottled at 90 proof, and only available in 375 ml bottles. It’s also only available in Tennessee—specifically in the distillery’s White Rabbit Bottle Shop and a few select other retailers.
Real talk: This line of whiskeys has always been a little hard to get your hands on, but in 11 releases we’ve tried, we’ve yet to taste one that wasn’t good, and we’ve had quite a few that were great.
For $42, this half-size bottle is still probably one of the best limited-edition deals of the season. Here’s to hoping you’re in Tennessee in the next few months.
