Allotment Drams / Jack Daniel's Old No.7 & Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair

We have two more episodes of our Allotment Dram video series for you and hope you will enjoy them. Firstly, watch as Matt tackles one of the world's biggest selling whiskeys in the form of Jack Daniel's Old No.7. Learn a bit about the brand's history, plus what the terms 'sour mash' and 'Lincoln County Process' mean. Then find out his thoughts and tasting notes.

Then on his next visit he heads back to Scotland, and the island of Islay in particular, to take a look at the sherry cask influenced Bunnahabhain Stiùireadair. Watch to discover how to pronounce the name of the whisky and some information about the distillery, before giving his thoughts and tasting notes.

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Allotment Drams - American Eagle 4 years old & Smokehead Rum Rebel

We have two more episodes from our increasingly popular Allotment Drams series, our short videos where we talk about different whiskies from the surrounding of our allotment in north London. First watch as Matt tackles the American Eagle 4 years old, an American whiskey from the state of Tennessee, on a very hot afternoon. 

Then he talks about the brand new Smokehead Rum Rebel, an Islay single malt that has been finished in Caribbean rum barrels, while also showing off an impressive haul of produce that he has harvested. We hope that you enjoy Matt's thoughts and tasting notes on both whiskies.

 

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Allotment Dram - Making a Mint Julep

Matt is back at the allotment as America celebrated National Mint Julep Day last weekend. Watch as he attempts to make the classic cocktail using mint picked and items found at the allotment and other ingredients brought from home. His whiskey of choice for this is the American Eagle 4 years old bourbon.

The Mint Julep was first referenced in the early 1800s in Kentucky and often used whiskey, brandy or rum as the spirit ingredient. It was not until a century later in the early 1900s that whiskey exclusively became the main ingredient. This could have been bourbon or rye. The Mint Julep is now most famously associated with the Kentucky Derby, one of the biggest and richest horse races in the world, and has been officially served at the event every year since 1938.

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Review - Uncle Nearest 1856

Uncle Nearest is a Tennessee whiskey brand that has been reborn to honour a pioneer of the American whiskey industry. He was named Nathan Green and was believed to be the first African-American master distiller in the USA during the 1850s. Green is often described as "the best whiskey maker that the world never knew" and lived just outside Lynchburg in Tennessee. He was known as Nearis to his friends and colleagues and worked at a distillery on Dan Call Farm that was owned by Reverand Call, a Lutheran preacher.

Green became the figurehead after the Reverand's congregation disapproved of him distilling and he is said to have been at the forefront of developing The Lincoln County Process - the process where the matured whiskey is filtered through charcoal. He is also said to have trained and later worked under Jack Daniel, the founder of the world's biggest selling Tennessee whiskey, who held Green in high esteem and is thought to have referred to him as Uncle Nearis.

An American Whiskey Fan In London

Being a fan of American whiskey in the UK can be a challenge. To the uninitiated (like this London-based whisky commentator who writes and comments on social media about Scotch whisky) the topic of American whiskey can appear a bit daunting and confusing.  Where do you find information? 

There do not seem to be many UK sources apart from the occasional brand ambassador floating around at whisky shows or events if you are lucky enough to be able to attend these.

In the whisky cupboard ... Gentleman Jack

In order to celebrate the 4th of July, American Independence Day, yesterday we decided that it was time to open one of the American whiskies that we have in our whisky cupboard. Gentleman Jack is a whiskey released by the world famous Jack Daniel's distillery that can be found in the town of Lynchburg in the state of Tennessee. It was established in 1866 by a man named Jack Daniel and the distillery remained in Jack's family until 1956 when it was sold to a Kentucky based distilling company called Brown Forman, who remain as the current owners.

Tennessee whiskey is different from bourbon, which is produced in the state of Kentucky. The ingredients are the same but Tennessee whiskey is filtered through charcoal prior to maturation. Jack Daniel pioneered this process. It is lengthy (taking up to 10 days per batch) as the whiskey is dripped through the charcoal, which by law must come from the sugar maple tree. This is done so as to remove unwanted impurities from the distillation process and make the final whiskey cleaner and smoother.

Gentleman Jack is different from the regular Jack Daniel's No.7 as it is filtered twice through the maple charcoal - once before maturation and once after. It is also slightly older at release, being around 5 years of age. Jack Daniel had experimented with double and even triple filtration of his whiskey but the practice was not started commercially until 1988, when Gentleman Jack first went into full scale production. It is a unique whiskey as no other in the world follows this double filtration process.

The colour is a dark golden amber and the nose is aromatic and welcoming. There is a lot of vanilla and also some oaky wood (think of coconut especially). Some other interesting sweeter notes come through well - a distinct sugary aroma (imagine nougat or cream soda), some dried fruits (think of tropical fruits like mango and pineapple, as well as candied orange peel) and some caramel. Something else is also present on the nose that took us a while to pin down (the nearest we got was an aroma something like a waxy furniture polish). On the palate this is light and very smooth, with much more woodiness than on the nose. It has a lovely creamy vanilla quality that is backed up with the complex combination of those dried tropical fruits, candied peel, caramel and something slightly bitter and nutty. It lacks the sweetness that the nose suggests and becomes very dry during its long, lingering finish. An oaky, slightly bitter woodiness and the dried orange peel are the predominant notes.

Gentleman Jack is a good, enjoyable American whiskey that has considerably more structure and complexity than its more famous relative, the Jack Daniel's N0.7. Gentleman Jack is found primarily in the travel retail/Duty Free sector around the world and this is where we purchased our bottle. It cost about £17 for a litre, once converted from the local currency. It can also be found in a few selected whisky retailers in the UK, but prices are higher at £35-40. We say that Gentleman Jack is well worth buying next time that you are travelling.

Have just tried ... Jack Daniel's Old No.7

Jack Daniel's is one of the most famous American whiskies and brand names in the world. The distillery can be found close to the town of Lynchburg in the state of Tennessee. It was established in 1866 by Jack Daniel and during his lifetime he grew his brand rapidly, which helped Tennessee whiskey become a major player in the American distilling industry. The distillery remained in Jack's family until 1956 when it was sold to Brown Forman, a Kentucky distilling company.

Tennessee whiskey is different from bourbon, which is produced in the state of Kentucky. The ingredients are the same but Tennessee whiskey is filtered through charcoal prior to maturation. This process is lengthy (taking up to 10 days per batch) as the whiskey is dripped throught the charcoal, which by law must come from the sugar maple tree.

The state of Tennessee is a 'dry' state. This means that the sale of alcohol is prohibited, although there are a few small areas where it is allowed. The state once had a proud whiskey heritage but now only two distilleries remain - Jack Daniel's and George Dickel. The industry was savaged by Prohibition between 1920-1933 as everything to do with whiskey production and consumption was banned. Tennessee governors decided to form its own rules as it was a deeply religious state. A form of Prohibition was imposed in 1910, a decade before it happened nationally, and distillation did not become legal again in the state until 1938 - 5 years after national Prohibition finished.

The Old No.7 forms the foundation upon which the Jack Daniel's fortune is built. It is available worldwide and is one of the top selling American whiskies. The origin of the name is unclear as Jack Daniel took the explanation with him to his grave. The colour is a bright amber and the nose is fresh and packed with vanilla and coconut. These are backed up by a sweetness (think of maple syrup), some citrus (orange especially) and a hint of burnt charred smoke (maybe from the charcoal?). The palate has an initial impactful sweetness (imagine sugary caramel), then hits you with vanilla and finally it becomes very woody. This bitterness is actually quite pleasant and balances the sweetness. The finish is dry with some burnt sugar and toasted nuts (coconut again) present.

Jack Daniel's Old No.7 suffers from a poor reputation and for this reason people tend to turn their noses up at it. This reputation comes as it is considered as a mass produced whiskey for mixing. Jack Daniel's and coke is one of the world's favourite drinks, which helps with its popularity. Can that many people be wrong? The argument is this - just because something is popular or mass produced or both, doesn't mean that it cannot be good also. Surely, something has to be good to achieve good sales to the greater worldwide audience. This whiskey does lend itself to be drunk with a mixer or in a cocktail as it gives you powerful flavours up front and is enjoyable but fairly simple after that. The sweetness of coke, for example, balances perfectly the dry and slightly bitter quality that Old No.7 has. It would be good as an occasionally dram on its own, although people may want more complexity. Old No.7 is widely available around the world and a bottle should cost around £15-20.