Jack Daniel's 14 Year Tennessee Whiskey Review - Tasting Notes on the Oldest Expression from this Iconic Distillery in Over a Century

Nick Anderson
Jun 8
5 min read

“Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.”

- Mark Twain

The oldest expression from the modern Jack Daniel's distillery is hot on the scene and making waves in the whiskey world. Seemingly distributed in one of the smallest quantities possible, I had everything to do just to get a hold of one bottle for review. Stores across Massachusetts kept telling me month after month since the Jack Daniel's press release dropped, "It hasn't arrived yet, and when it does come in, we might only get one bottle." My heart sank each time, because these age stated expressions represent exactly what I had hoped the team behind this reliable old distillery would do—continue to innovate. When their rye expression burst onto the scene with the 2020 limited edition special release rye, I was floored with what their rye grain could do in a well-crafted final product.

"... when it does come in, we might only get one bottle."

Alas, this corn-forward Tennessee whiskey may be the ultimate representation of a limited release whiskey. With distribution being as scarce as it is, many folks are turning towards reviews, wondering if this expression could possibly be worth what price-gouging stores and secondary markets are fixing this for, well above the suggested retail price of $150. The cost-conscious consumer might even wonder at MSRP as well, when Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 is sitting on every whiskey shelf in the world at a cool 27 bucks. It once again beckons forth the age-old question in whiskey: is older better? What are we really paying for here?

I've been fortunate to have had the chance to visit the Jack Daniel Distillery several times for barrel picks. In conversations with wonderful humans like Lexie Phillips and her husband, appropriately nicknamed Nacho Libre, I've come to learn this brand is a force to be reckoned with. Their whiskey production capability puts them into a league of their own, where the next biggest distillery or label isn't even on their radar. In a hilarious example of this, I couldn't help but chuckle when I was there last year, picking barrels with Pablo Moix and his adorable dogs. Nacho kindly informed Pablo that, no, he had actually not heard of the business phenom nor his increasingly popular whiskey brand, Rare Character. Perhaps this was just a sly joke that soared over my head amongst the many samples of barrel proof whiskey we were sipping through, but it left me with the sense that Lynchburg is something of an island—cut off from the sphere of influence of the outside (whiskey) world that patient taste-travelers like myself yearn to explore and understand.

For a whiskey goliath such as this, the profits to be made from small-scale innovations like these hyper-aged whiskeys are marginal in comparison to the power that their voluminous shelf offerings pull in for the Brown-Forman portfolio. Instead of targeting the bottom line, this bottling appears to be aiming more towards preserving some of the historical significance of the Jack Daniel's legacy. Over a century ago, these age stated expressions were part of the core lineup. The momentous return of these couldn't come at a better time, when whiskey enthusiasts are looking to drink and share only the best whiskeys.

“When we released our first Jack Daniel’s 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey a few years ago, we set out to honor the legacy of Jack Daniel himself and replicate the lineup of age-stated whiskeys available during his time,” said Chris Fletcher, Master Distiller at the Jack Daniel Distillery. “This year’s releases build upon that as we re-introduce our new 14-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey, the oldest age-statement for Jack Daniel’s in the last 100 years or more. These whiskeys really showcase how a little extra time in our barrels is capable of producing something so special.”

Fletcher knows that with 14 years of aging in the intense Tennessee heat, some careful barrel handling had to be employed. After proofing and likely tasting some of the aging stocks, the team resolved to move the barrels that were slated for this release—and for age statements beyond 14—to lower floors in their rickhouses, slowing the maturation effects that might turn double-digit whiskeys into overoaked messes. This attention to detail tells me that this release was crafted by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. So, my dear reader, are you ready to find out if all that care has resulted in the perfect sipping whiskey? Let's get into a full review.

Company on Label: Jack Daniel Distillery

Whiskey Type: Tennessee whiskey

Mash Bill Percentages: 80% corn, 12% malted barley, and 8% rye

Proof: 126.3°

Age: 14 years

MSRP: $150 (2025)

Further identification: This is batch 1, first released in February, 2025 in very limited distribution

Nose: The glass opens with rich caramel leaning towards flan and creamy butterscotch, reminiscent of some dusty bourbon. It’s bright, potent, and thick in nose feel. Some traces of classic, rich old oak introduce subtle black pepper and allspice on an altogether quite classic whiskey aroma wheel. Nosing further brings forth the hair-raising chill of nostalgia, the feeling of falling in love with a new whiskey category. Wow, holding the glass at a bit of distance produces such a profound and clear vanilla bean ice cream aroma. As the glass continues to bloom, buttery aromas build in intensity, and my heart swoons. Some light florals dance around the ubiquitous, level oak. You can tell it’s generally a high-proof pour without any of the stinging pain in the nostrils that can sometimes come with it.

After a sip, the nose casts forth a touch more ethanol, but not in a volume that poses a problem to me personally. Vanilla and ginger ale are dominant late in the pour as the volume of aroma diminishes in perfect coordination with the volume of liquid remaining in the glass. The glass tapers off slowly toward a perfectly comfortable array of bready tones. The empty glencairn smells of candied apple, Werther’s caramel chews, and a cloud of gorgeous vanilla creaminess. I find myself quite lost in this pour with eyes closed in quiet bliss.

Palate: On first taste I find a cacophonous wave of flavor: silky flan darts to buttercream frosting, then lazily drifts around a bend of maraschino cherry juice. The linger is impossibly long, as if time weren’t even available for consideration. This pour instantly reminds me of a hot summer’s day, floating down a river in an inflatable raft loaded down with a day's worth of drinks. Another sip amplifies the joy, extolling all the virtues of hyper-aged whiskey. Coconut butter, pancake batter, and a dash of brown sugar all sit atop the well-integrated oak. Sipping late in the glass offers molasses drizzled atop a bed of waffles before a stupidly long linger of allspice dram, anise, and caramel tingle on and on in every nook and cranny of the mouth. This is a lovely whiskey.

TL;DR: This is the whiskey we've been waiting for from Jack Daniel's

Rating: 4.5/5

(Absolutely delicious. Enthusiast grade pour.)

Goodness me, this was worth the price of admission. Clearly shining above and beyond the 10 year and 12 year expressions from this year, this is the bottle to hunt for in 2025. It's the bottle I can't stop going back to any time I get in the mood for a great whiskey, which is why it has solidly earned my Keep Amongst the Whiskey designation. If the Jack team can consistently continue to scale out whiskey of this caliber, JD has a bright future amongst whiskey enthusiasts near and far.