Gastronome
words by > Nancy Davidson
Does it really matter where alcoholic beverages hang out before being bottled? The answer is a definitive yes. For centuries, barrels have been used to store and transport the potent potables. Distillers—and many drinkers—knew that the longer the liquid stayed sealed inside the wood, the more it changed in color—from clear to amber or a darker caramel color—and taste, taking on some of the characteristic flavors of the wood.
While new oak adds aroma and flavor to wine, bourbon gets additional flavors from new oak barrels that have been burnt until black on the inside. The char contributes flavors like caramel, vanilla and toasted oak because the sugars in the wood are actually caramelized.
Jack Daniel’s whiskey is created using a similar process, with an additional step of charcoal filtration. Jack Daniel’s attributes 50% of its Tennessee whiskey’s flavor to the barrel, according to Jeff Arnett, manager of quality control and aged whiskey processes. So much stock is put in their barrels, in fact, that the new white oak barrels are constructed, toasted and charred at their own cooperage facility.
But it’s not just a matter of putting clear liquid into a charred barrel and waiting for it to change color. While many spirits are aged for a specific number of years, Jack Daniel’s whiskey doesn’t have a set time schedule. As one often notices with people, age has little to do with maturity.
To achieve the consistent flavor required for Jack Daniel’s Black Label, whiskey is blended from different locations in the warehouses. A barrel that’s been sitting in the upper rafters through the dramatic temperature swings in Lynchburg, Tennessee—100 degree summers and below freezing winters—will probably mature faster than one on the ground level. In the heat, the barrel is pressurized, which opens the pores of the wood; the whiskey expands and interacts with the toast and char of the wood, taking on more caramel and vanilla aromas. In the winter, the pores close and the liquid flows back out.
A side-by-side comparison of two samples of the same age, from different parts of the warehouse, yields a noticeable difference in color and flavor. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, however, embraces the differences between barrels. Aficionados willing to shell out around
$9,000 can even select their own barrel of the dark amber whiskey. The buyer receives 220 decanters (750 ml each), labeled with the barrel number and date, as well as the empty barrel.
When all the whiskey they can extract is out of the barrel—after rolling the barrels mechanically until every last drop is squeezed out—there’s “still life left” in the barrel, Arnett says. That’s because Glenmorangie Scotch Whisky, Appleton Rum and Don Eduardo Tequila all age their products in used Jack Daniel’s barrels. With used barrels, the effects of the wood are less intense, so the liquor can be stored longer without becoming overwhelmed by the tannins in the wood. And the flavor of Jack persists just a little bit as well.