Review: Gentleman Jack Tennessee Whiskey

Up for review today is Gentleman Jack, which is the main higher-end offering from Jack Daniels. Like the classic Jack Daniels Black Label, it's a Tennessee whiskey. This style is similar to bourbon, but has the distinguishing feature of being filtered through blocks of charcoal. And, you know, being made in Tennessee. This particular one is filtered two times through charcoal, which is purported to give it a mellower, smoother flavor than the regular black label, which is just filtered once. Does it? Let's take a closer look.

Poured into a glass, Gentleman Jack has the standard amber color of a bourbon, though a bit on the light side. The aroma contains an interesting rye character, and is sweet but fairly harsh, and frankly reminiscent of a cheap bourbon. Thankfully, the flavor is somewhat better. It's a little too sweet for my liking, but there's a fair amount going on. Charcoal is strongly present at first, which gives way to corn and a caramel sweetness. The overall character is indeed quite reminiscent of Black Label JD, though certainly smoother and sweeter. A bit of fruit is evident on the finish, which is somewhat astringent.

It's certainly a step up from Black Label, but I'm still not in love with this one - the flavors don't really hang together too well, and it still lacks a little bit in smoothness. If you're a fan of Jack Daniels or Tennessee whiskey in general then it's worth a shot, but there are plenty of bourbons in this price range that are much, much better.

Price: ~$30

Value: 13/20
Overall Quality: 14/20

Review: Linie Aquavit

To say the least, Linie Aquavit is an interesting spirit, bearing little similarity to any of the commonly encountered classes of liquors. Hailing from Norway, it's distilled from potatoes, and flavored with caraway and other herbs and spices. It's then placed into sherry casks, which are carried inside of a ship on a journey that crosses the equator (the "linie" in Linie Aquavit) two times. Indeed, the inside of the label gives the dates of each bottle's journey. This process supposedly imparts the spirit with unique flavors as it rocks inside the cask and is exposed to the sea breeze and frequent temperature changes. It all reeks of a marketing gimmick, but at least it's a creative one with some tradition behind it.

But what's it like? Well, it pours out with a light yellow-brown color, revealing its time spent in sherry casks. Its aroma is fairly subtle, but with definite notes of anise, caraway, spearmint, and quite a bit of alcohol. A bit reminiscent of an herbal vodka. On the palate, however, the flavor is considerably richer, with the sherry aging imparting a nice smoothness and a bit of sweetness. The caraway is the dominant flavor - Linie is definitely more akin to rye bread than rye whiskey, and this caraway gives the spirit quite a bit of bite. Anise is also mutely present, and a mintiness shines through, making the spirit nicely refreshing, albeit a tad medicinal. The finish comes with a bit of bitterness, but not in an unpleasant way. In all, it's not too complex, but fairly enjoyable.

Linie is an interesting spirit, but in all honesty, I'm a bit at a loss for what to do with it. It's quite refreshing, especially when chilled, but it's not something that I feel like having very often. And I'm not really sure what sort of cocktails you can mix with it (but I'm completely open to suggestions). Maybe it would go well with some corned beef, swiss cheese, and thousand island dressing...

If you're looking for something unique, this could fit the bill, but unless if you're a caraway junkie, I don't think it's a must-have.

Price: ~$28

Value: 15/20
Overall Quality: 14/20