Drink the Bottles

Distillery Series #17 -  image from Jack Daniel Distillery When the Angel’s Share Becomes Part of the Story Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Selection #17 is batch proof Tennessee Whiskey pulled from top floors of the distillery’s Coy Hill barrelhouses There are plenty of ways a whiskey distillery can experiment.   Change the grain bill. Try a different barrel. Finish the whiskey in something unexpected. Push the proof. Change the way the barrels are toasted or where they're stored.   Or, in the case of Jack Daniel’s latest Distillery Series release, you can put the whiskey in an unusually hot place, leave it alone for years, and see what happens. That is the story behind Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series Selection #17: High Angel’s Share Straight Tennessee Whiskey . And it is a pretty fascinating story. Jack Daniel’s began with traditional Tennessee Whiskey laid down in barrels in 2016. Those barrels were then placed on the top floor of Barrelhouse 1-13 on Coy Hil...

Some whiskey releases are designed to tell a larger story.   Penelope's Limited Series, Architects of Golf, came together over a love and discussion about golf.  It seems simple enough, but if you know anything about the spirits game, you know nothing happens overnight.   This is Penelope Architects of Golf Hole 2 , a six-year-old straight bourbon whiskey with a mash bill consisting of corn (60%), rye (36%), and malted barley (4%).  The elevated rye content promises a more assertive profile while the finishing introduces a layer of complexity that we appreciate.   While many limited releases arrive with a one-and-done approach, Architects of Golf appears to be building something much larger. With Holes 1, 2, and 3 already announced, the series invites an obvious question:  How many holes are left to play? While no official roadmap has been released, the golf-inspired theme naturally leads enthusiasts to wonder whether the collection could eve...