Jack Daniel's Oloroso Sherry Cask Single Malt

Jack Daniel's Oloroso Sherry Cask Single Malt is a Tennessee-made single malt, which sets it apart from the brand's better-known Tennessee whiskey. Jack Daniel's is known for charcoal-mellowed, corn-based whiskey. A single malt is made from malted barley, and this one is matured in Oloroso sherry casks at the Lynchburg distillery. The cask choice shapes the profile. Oloroso is the oxidatively aged, darker style of sherry. Casks that held it usually give whiskey notes of dried fruit, walnut and toasted nut, baking spice, and a rounded sweetness that sits differently from the vanilla and caramel of fresh charred American oak. Expect malted grain at the base with that sherry influence layered over it, though the exact balance is for you to find in the glass. Because it is malt-driven and sherry-finished, this bottle suits slow sipping better than mixing. Pour it neat first, and use a Glencairn glass if you have one. The tapered bowl gathers the aroma, so the dried fruit, nut and spice notes are easier to pick out before you taste. A few drops of room-temperature water afterward can open the nose and soften any alcohol heat. If you prefer it cooler, a single large cube in a rocks glass dilutes slowly. Heavy chilling tends to mute the sweeter, fruitier notes, so go easy on it. If you want to mix with it, keep the drink spirit-forward so the sherry character stays audible. A Manhattan is the natural fit. Sweet vermouth and bitters echo the dried-fruit side of the whiskey, and a dash of orange or aromatic bitters works well. An Old Fashioned with a small measure of demerara syrup and an orange peel also works, and it lets the malt and sherry cask lead rather than burying them in sugar. A Whiskey Sour or a tall Highball with soda is possible, but both would use a whiskey whose main appeal is its subtlety. Reserve it for those only if you want a lighter, drier drink with a clear sherry note. At the table, pairings that suit sherry-aged malts generally work here. Think dark chocolate, roasted almonds or walnuts, aged hard cheeses, or a baked apple or fig dessert.