Creamy milk chocolate | Tobacco | Rye grain | Breakfast syrup | Oak | Maple candy

Rye spice | Green peppercorn spice | Oak | Ancho pepper spice | Thin syrup | Maple cake | Tobacco leaf | Spice-centric

Rye spice | Ancho pepper spice | Light milk chocolate | Dry oak | Leather | Faint syrup | Lingering dry spice

The Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series is used as a form of experimentation for the distillery. Each release is a one-off limited edition that ranges from varying barrel finishes to mashbill to the whiskey type used. For Distillery Series Selection #16, the company took their rye whiskey and finished it in used Jack Daniel’s barrels that were used for maturing a southern-style table syrup.

The whiskey kicks off with a creamy milk chocolate scent that layers on top of more traditional notes, along with a pleasing whiff of breakfast syrup. Spice explodes at the middle part of the sip, with loads of spice notes pushing against oak and tobacco leaf. Maple cake and a thin syrup try to add in a sweet balance; however, spice is the star of the show and carries over to kick off the finish. Rye spice and ancho pepper spice push forward and combine with dry oak and light leather, while light sweet flavors try to push forward. Ending on a lingering dry spice note, the sip stands out for its whimsical, fun nature.

Distillery Series Selection #16 can best be summed up as spicy and sweet. While the spice components tend to steal the show in the middle and back half, the finishing in table syrup barrels does a nice job of weaving in and balancing sweet notes. This is a fun expression from Jack Daniel’s and feels like it lives up to the experimental nature of the Distillery Series. Those looking for a fun and interesting sip will be right at home with this latest release.