Undeniably America's guilty pleasure, the only thing everyone loves more than Jack Daniel's flagship Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey is its line of flavoured whiskey liqueurs. First launched in 2011, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, with its subsequent additions of Tennessee Fire and Tennessee Apple, have been cult favourites for how tasty and easy drinking they are, whether they're made into cocktails or simply enjoyed neat, they've showed really impressive flavour forwardness and integration with their underlying Old No. 7 base! What's even more incredible is the fact that regardless of your opinions about Jack Daniel's historic Old No. 7 - and of course, everyone's got an opinion about it - everyone can agree on these flavoured whiskey liqueurs.
Let's be real, these are the perfect party drinks. Everyone loves them, they're fun, they're tasty and they get the people going.
And so when Jack Daniel's announced in 2025 the release of a new flavour, the Tennessee Blackberry, which also happens to be its first new flavour in six years, you can bet reactions were wild. And sure enough, the moment it was released later that year, it was met with spectacular demand.
To produce the new expression, Jack Daniel's blended its flagship Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey (which itself is made with a mashbill of 80% Corn, 12% Malted Barley and 8% Rye, that's then distilled and put through Jack Daniel's famous charcoal mellowing process of filtering the spirit through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal, and finally ageing the whiskey in new charred American oak barrels) with natural blackberry flavouring, which is then bottled at 70 Proof (35% ABV).
So the big question now is of course - is the hype real? Let's find out!
PS. Shoutout to Singapore's Malt Wine Asia who brings Jack Daniel's in!
Whisky Review: Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry Whiskey Liqueur, 70 Proof (35% ABV)
Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep Gold
Aroma: Rich and chewy black fruits of blackberries and mulberry gummies and pastilles, with even a herbal tinge of licorice and sarsaparilla, and then a sheen of mineral spring water. Finally a warm richness of brown sugars, with just a touch of oak and leather.
Taste: Medium-bodied, it’s lush and rich, yet not at all heavy. It’s really rounded and supple even, with chewy and fruity tones of blackberry and mulberry pastilles, more forward and brighter here, alittle candied too. It’s well integrated with the brown sugar richness of the body, along with subtle tones of vanilla cream and leather. It’s really smooth, chewy, and alittle bit medicinal herbal, without harshness or bitterness.
Finish: The almost herbal black fruited chewiness and juiciness carries through, here alittle more medicinal yet still without bitterness. Really light bits of oak and licorice. It’s rich and seamless through the minty moreish finish, with a lingering herbal fruitiness of blackcurrant cordials and blackberry gummies, with wafts of eucalyptus.
My Thoughts
This was incredibly tasty and perhaps most strikingly, really mellow and approachable, with a superb integration of the blackberry flavours together with the whiskey itself! It delivered chewy blackberry, mulberry and blackcurrant pastilles and gummies, with that accompanying herbal tang that is almost reminiscent of those blackcurrant cough syrup for kids that everyone loves. The underlying whiskey then adds to the equation a supple and warm richness of brown sugars, with alittle bit of leather and oak that just rounds it all out. It's juicy and moreish, yet without harshness, heat, sharpness or even that synthetic or plasticky quality that many flavoured spirits tend to sport. It finishes out seamlessly, really carrying that mileage without thinning out, and even lingers on with that soft warmth.
This is such an enjoyable sipper, went great with ice and really held up with the richness, and in a cocktail provided a really nice body to the drink with this juicy chewiness and an additional depth that's both textural and of flavour. The Jack Daniel's Tennessee Blackberry and Tennessee Apple are my top picks so far, and personally, my preference has been to chuck a bottle in the freezer and serve it neat straight out the freezer door.
Kanpai!
@111hotpot
