Beauty may lie in the eye of the beholder, but at the end of the day, there are some downright lousy whiskey brands available from around the world. Luckily for U.S. imbibers, Jack Daniel’s makes top-tier whiskey that’s widely accessible. Here at Tasting Table, we’ve long been praising Jack Daniel’s as the absolute best Tennessee whiskey that discerning sippers can easily locate on store shelves far and wide — which, in a roundabout way, is why Tennessee Travelers fell to the bottom of the pack in our definitive ranking of 14 Jack Daniel’s whiskeys. The brand’s Tennessee Travelers Series includes two whiskey varieties — “Sweet & Oaky” and “Bold & Spicy” — and both products sit at the bottom of our list.
Don’t get us wrong, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Travelers Series is not bad. But it’s not as remarkable as the other offerings we taste-tested, and not nearly as easy to find. Per the “Travelers” in the spirits’ title, these products are not sold in the U.S., giving aspiring Tennessee-whiskey fans abroad a chance to try a sip. Instead, as we mentioned in our review, “The only way to get either bottle is at duty-free shops operated by Gebr. Heinemann.” The price is right at around €30 per bottle, but “keep in mind these are smaller-than-usual 500 milliliter bottles […] And if you’re in, say, Germany, you’re going to want to bring back something German, right? Not Jack Daniel’s.”
Read more: The 30 Best Bourbon Brands, Ranked
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Travelers Series is skippable beyond the travelers-exclusive market
Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Travelers Series whiskey duo – Gantry Paisley/Facebook
According to the Jack Daniel’s website, Tennessee Travelers Sweet & Oaky is a traditional, mellow whiskey with a high-corn mash bill (80%) and tasting notes of caramel, vanilla, and toasted oak. By comparison, the company describes Tennessee Travelers Bold & Spicy as featuring a high-rye mash bill (70%) and distinctive, peppery tasting notes with dry baking spice. Happily, according to customer reviews, both descriptions deliver in execution.
A Reddit review (from a vacationing poster who apparently procured the Travelers Series bottles from a duty-free store) gives the Sweet & Oaky a 5.9 and the Bold & Spicy a 6, writing, “I’m reasonably satisfied. For $30/500ml (extrapolated to $45/750ml), this is a fair value. Not mind blowing” but pleasantly familiar. Elsewhere online, other reviews commonly describe the Sweet & Oaky as leaning sweet to the point of being unbalanced, or average. Reviewers seem to espouse a more positive take on its Bold & Spicy counterpart, which is described as a decent (if somewhat unremarkable) entrant into the spiced rye category.
These solidly middle offerings are an effective way to expand the Jack Daniel’s fanbase beyond the domestic market. However, if you already shop the domestic market (i.e., you live in America), then the novelty of the Tennessee Travelers Series is rendered moot. If you’re able to access other whiskeys in the Jack Daniel’s oeuvre, by all means, opt for those ones. They offer a lot more than just accessibility while traveling.
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Read the original article on Tasting Table.