The 10 Best Jack Daniel’s Whiskeys Of All Time, Ranked

Jack Daniel’s whiskey on a store shelf. (Photo by Igor Golovniov / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Jack Daniel’s is one of the most famous whiskey brands of all time. This Tennessee whiskey brand is a household name, loved by many including music icons like Frank Sinatra. The singer was such a fan of Jack Daniel’s, he referred to it as the “nectar of the gods” and legitimately hoisted a flag over his Palm Springs abode when happy hour started.

The Jack Daniel’s brand is known for its Tennessee whiskey, which is essentially bourbon with one extra step. That step consists of a sugar maple charcoal filtering practice that was introduced to Jasper “Jack” Daniel by Nearest Green, a former enslaved man and Jack Daniel’s first master distiller.

But there’s much more to Jack Daniel’s than the likes of Old No. 7. The portfolio features an eclectic array of distinctive limited releases that range from ryes to whiskeys with a cornucopia of finishes. We’ve gone ahead and collated our expansive spirits review archive and sought out Jack Daniel’s expressions with the highest Raided Scores®.

Ranking Methodology

If you’re unfamiliar with the Bottle Raiders model, you can think of us as the Rotten Tomatoes of booze. We aggregate reviews from notable spirits critics across the internet and average out their scores to determine one final Raided Score® that informs consumers of the quality of a spirit in an easy and straightforward way. This list ranks the 10 best Jack Daniel’s whiskeys of all time, according to trusted critics.

To qualify for the list, each bottle of Jack must have been reviewed by at least three trusted experts. This is a way to ensure that specific bottle is truly and empirically that good, as opposed to simply having its score swung heavily by one or two favorable reviews. The Jack Daniel’s whiskeys on the list will be sorted from great to the very best based on their Raided Scores®.

If there’s ever a Raided Score® tie, the tiebreaker will go to the whiskey with more aggregated reviews, as we believe the score means more if it’s been reviewed positively by more critics. If the number of reviews is also the same, we’ll go based on our house review score — it is our list, after all. If all of those factors are tied, we’ll simply sort alphabetically and list it as a tie.

One last note: We aren’t including multiple years of certain Jack Daniel’s whiskeys. In other words, you’ll see multiple whiskeys from Jack Daniel’s diverse portfolio, but you won’t see more than one of the same bottles from different years because where’s the fun in that? Instead of including different years of the same bottle, we just include the one that scored best and kept moving along.

Without further ado, let’s get cracking on the list of the very best Jack Daniel’s whiskeys of all time!

The 10 Best Jack Daniel’s Whiskeys of All Time, Ranked

10. Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series #8 Rye Finished in High Toast Maple Barrels

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This rye whiskey is the eighth whiskey in the Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series and spent time aging in maple wood barrels before being bottled at 50.5% ABV. The limited-release bottlings in the Distillery Series are all tough to find, as they’re released only at the distillery and in Tennessee.

The nose is full of butterscotch, creamed corn and vanilla bean, giving it a sweet and enticing aroma. The palate is rich, with plenty of peanut brittle and caramel corn qualities. The finish of Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series is nutty with heat and honey-roasted peanuts.

If softer, nuttier ryes are your thing, Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series #8 Rye Finished in High Toast Maple Barrels is a great bottle to try.

9. Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series #11 Finished in Añejo Barrels

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Another great offering from Jack Daniel’s experimental Distillery Series is the collection’s eleventh offering, a Tennessee Whiskey that’s been finished in Añejo Tequila barrels. The expression was bottled at 90 proof, and it was available for $41.99 at Jack Daniel’s for a 375-milliliter bottle upon release.

Whiskey Consensus applauded this Tennessee whiskey with its distinctive nose of sweet citrus, cotton candy, vanilla taffy and just a touch of funk. The palate bursts forth with plenty of cantaloupe, brown sugar and cinnamon. It segues into a finish of lemon, cocoa, green pepper and melon.

Without a doubt, Jack Daniel’s añejo-finished release challenges notions of what a whiskey can be with this extra unique release.

8. Jack Daniel’s 150th Anniversary Edition

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Jack Daniel’s celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2016, and this whiskey was distilled with the Tennessee whiskey brand’s signature process from a mashbill of 80% corn, 12% malted barley and 8% rye.

It was aged in slow-toasted barrels, which were pulled from one of Jack Daniel’s oldest barrel houses, or the “angel’s roost.” This non-age-stated whiskey was bottled at 100 proof and has a suggested retail price of $99.99 for a 1-liter bottle.

The nose of this whiskey is full of banana, vanilla and has a little bit of peanut brittle funk. The mouthfeel on this whiskey is medium, with more peanuts and bananas foster. The finish is spicy, with loads of honey-roasted peanut and banana split.

7. Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select

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We’ve previously mentioned Ol’ Blue Eyes’ love affair with Jack Daniel’s. Well, it turns out the whiskey brand loved him back. So much so, in fact, that Jack Daniel’s released its inaugural batch of Sinatra Select in August 2012. Ever since Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select has been a beloved edition within the Jack Daniel’s brand’s portfolio.

With a sweet and creamy nose full of banana cream pie flavors, honey-roasted peanut and vanilla, this sophisticated sipper has a distinctive aroma. The palate is full of banana runt flavors, toffee and honey before it segues into a conclusion reminiscent of a banana peanut butter sandwich.

Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select is bottled at 45% ABV, and Wine-Searcher reports a bottle of Sinatra Select features an average retail price of $138.

6. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye

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Jack Daniel’s rye whiskeys are a delectable bunch and a secret side of the brand we love. This release was long-anticipated, as Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Tennessee Whiskey has long been a beloved, approachably priced bottling. The proof on this bottle of rye varies and can be as high as 130-plus.

The aroma of this rye is full of brown sugar, making it deviate from rye’s standard herbaceous profile. With rich clove, honey and a kiss of banana, at first whiff, we can tell this whiskey is going to be a decadent sipping experience. The palate is full of sweet cream, banana and peppery spice, coupled with more brown sugar. A luscious, molasses-driven finish drives this rye whiskey from Jack Daniel’s conclusion, making it a memorable pour.

Wine-Searcher reports an average price of $71, making this bottle an affordable luxury.

5. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Tennessee Whiskey

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Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof — say that five times fast — Tennessee Whiskey is bananas. Literally.

With a nose packed with caramel-drizzled banana that segues into a palate chock full of bananas foster and honey-roasted peanut, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Tennessee Whiskey finishes with plenty of heat and, well, more banana. But we totally dig it.

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof whiskeys are bottled at barrel proof with no added color or filtration. This particular Tennessee whiskey has an ABV of 63.35% — though proof does vary for these whiskeys — and has an average price of $70, according to Wine-Searcher.

4. Jack Daniel’s 12 Years Old Batch 2

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This is the second time Jack Daniel’s released this 12-year-old expression, and it hit shelves in February 2024. With its 12-year-old age statement, Jack Daniel’s 12 Years Old is the highest age-stated whiskey from the brand in modern history. Distilled from the classic Jack Daniel’s mashbill of 80% corn, 12% malted barley and 8% rye, this whiskey spent 12 years aging after experiencing Jack’s signature charcoal mellowing process.

The nose is full of banana, peanut brittle and toffee. The palate of Jack Daniel’s 12 Years Old Batch 2 is rich with peanut brittle and banana toffee, coupled with freshly cracked pepper. Jack Daniel’s 12 Years Old Batch 2 concludes oh-so-long and sweet, with more of that toffee throughline.

This whiskey has an ABV of 53.5% and a suggested retail price of $94.99 — although finding it anywhere near that price on the secondary market is unlikely.

3. Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series #12 Straight Tennessee Whiskey Finished in Oloroso Casks

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This whiskey dropped from Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series in December 2023. Bottled at 45% ABV, it was aged in white oak barrels before being finished in oloroso sherry casks, and it was priced at $41.99 for a 375-milliliter bottle.

The nose of this whiskey is sweet and fruity, and the Oloroso influence can be felt with strawberry jam aromas. Pepper and oak interplay beautifully. The palate has plenty of oak and structure, and the oloroso adds more sweetness, which is well-integrated with nice tannins.

Jack Daniel’s Distillery Series #012 finishes with currant jam, raspberries and some toffee, making it a fruity and sweet ride.

2. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release 2024 Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8

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Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8 has a high proof that ranges from 122 to a hefty 137.5. The reason for this is the whiskey is aged in the Tennessee brand’s Coy Hill barrelhouse, which sits on the highest elevation of the whiskey brand’s property in Lynchburg. The Coy Hill barrelhouse faces extreme temperature shifts, leading to an elevated proof.

With a suggested retail price of $79.99, this whiskey is distilled from the typical JD mashbill and aged 10 years and 11 months.

Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill is all power, with a nose of butterscotch, roasted peanuts char and coffee. The palate is oaky and dry, with cinnamon, tobacco and banana. The finish goes on for eons, with honey char and plenty of oak. It’s a massive whiskey with plenty of dessert and peanut-driven power.

1. Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Century

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Jack Daniel’s love affair with Frank Sinatra continued with this incredible release in 2015. Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Century celebrates what would have been the 100th birthday of the Chairman of the Board. Featuring a suggested retail price of $499.99 and an ABV of 50%, Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Century is a rare and limited release, which Distiller simply describes as “A world apart from the Jack Daniel’s you’re topping off with Coke.”

Distiller cites plenty of rich cocoa notes with citrus and tropical fruit like pineapple on the nose. On the palate, picture plenty of rich oak and smoke, coupled with molasses sweetness. The finish features chocolate, oak and more molasses.