Jack Daniel’s is the best-selling whiskey brand in the world. Jameson is only the third best-selling whiskey brand in the world but it’s also the best-selling Irish whiskey brand in the world. Now I could have left it at that, but I didn’t. I decided to find out which whiskeys are better.
Overall, Jameson whiskeys are better than Jack Daniel’s whiskeys. Although when it comes to flavor, they’re similar, and Jack Daniel’s whiskeys are better when it comes to price, Jameson produce more complex and smoother whiskeys which is what gives them the edge when deciding which of the two are better.
The rest of this article will look at these four factors (flavor, complexity, smoothness and price) in more detail and I’ll show you how I decided for each of them whether Jack Daniel’s or Jameson whiskeys are better.
Flavor
The point of drinking whiskey is (usually) to taste lots of delicious flavors so obviously this was the first factor I used to determine whether Jack Daniel’s or Jameson whiskeys are better.
With the help of some friends (and by friends, I mean anyone who would help me) I created a list of the flavors in the current whiskeys of both brands. The earlier a flavor appears in the coming lists, the more people detected it and all the flavors listed were detected by at least two people.
The flavors we found in Jack Daniel’s whiskeys are:
Whiskey | Flavors |
---|---|
Old No. 7 | Vanilla, mint, corn sour, caramel, oak, wood, green apple, charcoal, honey, banana, cinnamon, maple, nuts, pepper |
Tennessee Rye | Banana, vanilla, honey, spices, alcohol, anise, rye spice, rye bread, oak, pepper, nuts, barrel char |
Tennessee Honey | Honey, cinnamon, oak, milk chocolate, spices, vanilla, bitter, maple syrup, barrel char |
Tennessee Fire | Cinnamon, sweet, spicy, nutmeg |
Tennessee Apple | Green apple, cinnamon, caramel, honey |
Gentleman Jack | Caramel, vanilla, oak, corn, banana, char, pepper, maple, spices, fruit |
Sinatra Select | Vanilla, oak, caramel, banana, orange, leather, cinnamon, fruit, butterscotch, oak spice, honey, tobacco, clove, cream, nuts |
Single Barrel Select | Vanilla, oak, corn, spices, milk chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, banana, brown sugar, banana bread, pepper |
Single Barrel Rye | Caramel, banana, rye spice, oak, creamy, vanilla, honey, spices, fruit |
Single Barrel Barrel Proof | Cinnamon, banana, vanilla, oak, spices, pepper, cloves, honey, menthol, raisins, maple syrup, licorice, brown sugar, wood, smoke, coconut, fruit |
The flavors we found in Jameson whiskeys are:
Whiskey | Flavors |
---|---|
Jameson Irish | Vanilla, oak, pepper, wood, apples, grassy, malty, cream, honey, alcohol, spices, cereal, floral, nuts |
Black Barrel | Vanilla, spices, fruit, caramel, wood, oak char, honey, oak, brown sugar, butter, sherry, grain, light smoke, maple |
18 Years | Caramel, vanilla, spices, oak, fruit, tannin, leather, toffee, banana, wood, lemon, pepper, apples |
Bow Street 18 Years | Vanilla, oak, pepper, spices, cloves, honey, caramel, wood, cinnamon, apples, bananas, leather, sherry, corn, crème brulé, nutmeg |
Caskmates Stout Edition | Chocolate, coffee, vanilla, sugar, hops, honey, pepper, caramel, butterscotch, cinnamon, spices, beer, malt |
Caskmates IPA Edition | Hops, honey, citrus, bitterness, grain, malt, oak, apples, spices, vanilla, oak, lemon, fruit, caramel, bread |
Distiller’s Safe | Butter, apricots, cinnamon, vanilla, grain, fruit, pepper, spices, honey, citrus, pears, malt, grass, oak |
Cooper’s Croze | Fruit, oak, vanilla, spices, caramel, citrus, ginger, stewed apples, honey, cinnamon, raisins, malt, pepper, nuts |
Blender’s Dog | Honey, fruit, caramel, pears, bananas, apricots, spices, oak, licorice, ginger, malt, cinnamon, nutmeg, butterscotch, vanilla, apples, pepper, chocolate, oranges |
(For a more in-depth look at both of these whiskeys, see the article I wrote about Jack Daniel’s whiskeys here and the article I wrote about Jameson whiskeys here.)
Although we found lots of flavors as a group, each of us individually only found four or five of them. This means that the whiskeys are not very complex (more on that in a minute) and also that a summary of the most common flavors in these whiskeys would be useful:
The most common flavors we found in Jack Daniel’s whiskeys are:
Vanilla, oak, banana, honey, pepper, caramel and cinnamon
The most common flavors we found in Jameson whiskeys are:
Vanilla, honey, caramel, spices, fruit, cinnamon, pepper and oak
As you can see, there’s a lot of similarity between the most common flavors of the whiskeys in both brands. This is not surprising when you consider how the whiskeys of both brands are made.
Jack Daniel’s whiskeys (except the Tennessee Rye) are made from 80% corn, 8% rye and 12% malted barley, and aged for at least four years in new, charred, American white oak barrels. Jameson is a blend of pot still whiskey – which means malted and unmalted barley, and grain whiskey namely maize otherwise known as corn. They’re also aged for at least four years – in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry barrels.
One difference between the two is that Jack Daniel’s has a relatively prominent banana flavor in its profile whereas Jameson has a more overall fruitiness and some sherry sweetness. As this is the main difference between the two brands when it comes to flavor, we can use it to determine which is better for this factor.
The result for which whiskeys have better flavors:
- If you prefer a banana flavor, then the brand with better flavors is Jack Daniels.
- If you prefer a more overall fruitiness and some sherry sweetness, then the brand with better flavors is Jameson.
- If you have no preference, then in terms of flavor, it will be a draw.
Complexity
While Jack Daniel’s and Jameson whiskeys have some flavors, they don’t have anywhere near the same number of flavors as other more complex whiskeys. That’s why many experienced whiskey drinkers find the expressions in both brands boring, but the simplicity is intentional as it allows these whiskeys to appeal to a wider audience, which being the best-selling whiskey brand and best-selling Irish whiskey brand in the world, they clearly do.
That being said, both brands also produce more complex and flavorful versions of their standard expression. It’s true that they’re still not as complex as many other sipping whiskeys but they are complex enough to be the second factor I used to determine whether Jack Daniel’s or Jameson whiskeys are better.
More complex flavors come as a result of one or more of the following:
- More time aging – since most of a whiskey’s flavors comes from the barrel it’s aged in, the longer it spends aging the more flavors it will have
- Barrel characteristics – differences in the barrel itself or how it’s stored will affect how much flavor a whiskey picks up
- ABV – alcohol carries flavor compounds, so whiskeys with a higher ABV will have more intense and concentrated flavors than whiskeys with a lower ABV.
The following table shows how long the more complex Jack Daniel’s whiskeys spend aging, any additional barrel characteristics, and their ABVs.
Whiskey | Years | Barrel | ABV |
---|---|---|---|
Sinatra Select | 4 – 7 | Deep grooves carved into their staves | 45% |
Single Barrel Select | 4 -7 | Stored in the uppermost part of the warehouse | 47% & 45% |
Single Barrel Rye | 4 -7 | Stored in the uppermost part of the warehouse | 45% |
Single Barrel Barrel Proof | 4 -7 | Stored in the uppermost part of the warehouse | 62.5% – 70% |
As you can see the more complex Jack Daniel’s whiskeys are aged for longer than the standard expressions (exactly how much longer is unknown), they have unique barrel characteristics and higher ABVs.
The Sinatra Select is aged in barrels with deep grooves carved into their staves so that the whiskey has more exposure to the oak and can acquire more flavors, and the single barrel expressions come from barrels stored in the uppermost part of the Jack Daniel’s warehouse, where increased changes in temperature cause the whiskey’s flavors to become more intense.
We found the Single Barrel Barrel Proof to be the most complex and flavorful Jack Daniel’s whiskey, which being aged the longest, coming from the best barrels and having the highest ABV, is no surprise.
The following table shows how long the more complex Jameson whiskeys spend aging, any additional barrel characteristics, and their ABVs.
Whiskey | Years | Barrel | ABV |
---|---|---|---|
Black Barrel | Charred twice | 40% | |
18 Years | 18 | 40% | |
Bow Street 18 Years | 18 | 54.5% – 55.3% | |
Cooper’s Croze | 5 – 12 | Four different barrels | 43% |
Blender’s Dog | 5 – 12 | 43% |
As you can see, the Black Barrel is charred twice to give it more intense flavors. Charring barrels breaks down parts of the oak which creates flavor compounds for the whiskey to pick up and absorb, makes it easier for the whiskey to seep further into the wood to pick them up and creates a layer of charcoal that filters out unwanted flavors. Charring barrels twice does all that only even more.
Cooper’s Croze and Blender’s Dog come from a range of whiskeys that highlight the effect different parts of the whiskey making process have on the flavor of the whiskey. These in particular have greater depth and complexity than other Jameson whiskeys because of what they highlight. Cooper Croze highlights the flavors that come from the barrels and Blender’s Dog highlights the skill needed to make the different flavors in the whiskey work well together.
However, the most complex Jameson whiskeys are, obviously, the two that are aged for significantly longer than the others. The depth and complexity is even greater in the cask strength version as it has a significantly higher ABV than the other Jameson whiskeys.
So it’s no wonder we found the Bow Street 18 Years to be the most flavorful Jameson whiskey we tasted, with the 18 following not far behind. Since Jim Beam don’t age their whiskeys for anywhere near this long, their most complex whiskey is not as flavorful as the most complex Jameson whiskey.
The result for which whiskeys have more complexity: Jameson
Smoothness
The third factor I used to determine whether Jack Daniel’s or Jameson whiskeys are better, is how smooth they are. Interestingly both whiskeys are known for being smooth, although for two different reasons.
Jack Daniel’s whiskeys are known for being smooth because of their charcoal filtration.
All Tennessee whiskeys are filtered through charcoal before being aged which eliminates impurities and mellows the flavor. Jack Daniel’s pay special attention to this process, filtering their whiskeys through 10-feet of sugar maple charcoal over three to five days.
Jack Daniel’s Gentleman Jack is charcoal filtered twice, both before going into the barrels like the others, and after being matured before bottling. This removes any remaining impurities and further mellows the whiskey, making it even smoother than the smoothness of the other Jack Daniel’s expressions.
Jameson whiskeys are known for being smooth because (like many Irish whiskeys) they’re distilled three times.
The purpose of distillation is to separate the alcohol from the water so it can be concentrated. Obviously, this also separates out many unpleasant tasting impurities that would give whiskey a harsh taste. That’s why the more times a spirit is distilled the more unwanted flavor compounds are removed and the smoother the whiskey will be.
Triple distillation is probably the more effective of the two, so it does seem that Jameson whiskeys are smoother. This is especially true in the 18 year old whiskeys as they have more time for any remaining unpleasant flavor compounds to evaporate through the barrel walls – we did find them to be incredibly smooth.
The result for which whiskeys are smoother: Jameson
Price
The last factor I used to determine whether Jack Daniel’s or Jameson whiskeys are better is price.
The following table shows the approximate price for 750ml bottles (unless otherwise indicated) of Jack Daniel’s and Jameson whiskeys:
Jack Daniel’s | Jameson | ||
---|---|---|---|
Old No. 7 | $25.99 | Jameson Irish | $29.99 |
Tennessee Rye | $26.88 | Black Barrel | $40.99 |
Tennessee Honey | $37.99 | 18 Years | $156.46 |
Tennessee Fire | $24.99 | Bow Street 18 Years | $179.99 |
Tennessee Apple | $25.29 | Caskmates Stout Edition | $34.79 |
Gentleman Jack | $33.99 | Caskmates IPA Edition | $34.99 |
Sinatra Select | $172.99 (1L) | Distiller’s Safe | $73.91 |
Single Barrel Select | $54.99 | Cooper’s Croze | $71.99 |
Single Barrel Rye | $54.99 | Blender’s Dog | $70.90 |
Single Barrel Barrel Proof | $62.99 |
As you can see, Jack Daniel’s whiskeys are cheaper than Jameson whiskeys. The standard expressions are cheaper, as are the more complex ones, with the exception of the two Jameson 18 year olds which will obviously be that much more expensive, and the Jack Daniel’s Sinatra Select because it’s a special commemorative whiskey.
More importantly perhaps, is that most of us felt that many of the whiskeys of both brands were too expensive for what they were. For Jack Daniel’s this applied to all its whiskeys except the Single Barrel expressions whereas for Jameson this applied to all its whiskeys except the Caskmates series – where the whiskey is aged in ex-beer barrels, and the standard expression.
Nevertheless, to see which of the two brands are better in terms of price we can only compare the two against each other.
The result for which whiskeys have a better price: Jack Daniel’s
Key Takeaways
To decide which whiskeys are better, Jack Daniel’s or Jameson, I looked at four factors and found the following:
- The brand that’s better in terms of flavor will be a matter of taste.
- The brand that’s better in terms of complexity is Jameson.
- The brand that’s better in terms of smoothness is Jameson.
- The brand that’s better in terms of price is Jack Daniel’s.
If price is the most important thing for you, or you just really love the flavor of banana, then that will be your deciding factor.
Otherwise, the overall result for which whiskeys are better: Jameson
You can buy any of these whiskeys at drizly.com here.