Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Select

This is one of the more expensive Jack Daniels offering available in the supermarket, Old No7, Gentleman Jack, then this. It's much better than normal JD (which I'm not a big fan of), you can drink this neat,  it works well with a mixer, but at this price that seems a waste. I actually preferred Gentleman Jack. Prices vary, this time of year, and around father's day prices drop £5-£10 but 

usual prices are about:

JD - £18

Gentleman Jack - £30

Silver Barrel Select - £40

It's certainly not £10 better then Gentleman Jack, I wouldn't be tempted to buy this again, even with £10 off. I prefer the Maker's Mark which I also recently reviewed (I had both bottles open on the go at same time, usually I finish one before the next) and I never reached for this bottle first.

It's ok, burn, toffee, pear, quite rich, sweet, spicy, nutty, it's definitely a more complicated drink than normal JD, but it doesn't grab me, I'm actually quite disappointed by it.

Back to whisky (without an E) for next few drinks I think.

Maker's Mark

The distinctive bottle with the wax dripping from the top down the side caught my eye a while ago, a cunning plan of theirs to make it stand out ;) As one of the more expensive bourbons in the supermarket (£30) this had been on my wish-list for a while, but as usual, when it had a hefty discount, I bit, so I guess I'm a sucker for a gimmick and a "bargain" :)

It's got a slight burn, but is smooth, quite sweet, hints of vanilla and caramel, perhaps slightly more woody than the other bourbons I've tried, rich and full bodied, nice, but there's unfortunately nothing special about it to make me want to buy it again, it's quite safe. Even the special offer price doesn't tempt me to buy it again, it's doesn't seem "better" to me than cheaper bourbons, and doesn't offer anything different.

For me, this is another one that I wouldn't turn down if offered a glass, and I may buy in a pub/bar if not tempted by anything else, but I can't see me buying a bottle again.