Thirsty Thursday Eve - Winter Jack Tennessee Cider
As a fan of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, it only makes sense I would be interested in their apple cider offering. Winter Jack Tennessee Cider is “a seasonal blend of apple cider liqueur & Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey. Is it any good, though?
A friend of mine actually informed me of Winter Jack. We were both pretty curious about it, since we enjoy apple cider and Jack Daniel’s individually. Put them together, seems like a pretty solid recipe for success to me. At a price tag equal to standard Jack, but less than half the alcohol content (15% or 30 proof), I was a little hesitant to pick up a bottle.
While I do enjoy trying new things, most notably in the Mix-N-Match section at my local Ingles, I have a hard time justifying new distilled spirits. I like more than I dislike in general, but the cost of a whole fifth is hard to stomach, and the premium on smaller sizes is just annoying to me. As such, I *usually* don’t branch out much with liquor.
In any case, my friend was trying to find a liquor store that stocked Winter Jack, but he couldn’t pin down a nearby store that definitely had some without going in person. I told him that if anybody had some, Eagles would. I ran by the next Saturday while I was out doing some errands, and sure enough, they had several bottles. At $18.18 including tax, I figured it wasn’t a huge investment, even if there are more cost efficient drinks out there.
When he came up the next week, we decided to break open the bottle and try it out. Per the side of the bottle, the drink is “best served warm when it’s cold.” Warm alcohol just seems like the strangest thing to me, outside of coffee-based drinks. Alas, I would imagine the distillery knows their product best. We tried it neat at room temperature, warmed, and poured over ice.
Unsurprisingly, we both liked it. I would definitely say it was good, maybe even very good. At all temperatures, the flavor was something I would describe as “warm.” Slightly spicy, not quite creamy, definitely smooth. I wasn’t opposed to the heated beverage sensation, but I also didn’t think it improved the beverage in any notable way. Room temperature was perfectly adequate for me.
Practically, I think you would be just as well to pick up a bottle of standard Jack Daniel’s and a jug of good quality apple cider, and you’ll hit a close enough approximation that Winter Jack is rendered unnecessary. I certainly want to test this theory myself before I write off Winter Jack completely, but it’s an option to consider.
From an alcohol content and price perspective, standard Jack Daniel’s is 40% alcohol or 80 proof. You could dilute that to the 15% ABV of Winter Jack with… something like two or three parts apple cider to one part Jack Daniel’s. I don’t know the exact method to crunch those numbers, but it’s enough of an estimate to put you in the ballpark. One to one would bring the ABV down to 20%, four to one would be 10%, two or three would be somewhere in the middle. Even better, you could make it stronger or weaker depending on your own palate. Ounce for ounce, apple cider is a lot cheaper than Jack Daniel’s, so even on the stout end, you would probably be saving money.
At the price point, I would say that Winter Jack is a little steep for what you’re getting, but definitely not unreasonable. Especially with this spirit only being available for a few months out of the year, it can’t hurt to pick up a bottle and try it out. You still aren’t paying anything near the price of higher end liquors.
It sounds to me like Winter Jack is for the person who wants a hot alcoholic apple cider, but doesn’t drink enough apple cider normally to justify having it on hand. In much the same way that I don’t drink eggnog, but I like Shine Nog, Winter Jack seems like the shelf-stable drink for someone who wants hard apple cider *on occasion*. Personally, I’ll drink several jugs of apple cider while it’s in season, so it isn’t an inconvenience for me to have a jug in the fridge.
If you like Jack Daniel’s and apple cider, I feel confident that you’ll enjoy Winter Jack Tennessee Cider. While it may be more cost effective and customizable to mix Jack and apple cider to your own preference, Winter Jack is a solid liqueur at a price that won’t break the bank.
Resources:
Graham, C. (2019, November 13). Jack Daniel's Winter Jack Tennessee Cider Review. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from https://www.thespruceeats.com/jack-daniels-winter-jack-review-759231.
Hennett, J. (2018, May 30). Thirsty Thursday Eve - 6 Pack of the Week 2018-05-30. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from http://jakehennett.blogspot.com/2018/05/thirsty-thursday-eve-6-pack-of-week.html.
Hennett, J. (2019, October 30). Thirsty Thursday Eve - Ole Smoky Nutmeg Dream. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from http://jakehennett.blogspot.com/2019/10/thirsty-thursday-eve-ole-smoky-nutmeg.html.
Orchant, R. (2013, December 22). Winter Jack Tennessee Cider Is An Easy Way To Warm Up. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/winter-jack-cider-warm_n_4482217.
A friend of mine actually informed me of Winter Jack. We were both pretty curious about it, since we enjoy apple cider and Jack Daniel’s individually. Put them together, seems like a pretty solid recipe for success to me. At a price tag equal to standard Jack, but less than half the alcohol content (15% or 30 proof), I was a little hesitant to pick up a bottle.
While I do enjoy trying new things, most notably in the Mix-N-Match section at my local Ingles, I have a hard time justifying new distilled spirits. I like more than I dislike in general, but the cost of a whole fifth is hard to stomach, and the premium on smaller sizes is just annoying to me. As such, I *usually* don’t branch out much with liquor.
In any case, my friend was trying to find a liquor store that stocked Winter Jack, but he couldn’t pin down a nearby store that definitely had some without going in person. I told him that if anybody had some, Eagles would. I ran by the next Saturday while I was out doing some errands, and sure enough, they had several bottles. At $18.18 including tax, I figured it wasn’t a huge investment, even if there are more cost efficient drinks out there.
When he came up the next week, we decided to break open the bottle and try it out. Per the side of the bottle, the drink is “best served warm when it’s cold.” Warm alcohol just seems like the strangest thing to me, outside of coffee-based drinks. Alas, I would imagine the distillery knows their product best. We tried it neat at room temperature, warmed, and poured over ice.
Unsurprisingly, we both liked it. I would definitely say it was good, maybe even very good. At all temperatures, the flavor was something I would describe as “warm.” Slightly spicy, not quite creamy, definitely smooth. I wasn’t opposed to the heated beverage sensation, but I also didn’t think it improved the beverage in any notable way. Room temperature was perfectly adequate for me.
Practically, I think you would be just as well to pick up a bottle of standard Jack Daniel’s and a jug of good quality apple cider, and you’ll hit a close enough approximation that Winter Jack is rendered unnecessary. I certainly want to test this theory myself before I write off Winter Jack completely, but it’s an option to consider.
From an alcohol content and price perspective, standard Jack Daniel’s is 40% alcohol or 80 proof. You could dilute that to the 15% ABV of Winter Jack with… something like two or three parts apple cider to one part Jack Daniel’s. I don’t know the exact method to crunch those numbers, but it’s enough of an estimate to put you in the ballpark. One to one would bring the ABV down to 20%, four to one would be 10%, two or three would be somewhere in the middle. Even better, you could make it stronger or weaker depending on your own palate. Ounce for ounce, apple cider is a lot cheaper than Jack Daniel’s, so even on the stout end, you would probably be saving money.
At the price point, I would say that Winter Jack is a little steep for what you’re getting, but definitely not unreasonable. Especially with this spirit only being available for a few months out of the year, it can’t hurt to pick up a bottle and try it out. You still aren’t paying anything near the price of higher end liquors.
It sounds to me like Winter Jack is for the person who wants a hot alcoholic apple cider, but doesn’t drink enough apple cider normally to justify having it on hand. In much the same way that I don’t drink eggnog, but I like Shine Nog, Winter Jack seems like the shelf-stable drink for someone who wants hard apple cider *on occasion*. Personally, I’ll drink several jugs of apple cider while it’s in season, so it isn’t an inconvenience for me to have a jug in the fridge.
If you like Jack Daniel’s and apple cider, I feel confident that you’ll enjoy Winter Jack Tennessee Cider. While it may be more cost effective and customizable to mix Jack and apple cider to your own preference, Winter Jack is a solid liqueur at a price that won’t break the bank.
Resources:
Graham, C. (2019, November 13). Jack Daniel's Winter Jack Tennessee Cider Review. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from https://www.thespruceeats.com/jack-daniels-winter-jack-review-759231.
Hennett, J. (2018, May 30). Thirsty Thursday Eve - 6 Pack of the Week 2018-05-30. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from http://jakehennett.blogspot.com/2018/05/thirsty-thursday-eve-6-pack-of-week.html.
Hennett, J. (2019, October 30). Thirsty Thursday Eve - Ole Smoky Nutmeg Dream. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from http://jakehennett.blogspot.com/2019/10/thirsty-thursday-eve-ole-smoky-nutmeg.html.
Orchant, R. (2013, December 22). Winter Jack Tennessee Cider Is An Easy Way To Warm Up. Retrieved November 25, 2019, from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/winter-jack-cider-warm_n_4482217.
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