Whiskey enthusiasts from around the globe can take their enjoyment of the drink to the next level with the recent announcement that Jack Daniel’s now offer the opportunity to buy the drink by the barrel. Each barrel, which is equivalent to between 240 and 260 bottles, is priced at around £13,500 (depending on the yield). Investors will receive a curated experience, including a one-on-one tasting from an assortment of barrels to locate an individual’s perfect whiskey.
If customers cannot visit in person, a telephone consultation will assign a flavour profile, and a variety of expressions will be sent from the JD HQ in Lynchberg, Tennessee from which buyers can select the perfect malt, unlike any other in the world.
The whiskey boasts a richer and smoother consistency as it is stored in the upper rafters of the barrel house where the warmer temperature causes the wood of the barrels to slightly expand, allowing the whiskey to soak into the tiny grooves between the staves and thus take on more an oaky timbre and deeper colour. Any whiskey lover who is willing to part with £13 grand will have their barrel selection commemorated with a plaque that sits on the Wall of Fame in the Jack Daniel’s distillery.
Alternatively, for a slightly smaller price of a £12,000 membership, the new Lakes Distillery in Cumbria is producing a limited run of 60 inscribed oak sherry casks to be filled with its single malt and available to founder members of its Connoisseurs’ Club. Members can also offer two additional guests the opportunity to fill their own casks, as well as invites to an annual dinner with four star accommodation.
(Written by Megan Chambers)