Vignette - Jack Daniels Barrel-Aged
Dovetail Brewery

Cellared almost 2 years. Murky dark amber body, off-white cap, very pretty lacing. Hello whiskey right away in the nose, musky oak and bretty funk are powerful allies of the booze, hint of raisin and vanillin in the background, VERY potent. Taste is actually more nuanced: bourbon is subdued in heat but still very flavorful, getting more grape, cherry, and maybe apple in the depths of the taste, before rustic oak, grapefruit pith, musty and bretty funk, and a kiss of vanilla elevate toward dry finish. Feel is lightly tart, very oaky and finishes dry with a funk wallop, each sip feels a little different, very interesting. A unique and fun sipper.

 

Pours a clear copper-orange, moderate fizzing. Dripping with barrel character from the extended ageing treatment. Cider, grapefruit and crabapple duel with the oak and spice, more of an impression of brandy than whiskey. The booze shows up more on the palate. Vanilla, light diacetyl. Moderately high tartness, but not out of control. Nicely balanced.

 

"Jack Daniels Vignette 2019" as the label reads (and as submitted, I didn't change it) bottled and released October 2020.

“ A single barrel from the first-ever batch of spontaneous beer brewed at Dovetail in spring of 2016. Aged 30 months in neutral oak barrels then transferred to a freshly dumped Jack Daniels barrel to age for another 10 months.”

Pours a very bright golden amber tone, sharp clarity and steady visible carb trails. Ample foam, two finger head, spotty lace and a lasting surface skim.

Aroma is pretty barrel forward as it warms, interesting butter toffee vanilla whiskey note, toasted oak staves, some wet wood and lambic funk underneath. No sweetness.

Tart and dry, crisp and effervescent, whiskey top note and lemony citrus underneath. Woody aftertaste, dry oak lingers. Very smooth without any booziness, despite the ABV getting kicked up to 8.3 from the wet JD barrel. Lemon, tangy apples, oak, vanilla, soft whiskey traces. Second bottle had some noticeable acetone, but not distracting. Pretty complex and interesting. It does bring to mind spirit barrel treatments from the Belgian greats like 3F's Zenne Y Frontera, though it's very different. Unique and unusual, love to see one-off experiments like this from Dovetail’s barrel program.