Jack Daniel's Bonded Rye is a Tennessee Rye Whiskey from the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, bottled at bottled-in-bond grade with an ABV of 50%. It is the first rye whiskey from the Jack Daniel's distillery to carry the Bottled-in-Bond designation. It went on sale as a new, permanent addition to the Bonded series, alongside Jack Daniel's Bonded and Triple Mash.
The whiskey is based on the brand's signature rye mash bill. Bonded Rye has a grain composition of 70% rye, 18% corn and 12% malted barley, and undergoes charcoal filtration before maturing in new, handcrafted American white oak barrels. Charcoal filtration is the so-called Lincoln County Process, the hallmark of Tennessee whiskey. In the case of the rye, Jack Daniel's applies a less intensive filtration than usual: the distillate passes through about 3 feet of maple charcoal, as opposed to the standard 10 feet used for Tennessee Whiskey.
The bottled-in-bond designation imposes strict legal requirements. Under the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, the whiskey must come from a single distiller, from a single distillation season, mature in a federally supervised warehouse for at least four years and be bottled at 100 proof. The first release, however, was considerably older than the minimum. The debut batch came from the spring 2016 distillation season, and according to Master Distiller Chris Fletcher, virtually all the barrels in the final blend had reached a full seven years of maturation.
The profile is dominated by the pronounced spiciness of rye balanced with sweetness. It opens with notes of dried fruit, followed by lingering accents of toffee, with the whole rounded off by a rye-spiced finish. On the nose, reviewers note baking spices – cinnamon, cloves, allspice and a hint of nutmeg – along with plenty of fruit, with the classic note of dried banana and a delicate sweetness of caramelised sugar. On the palate, the spice notes centre on black pepper, fresh mint and ground cinnamon, with an ever-present sweetness of molasses, toasted brown sugar and a touch of maple.
Bonded Rye was conceived as a versatile rye with an approachable character. It is a seven-year-old rye with cocktail potential, strong enough to withstand a few ice cubes, yet complex and full of flavour when drunk neat. The bottle takes its look from the original 1895 design, and the whiskey is available in 700 ml and 1 l formats, depending on the market.