Rich charred oak | Baking spices | Fresh dough | Cinnamon stick | Faint raisin

Dry charred oak | Leather | Cinnamon powder | Crushed peppercorns | Dry & tannic

Rye spice | Leather | Dry barrel char | Cinnamon stick | Progressively dry lingering spice

Introduced in 2022, Jack Daniel’s 12 Year Tennessee Whiskey is now the middle of the three current aged expressions launched by the company, with the others being aged for 10 and 14 years. These ongoing annual releases afford consumers the opportunity to try not only Jack Daniel’s age stated whiskeys that the company produces but also see how age and proof impact the brand. The company plans to continue releasing additional higher aged whiskeys in years to come, including 18 and 21 year old whiskeys.

Compared to the 10 and 14 year editions in 2025, Batch 3 of the 12 Year takes a turn towards sharp dry notes. The nose delivers scents of oak and spice, which lead into a midpoint that delivers dry and tannic flavors. Dry charred oak, leather, and cinnamon powder dominate and carry through in various forms to the finish. A lingering spice note caps off the sip and gets progressively drier over time to a fault.

Last year’s Jack Daniel’s 12 Year Batch 2 found the brand highlighting dry flavors along with sweet notes. It provided for a balanced sip that almost lived up to the stupendous debut of its Batch 1. This year’s release, however, takes a hard right towards drier flavors and loses the balanced offset that sweet notes would provide. Of the three offerings this year, it seems to be the one that is the most over-aged, which, considering Batch 1 of this year’s 14 Year is fantastic, seems out of place. While the sip is intriguing and will please fans, past batches have set the bar high for Jack Daniel’s 12 Year, and this year's release simply falls short in comparison.