How does a bottle of Jack Daniels look like? How to tell an original Jack Daniels whiskey from a fake? How to tell the original Jack Daniels from a fake by taste

13.04.2019 Lenten dishes

World famous alcoholic Jack Daniels - This is a traditional for the American South, aged strong corn blend.

As a rule, he is either loved or hated, and both do with every fiber of the soul. The history of Jack Daniels whiskey is full of mysteries, curiosities and hoaxes, at times bordering on outright cheating. Let's start with them.

Jack Daniels - Curious Facts

1850 - the official date of birth of the founder of the brand Jasper (Jack) Newton Daniel, is an ordinary fiction. The documents associated with this event have been lost. However, according to reports, the mother of the future wiskikura died no later than 1849.

The date of foundation of the company, proudly flaunting on the label, is also fictitious. In fact, Jasper Daniel registered his paternal distillery, which had previously belonged to his employer, Protestant preacher Dann Call, not in 1866, and not earlier than 1875.

Although in raw materials and technological terms, the drink produced by Jasper did not differ in any way from the classic bourbon ( corn base, burnt barrels, etc.), the creator himself stubbornly called it whiskey from Tennessee. The reason for this, in his opinion, was the filtration of the young distillate using a three-meter layer of crushed charcoalobtained from American maple (by the way, it seems that the mentioned method itself was invented not by Jasper, but by his teacher Call). As a result, in 2013-2014 the definition of "Tennessee Whiskey" was assigned to this type of alcohol at the legislative level. At the same time, after the producers of bourbon also began to use the mentioned filtration method, the difference between the two categories of drinks finally disappeared.

Although Jack's original distillery registration number changed from 7 to 16, the most common brand of his product retained its original name: Old No. 7.

The popular story of the last days of the founding father of the brand is also questioned. According to tradition, the elderly Jack flew into a rage, unable to remember the code from the lock of his own safe, with all his might kicked the recalcitrant piece of iron and broke his finger. As a result, he began to have blood poisoning, which was fatal. According to the same tragicomic story, the dying whiskicur left this world with the words: "Give me a drink."

With the transfer of the family business to Brown-Forman in 1956, the curiosities and hoaxes did not stop. For example, from the 60s of the last century to the present day, the same number of residents of the small homeland of the drink appears in advertising campaigns: the town of Lynchburg.

An unpleasant surprise for lovers of the drink was the story of Old No. 7 Black Label. According to the established tradition, the classic "Black" Jack, in contrast to its younger forty-degree "Green" counterpart, contained an honest 45 turns. However, the producer of the drink, in the complete absence of any publicity or advertising campaign, reduced the alcohol content in the "Black Mark" first to 43% (1987), and then to 40% (2002). Thus, today, the only difference between the Black and Green brands is that for the first one uses the spirits from the barrels located on the lower floors of the whiskey storage, and for the second - the contents of the barrels of the upper tier, which, according to the company's employees, matures a little. faster.

A separate topic for thought is the aging period of Jack Daniels whiskey. The aging of standard drinks is allegedly 4 years. However, there is a "minor" disclaimer from the manufacturers. According to them, the company does not recognize the calendar, but uses its own spirits, guided by the professional instinct of its own tasters.

And a few years ago, in one of the collectible lots of corn, in general, the label played around. Jack Daniels, specially released in memory of Daniel's nephew and successor: Lema Jesse Motlow, contained on the bottles an erroneous definition of the period of the latter's entrepreneurial activity (1911-1944 instead of 1911-1941). The error was quickly discovered and eliminated, but, as they say, the residue remained.

Well, and a kind of culmination was the episodic collaboration of the company with the environmental organization American Forests (American Forests). Despite the fact that the newly-minted conservationists not only use for their needs great amount charcoal, but each batch of its distillate is kept in freshly made oak barrels.

Jack Daniels whiskey composition

The wort of the future drink is 80% corn. This is followed by 12% rye and 8% barley. In addition, in recent years, Tennessee whiskeyrs have been trying to popularize the state's traditional un aged rye distillate; but, apparently, without much success. A separate source of pride for the company is the water used in the production, gushing from the underground source Cave Spring, discovered by the founder of the brand himself.

Varieties of whiskey Jack Daniels

Jack's basic drinks range is quite small. He has three main names.

Old No. 7 in two forty-degree versions (Black Label and less common Green Label) - an ordinary drink with a sweetish caramel-vanilla flavor and a characteristic smoky smell. Recommended for use in mixes and cocktails (for example, with apple juice or cola). Although, if you are a real cowboy, you don't need to thin it.

Gentleman Jack - another forty-degree representative of the brand. Undergoes double carbon filtration: before placing in barrels and before direct blending. As a result, the taste of the drink is more balanced and the aftertaste is softer. Drinks in pure form at a serving temperature of 18-21 ° C. Also, according to the manufacturer, Gentleman Jack is the optimal component for the legendary Manhattan.

Single Barrel - single malt digestif of double filtration with a aging period of 6 years. This is a 47-degree dark amber aristocrat from the house of Jack Daniels, whose taste and aroma is distinguished by a pronounced personality. So, along with the classic smoky-vanilla-caramel set, there are shades of iris, ripe fruits and exotic spices.

Tennessee fire - another signature 35-degree liqueur based on OLD NO. 7. This time, with the addition of cinnamon essence. The drink works with contrasts. At first, it gives the impression of a soft, sugary cinnamon-vanilla-caramel idyll, then - stuns with a wave of fiery fortress. The product was released in 2015. Since, in fact, it is itself a cocktail, it does not need to be diluted with anything. Although, many Americans cannot resist the temptation to splash some cola there.

Tennessee Honey - 35 degree dessert drink, which includes a special honey liqueur and classic OLD NO. 7. As a result, a rather strong blend is obtained, with honey notes in taste and aroma, as well as a rather mild aftertaste. It appeared on the market in 2011. The additional image of a bee, placed on the label, attracts the attention of buyers. The drink is recommended to be consumed neat from tulip glasses at a serving temperature of 18-21 ° C. You can mix it with ginger, lemonade, or lemon juice, and also used as a base in cocktails like "Bishop".

In addition, the producers of the drink we are interested in periodically produce small batches of collection and semi-collection blends, created on the occasion of any significant event. Such names include: Silver Cornet, White Rabbit Saloon, Tennessee Bicentennial, Sinatra's 100th Birthday, etc.

How to spot a fake Jack Daniels

Since Jack Daniels is one of the best-selling spirits in the world, the practice of counterfeiting is widespread among counterfeit alcohol producers. In this regard, the question: "How to verify Jack Daniels for authenticity" is by no means rhetorical.

Quite often, a quick glance at the bottle is enough to identify a fake.

The real Jack Daniels has:

  1. Covering three sides of the vessel, neatly glued, high-quality and free from grammatical errors label.
  2. Characteristic plastic cork and flawless excise stamp.
  3. Alcohol is not inherent: the presence of the slightest sediment or turbidity, as well as high (30% plus) promotional discounts.
  4. It is recommended to shake the contents of the bottle. As a result, if you are dealing with a genuine drink, easily distinguishable air bubbles will appear on the surface of the liquid.

If your potential purchase has successfully passed the initial tests, you should take a closer look at the bottle.

  1. The original Jack Daniels is poured into sturdy square containers with smooth, unlubricated edges, well-written inscriptions engraved on the shoulders, and a perfectly square bottom with well-defined corners.
  2. The neck of the vessel should also be faceted and have a convex ring at the base (by the way, the level of the drink must just slightly exceed the level of this very ring).
  3. The cork should be neatly tightened with perforated plastic wrap containing the name of the type of drink on the front and the inscription "Tennessee WHISKEY" on the back.

Finally, it is worth comparing the brand you buy with the volume of liquid indicated on the bottle.

  1. Old No.7 is available in containers of 0.35, 0.5, 0.7, 1, 1.75 and 3 liters; in addition, this particular Jack Daniels, whose small bottle contains 50 ml of the drink, brightens the life of numerous air passengers in duty-free shops and in aircraft cabins.
  2. The Gentleman Jack is limited to 0.35, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 liter.
  3. Single Barrel is found only in bottles of 0.75 liters, in the case of the American standard, and 0.7 liters in the case of the European one.

In general, it turns out that in today's realities it is much more difficult to fake a drink from Tennessee than to be a victim of a fake.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is where the whiskey is poured - the bottle. In an authentic whiskey, the bottle is complex in shape, with many faces, bumps, and inscriptions. In the original, the shape of the bottle has many faces, the edges are perfectly straight. If there are two lines next to each other, then they are parallel. Take a look at the photo below - the neck in a fake has many faces, in the original there are only eight faces. Moving on below - the ring between the neck and the "shoulders" of the bottle is elegantly thin in the original, versus the rough and wide in a fake. We go below - pay attention to the transition between the "shoulders" and the body of the bottle: in the fake it is rounded, but in the original it has an angular shape. And so on throughout the bottle. Just compare by photo.

Now let's take a closer look at the main points of the original and the counterfeit.


Different level in bottles - fake.

100% method

We did not specifically touch upon the bottle cork in the comparison. This point needs to be given maximum attention and time, since there are bottles on the market that cannot be distinguished by the above methods. It is possible that some counterfeit producers collect real bottles and fill the counterfeit whiskey in real bottles. But, as a rule, new plugs have to be made.

We pass to the neck - the cork and the film that covers the cork. Forge the cork and seal over the film, as is done in the production of real whiskey Jack daniels, the underground cannot. Therefore, all attention is paid to the photographs of the differences between the fake and the original.

The bottle has all the characteristics of the original, and only the film that covers the cork gives out counterfeit. The type of film is “chewed”, in the original the film is stretched flawlessly, without a single fold. The inscription on the film looks to the side, on the original it looks exactly in the middle of the main label.


For all external signs, the bottle is real. The cork gives out a fake.

Now let's look at what the film looks like on the original bottle of whiskey. Look at the photos, you can tell here only about the presence of many holes. They serve for easy bottle opening.

To summarize the comparison of two bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey, photo with open bottles... Remember what the original and counterfeit look like.

Differences after opening a bottle: comparing corks

The cork that closes the original drink is made of plastic; on the inside you can see a ledge and an inscription. A fake has a border remaining after casting, inside of blue color... In a worse fake, the cork is made of metal.


Fake on top, original on bottom.
On the left is a fake, on the right is the original.

The dispenser is missing only on the 0.5 liter bottle.

What it smells like and how to drink real whiskey

Jack Daniels American whiskey has been produced according to the same recipe for over 200 years. The production uses barley, rye, corn and spring water. But the main aroma, taste is given to the drink by filtration using sugar maple charcoal.

What flavor does real whiskeypoured into a glass? According to the reviews of people who consumed, the aroma is difficult to convey in words - a light, sweetish, malty smell with notes of flowers and fruits, while the smell of expensive alcohol should be felt. When you inhale counterfeit alcohol, you can smell alcohol or moonshine.

Do not drink colored alcohol with flavors, diluted with water, go to the choice alcoholic beverages with a sober mind and our advice. Bookmark the article, send to social network... Use not only when buying, but also at feasts with friends, they might not have learned how to check whiskey for authenticity. Check before use.

How to tell a fake Jack Daniels whiskey from the original 5.00 /5 (100.00%) 4


Jack Daniel's Old No.7 whiskey is the most popular and most counterfeit whiskey in the world.

Today we will tell you how to distinguish the original from the fake.

1. First of all, you should pay attention to shape jack bottles Daniel's Old No.7... It should have sharp shoulders, as the original Jack Daniels' rounded-shouldered bottles were discontinued back in 2011.

000,*9

3. Label. Often, counterfeiters do not bother to familiarize themselves with the updated design of this whiskey, or they do it poorly.

A real Jack Daniels must have a label that is glued with high quality and absolutely symmetrical. There should be no traces of glue. The label should span 3 sides of the bottle. On the right and left edges of the bottom, ribs should be applied. In addition, pay attention to the presence of the packing date and barrel number.

Also note that all labels on the label must be in English.

4. All bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey made for Europe must contain dispenser, its absence is a clear sign of a fake.

5. The bottom of the bottle. Bottom original bottle with Jack Daniel's Old No.7 whiskey should have a patterned embossing. On fake bottles, at the bottom there is an indication of the volume of the bottle in Russian, it is indicated in liters. In the original, the volume is indicated only in ml

6. Shaking. With good shaking, the bubbles that appear should be large and last for a long time. In addition, after shaking, a drop of whiskey should slowly flow down the glass of the bottle, but in the case of a fake drink, the drop flows down very quickly.

7. Excise stamp. All imported alcohol, including Jack Daniels, must have an excise stamp. Whiskey with a federal special label on the bottle is a sign of counterfeit. In addition, quite often in fakes, the real displacement and the displacement indicated on the excise stamp do not coincide.

This alcoholic beverage highly interesting story grounds.

The pioneer of the Jack Daniel's brand is considered the priest Denn Call. He was the owner of the distillery and made high-quality whiskey there. Once he took a seven-year-old boy Jasper Daniel as his assistant. The boy, despite his young age, turned out to be very smart, he quickly comprehended all the subtleties of making whiskey and soon the priest Denn made it his full-fledged production partner.After the death of Denn Call, Jasper Daniel became the sole owner of the distillery.This was the beginning of a great story legendary drink Jack Daniel "s.

The uniqueness of the drink is that additional purification through maple coal is used in its production. Thanks to this, whiskey acquires special taste and softness.

Gradually, over time, the small distillery grew into a full-fledged Jack Daniel's whiskey distillery. Already in 1866, the distillery was officially registered, and it was the world's first official production of whiskey.

Soon the plant was moved to the city of Lichburg, as there were springs with a very soft and crystal clean water... Jasper was well aware that water quality directly depends taste properties drink.

At first, the whiskey was sold in clay bottles with wooden corks and an engraved Mr. Jack. In 1895, a square-shaped bottle was born, which is still used today. These bottles are very convenient to use and transport. The shape of the bottles has not changed since then, only the manufacturer adds additional protective signs to their design. This protects against counterfeiting.

Since 1904, Jack Daniel's has received awards from the most best whiskey in the world at various exhibitions.

The recipe for the drink did not change until 1988. This year, the new head of the brand, Jack Reir, decided to change the technology for making whiskey. Since then the drink has passed double cleaning: before being placed in a barrel and after four years of aging through regular charcoal. This gave the whiskey even more softness and at the same time a special characteristic taste.

Given the popularity of the beverage worldwide, it is not surprising that there are many manufacturers on the market. fake whiskey Jack Daniel's. To learn how to distinguish a fake from the original, you need to know the features of this drink.

Signs of fake whiskey

Jack Daniel's is the most counterfeit whiskey in the world. In order not to get disappointed and avoid buying low-quality whiskey, let's look at the main differences between the original and the fake.

The first thing you see when you buy is a bottle. This is the most important object of our analysis. This is the only thing that will help you determine the originality of the drink without making a purchase.

Shake the bottle - after shaking, large bubbles should appear in the real drink, which is sufficient for a long time stay on the surface. The color should not be too dark, but also not light. Even the slightest sediment or turbidity is not allowed.

Don't be too happy when you see discounts for this whiskey in the store. The original Jack Daniel's brand does not hold promotions and discounts are quite rare and very small. If you see a 50% - 70% discount, be sure that this is a fake.

Now look at the lid. She in original drink plastic, covered with plastic film. The film should have Old No.7 brand on the front of the bottle and Tennessee WHISKEY on the back. Also, there should be perforations on the plastic film: two stripes vertically and one horizontal.

The neck of the bottle is faceted in the original, in fakes it is most often just round. The edges should be straight and slightly convex. There should be a convex ring at the base of the neck. The drink is poured slightly above it.

In the shape of the bottle itself, the edges should be clearly visible. Counterfeit bottles usually have rounded edges. In the photo below, on the left is a fake bottle, and on the right is the original.

Also note if the bottle has Jack Daniel's engraving on the shoulders. They should be very neat and even, without errors. The volume of the drink should also be engraved below.

The bottom of the bottle should be a clear square shape with cuts, exactly on all sides with corners. In the first photo below typical view the bottom of a bottle of fake whiskey. And on the second, the original.

And finally, the label. It should be embossed, glued evenly without drips and traces of glue. No mistakes allowed in the inscriptions. The label is stuck in real jack Daniel "s evenly on three sides of the bottle. The left side of the label must have a unique code that identifies the barrel number and the date the whiskey was bottled.

If you have already bought Jack Daniel's whiskey, then when uncorking, pay attention to whether there is a dispenser. There is a misconception that the original Jack Daniel's should not have a dispenser. In fact, this is just an indicator of the originality of the drink. But fakes save on the presence of a dispenser.

The smell of the drink has characteristic notes of coal. The taste is tart-sweet with a caramel aftertaste. Fakes always give themselves away with a strong alcoholic smell and taste. Such whiskey can not only ruin your holiday, but also provoke poisoning.

Beware of shopping at suspicious points of sale. It is best to make a purchase so noble drink in specialized stores of alcoholic beverages.

If you have already decided to arrange a holiday with the presence of strong overseas alcohol, then now is the time to figure out the cost, and since since the beginning of the twentieth century, Jack Daniel’s American whiskey has been considered the best high-grade drink, then we will consider the price for it.

The average cost in Russia of a classic Jack Daniel's Old No.7 with a capacity of 1 liter in our country ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 rubles. Please note that the price depends on availability gift wrapping, glasses included, etc. In each region, the price is still different. If you look at the cost of Jack Daniel's Old No.7 it will be on average 2300 rubles for 1 liter.
The cheapest one can buy it in Duty Free or from suppliers who deliver it from the same place. Here you can buy it for only two thousand rubles.

IN St. Petersburg whiskey can be purchased for almost the same price. In the provinces, the average cost is slightly higher, but you can always order Jack Daniel's from reputable online stores. And for a great price.

Other volumes of classic Jack Daniel's in Russia have approximately the same price:

  • 0.5 liters you can buy from 1250 to 1600 rubles.
  • 0.75 liters will get along from 1800 to 2200 rublesth.
  • 3 liters can be taken from 7200 to 7800 rubles.

In addition, we know of other varieties of the famous american whiskey Jack Daniel's: SinglBarrel, Silver Select, Tennessy Honey, Gentelman Jack.

Single Barrel has a distinctive soft taste thanks to double filtration: before filling into barrels and before filling into bottles. In Russia, you can buy it for about 4500 rubles.

Single Barrel

Especially high in alcohol (50%) and aftertaste with a touch of oak. Cost about 3500 rubles.

Produced by mixing classic Jack Daniel's and honey liqueur, resulting in a soft and delicate taste... It will be ideal option for women. You can buy it on average for 2200 rubles.

- one of the most popular varieties of Jack Daniel's. It is poured into toasted barrels, which are made of American white oak, due to which it has its own special color and taste. average price about 3500 rubles.

But above all, when buying whiskey, you need to know how to distinguish original product from a fake. Here are some rules:

  1. Jack Daniel's bottle is shaped like a parallelepiped, and the edges of a fake bottle are usually rounded.
  2. You can easily recognize a fake by the lack of engraving of the corporate logo on the bottle.
  3. The original Jack Daniel's always has a dispenser.
  4. If you have already tried this drink at least once, you will never confuse it with something else. The presence of a strong alcoholic smell when opening the bottle most likely means that it is a fake.

We have decided where is better and for what money should buy Jack Daniel's. But it is not enough to buy, you still need to learn how to drink! Whiskey is best consumed separately from everything, but some people still like cocktails based on which lemon or apple juice.

First of all, you need to use tulip-shaped or wide glasses. Optimum temperature for this whiskey - from 18-21 ° C. It is at this temperature that American bourbon opens up all its benefits as an alcoholic beverage.

The most the best snack there can be different kinds of fruits. You can use apples cut into small pieces, apricots, peaches, citrus fruits, or large bunches good grapes... Thinly sliced \u200b\u200blemon wedges work well for the incredible flavor.

Learn to correctly apply all your knowledge in this area and then the drink will only bring you pleasure. Good luck!