Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

When Jack Daniel’s launched its Aged Series back in 2021, adding age statements to the lineup for the first time in a century seemed like a natural step for the storied Tennessee distillery. For years before that, master distiller Chris Fletcher and his team had been upping their game and releasing much more interesting whiskeys than Old No. 7 (no disrespect to the legend), bottled at higher proofs with interesting secondary maturations, and even releasing rye whiskeys and an American single malt. Jack just released new batches of its 10, 12, and 14-year-old Tennessee whiskeys, but if you’re going to choose just one to try, go out and find a bottle of the 12 because it’s the best of the bunch.

It seems like it’s only a matter of time before Jack starts releasing even older whiskeys. My best guess would be that a 15-year-old could be next, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the distillery followed the lead of a brand like Knob Creek and eventually released an 18-year-old, and maybe even cracked the two-decade mark at some point. Of course, just because a distillery has enough barrels aging in its warehouses that are this old doesn’t necessarily mean it should release a whiskey at that age—but I’d be willing to give it a try when and if that happens (and I’m pretty sure it’ll happen).

In the meantime, we have the aforementioned 10, 12, and 14-year-old Tennessee whiskeys, which are significantly older than Old No. 7, which is aged around four to five years, and stronger than that whiskey’s 80 proof. The details of the latest batch are as follows: the 10-year-old (batch five) was bottled at 97 proof; the 12-year-old (batch four) was bottled at 107 proof; and the 14-year-old (batch two) was bottled at 117.6 proof. The latter was actually significantly lower than the first batch, which came in at 126.3 proof, which for me made it a contender for the best of this new drop. But the 12-year-old just lives in that Goldilocks sweet spot of age and proof.

People talk about Jack Daniel’s having a signature banana note, which is a real thing, and it’s still here. But there is so much more going on as you sip this whiskey, with notes of cocoa, dried mango, dark chocolate, caramel, black pepper, and cinnamon that pop on the palate. 107 proof means there is some heat, but it’s just enough to keep you alert and thinking without burning you out, and this is indeed a whiskey worth pondering. Overall, Jack really scored a win with all three of the new batches in its Aged Series, but the 12-year-old takes first place. And if you can find it for close to its suggested retail price of $100 on the secondary market, that’s another victory in and of itself.

Score: 93