Whisky Tasting - Winter Jack
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 12:30 Winter in Germany means many things. One of the best things is glühwein, which warms you from the inside as well as warming your hands while you hold a warm mug at the Christmas markets.
We've also been learning a bit more about whisky and trying to figure out what we like. So, when we saw this new product from Jack Daniel's, we had to give it a try.
Jack Daniel's has carved out a good niche in Germany, and now has several types of Jack in stores here. This winter they're promoting Winter Jack apple whisky punch. Sounded pretty good, so we grabbed a bottle at the Edeka.
This stuff is tasty! It's very mild (around 15% Abv) and not too sweet, with nice cinnamon and clove notes. Also extremely simple to prepare. All we did was pour it in a mug and heat in the microwave.
We were afraid it would be syrupy sweet, but they seem to have used an apple juice more to the German tastes (i.e., natural and not overly sweetened). Definitely a good choice for a nightcap on a cold winter evening. Like warm adult apple juice!
On another note...while Jack Daniel's certainly can't market this as medicinal, it's pretty close to the old southern cold remedy of warm Jack + honey + lemon, and so much easier to prepare!
Has anyone seen this outside of Germany? According to one British whisky store, it was created for the German market (though is beginning to be available in the UK).
Frau A ... 7 Comments 
Reader Comments (7)
I see you have a photo of the Jack Daniels Winter Jack Apple Punch. I was hoping you could tell me how to buy or where to buy. I live in Alaska and none of the liquor stores in Anchorage have the item. We want to try it so we only want one bottle at this time. We have never tried it and have no idea of the taste. Thanks for your help.
Barb Haar
907-317-8047
Barb, unfortunately it seems that they don't sell this in the US yet. Though I'm thinking it would do really well somewhere with a cold winter! Jack Daniel's developed it for the German market, but is now selling it some in the UK and I think some Australian importers have it. Sadly, we can't mail one to you since the US gets pretty picky about mailing alcohol into the country or across state lines...
To me, it tastes a lot like a hot spiced cider with whisky - though the beauty of the Winter Jack is that there's no prep involved, just heating it in the microwave.
I did find a couple of recipes you could try - most recommend simmering cider with cinnamon sticks, sliced orange, and other spices such as nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and or anise. And of course adding some bourbon. Sometimes also a little vanilla.
Jack Daniels has a honey whiskey liqueur that they only sell in the US. I bet that would be really good warmed with some cider, cinnamon sticks, and anise. The honey would give it a really nice flavor and it has some spices and sweetness to it already. If you do try the honey version, please let us know what you think of it. We can't get it here so haven't tried it yet.
You can now buy in ASDA in the UK, which is owned by Walmart so it might be in the US now.
@Jane. As far as we know, it is still not available in the U.S.. However, we will be heading back there for a few weeks and will look for it (although Summer would not be its ideal marketing time). Hope you enjoyed some last Winter!
It is now available in the US. I don't know how large the market is, but I found it in Nebraska, US. Pretty much every liquor/grocery store has it marketed for a limited time.
@JoeyC: Thanks for the update. Hopefully everyone can try some this winter!
I tried this while in Germany in November last year and I absolutely loved it!! I was devastated to get home to Ireland and find it wasn't available.
Was in the supermarket this week and something told me to go check for Winter Jack and there it was. I was so happy!! It's so so nice. Hopefully theyre branching out with it permanently.