8 Discontinued Jack Daniel's Bottles That Deserve A Comeback

Jack Daniel's Black Label is such a widely available, ultra-affordable, very accessible, intro-level sort of bottle that it's easy to forget that Jack Daniel's actually rewrote the rules to claim designation as Tennessee whiskey. No brand gets to be as iconic as this one without putting out some seriously great product consistently, but not all of Jack Daniel's whiskeys have been created equal. Some definitely deserve a permanent place on your bar cart or liquor shelf, while the truth is that you're better off sidling right past some others. That said, there are some products that Jack Daniel's has discontinued that we're still a little salty about.

While it's undoubtedly difficult to decide which products get discontinued and which deserve continued love, there are some we wish Jack Daniel's had given another chance. Some have made way for other products, some have just disappeared, and some were a really neat idea for a series that we wish had continued. This does, however, come with a slight caveat.

At the time of this writing, some of these bottles are still available on the secondhand and auction circuits. We're not saying one way or another that they're worth the prices being commanded on these sites; we're just saying that we wish they were still around on the shelves of our favorite liquor store. With that in mind, let's talk about Jack Daniel's varieties gone by.

There are a lot of really outstanding cocktails that are suited to the spicy kick of a rye whiskey, and that's one of the reasons we're still a little bummed that Jack Daniel's Tennessee Straight Rye got the axe. It stands to reason that we don't need to crack open an expensive bottle of whiskey that can stand on its own simply on the rocks. This offering was affordable, 90-proof, and a little more on the mellow side than a lot of other types of rye whiskey.

It was a great intro to rye whiskey, with a mash bill that was 70% rye and a fruity, oaky flavor profile. Surprisingly, it wasn't around that long ... in the grand scheme of things, at least. After a debut in late 2017, it hung around for a few years until late 2023, when it was announced that it was going to be discontinued in favor of the brand's Bonded Rye Tennessee Whiskey.

That was definitely a bummer, as it was the first core-lineup rye whiskey the brand put out. We'd also argue that there are reasons to prefer the old version. Jack's Bonded Rye clocks in at a higher 100 proof — which could be good or bad — but perhaps more importantly, the tasting notes. If you're a fan of those oh-so-popular banana notes that brand followers have come to know and love, you're not really going to find them here — certainly not like you did in the now-discontinued predecessor.

When it comes to the holiday spirit, it's safe to say that Jack Daniel's is on board in a big way. Not only is Winter Jack one of the best holiday-flavored liqueurs you can stick a straw in, but the distillery also kicked off a pretty cool fundraiser with the Holiday Select Series right in the middle of things — initially, at least. 

The series ran for the first four years of the Barrel Tree fundraiser, and it was an ultra-limited release of whiskey that came from the barrels carefully selected to be used in constructing a large holiday tree. Each one of the four bottles was carefully curated for a particular flavor. The 2011 edition, for example, was heavy on the oaky vanilla flavor that is pretty perfect for a midwinter dram, while 2013's edition leaned a little more toward the spicy side of things.

The barrels used in the tree are sold to benefit a non-profit that helps military members finance a trip home to see friends and family for the holidays. That program has expanded to include trees in cities across the country, but the Holiday Select Series is no more. Professional reviews were favorable, and it's easy to see how this would continue to be a massive hit as a holiday fundraiser. We couldn't find anything concrete to suggest why the series only ran for four editions, but we wish Jack hadn't listened to the Grinch on this one.

If you never saw Jack Daniel's Silver Select in the wild, that's not entirely surprising. The only place it was sold was in travel-related stores – think airports and duty-free shops. That in itself is a pity, because it was a neat idea. Individual barrels were chosen to be bottled as part of the release, and that meant you could — in theory — get two bottles of the Silver Select and end up with two entirely different whiskeys. They did have some things in common: It was a 100-proof bottle, and there was no blending. You were getting whiskey right out of the barrel, and that's almost enough to make us voluntarily head to an airport.

Almost, but since we're talking about it today, you know it's no longer an option. Jack ran this one from 1997 to 2015, and it was replaced by a bottled-in-bond version. The biggest difference we found was the replacement was advertised as having a more standardized flavor profile. 

On one hand, we get it. If you're going to pick up a bottle at a specialty store, you want to know that it's going to be something you're going to like. On the other hand, there's something to be said for having a bit of an adventurous spirit, too. Reviewers aren't shy about calling it one of the best whiskeys that Jack Daniel's ever put out, and that's a risk worth taking.

Jack Daniel's Black Label is a great option for keeping on hand for even the simplest three-ingredient whiskey cocktails, and we'd suggest that the now-discontinued Green Label was just as good ... at a fraction of the price. Why was it so affordable? (And yes, we deliberately didn't call it cheap.) Green Label was whiskey stored in barrels on the lowest level of the racking houses, and that's actually a big deal. Temperature plays a huge part in guiding the aging processes of whiskey, and barrels stored at ground level see a lower variation in temps throughout the year. It follows, then, that this wasn't as thoroughly developed as a whiskey from barrels stored higher or regularly rotated.

Wait, you might be saying: Are we saying we miss a less well-developed whiskey? One seen as being a little rough around the edges and said to have waxy, buttery, nutty, and smoky overtones? Yes, and there's a reason that we are.

We're fans of learning about where our favorite foods and drinks come from, from the long and complicated history of Irish whiskey to the mysterious origins of Maryland rye whiskey. Jack's Green Label is a neat part of the brand's history, and it's something we would have liked to see preserved. When the distillery got back up and going post-Prohibition, the decision was made to release one-year-old whiskey instead of the standard four-year-old. It was given a green label, and the Green Label that was discontinued harkened back to the post-Prohibition Jack thanks to that bottom-row aging process.

Jack Daniel's 1907 White Label might be something of an obscure one, so don't feel bad if you've never seen it or heard of it. Jack is an American whiskey, but this one was made specifically for Australia, hitting the market back in 2011. The date on the bottle was significant — a nod to Lem Motlow.

History is full of incredible characters, and he's no exception. His uncle — Jack Daniel himself — passed on his namesake distillery to him back in 1907, and he was so involved that he ran for public office when Prohibition started to become a threat. That's neat enough, but you can argue the connection between Jack and Australia runs deeper. The British famously used Australia as a penal colony, and Motlow? He certainly had his moments. In 1923, he was accused of being involved in the mysterious disappearance of 893 barrels' worth of bourbon, and the following year, he shot and killed a train conductor in the middle of a drunken argument. (Historians say he was actually trying to kill a Black porter, and the conductor got in the way.) 

Did that take something of an unexpected turn? It did for us, too, but we're here for the history lesson. As for the 1907 White Label whiskey, it's a shame it was discontinued. It was made to be an extra-smooth, ultra-light, sweet whiskey perfect for mixing, and the smattering of reviews suggest it's exactly that — and delicious to boot.

Jack Daniel's has always been tied to its home of Lynchburg, Tennessee in a very big way, crediting the super-pure water from the area's natural springs as being a major part of the distillery's story and success. It makes sense, then, that it would have a product line that paid tribute to the area, and it did. The Scenes from Lynchburg Series was a 12-bottle set that came out between 2003 and 2011, with each bottle focusing on — as the name of the series suggests — the sights around the city.

There was, of course, a very Jack Daniel's-theme going here, with the series kicking off with a bottle that depicted the statue of the distillery's founder. Others included barrels in the warehouse, barrels on a truck, and folks hanging out outside the town's general store. (And yes, there's a Jack Daniel's connection here, too — it was built by Daniel's nephew and former distillery head Lem Motlow.)

Interestingly, there were different versions released in different countries, and that makes collecting the set challenging, to say the least. Tasting notes varied drastically between bottles with some leaning into banana milkshake territory, while others capture the buttery smokiness of caramel, apple, and oak. You're likely to see prices for bottles all over the place, but there's no denying that it was a pretty neat idea that we would have liked to have seen continued.

The release of Jack Daniel's No. 27 Gold was a bit of a slow burn. (See what we did there? Sorry-not-sorry.) It went from a 2013 ultra-select Shanghai airport release to widespread availability stateside in 2019, and at the time of this writing, there are still occasional social media posts from those who find this for retail.

Interestingly, there's not a whole heck of a lot of information out there on this one, aside from the fact that it's been discontinued. Even review sites are more guesswork than actual confirmed information, aside from the fact that it was made extra-mellow by a double-barreling process that used both oak and maple barrels. (That's where the "2" in the "27" comes from — otherwise, it's the standard No. 7 whiskey.) The result is something that leaned toward a honey-and-maple vibe with notes of oak and fruit as well.

It hit the market at about $100 a bottle and then, it just sort of waltzed gracefully off into the sunset. Are we intrigued? Absolutely.

It's well-known that Frank Sinatra was such a fan of Jack Daniel's that he had his go-to method of drinking it, and he was even buried with a bottle. That advertising does more than anything a brand could ever pay for or create, so it makes sense that Jack has paid homage to Sinatra and his loyalty. Jack Daniel's Sinatra Select is still a part of the core lineup, but the distillery also did something special for Ol' Blue Eyes' 100th birthday.

Sinatra Century was a limited whiskey released in 2015, sold in a presentation box, included the first release of a never-before-heard Sinatra track, and was sourced from just 100 barrels. Because it was so limited, it's not surprising there aren't an overwhelming number of reviews and ratings, but those that have been made laud this one as being downright delicious. 

While it's easy to see why this one was so limited and hasn't been revisited in that 100th birthday form, we can wish it were, right? Those in the know say it hit all the right notes (again, sorry-not-sorry) of caramel and cigars, toffee and oak, banana, and vanilla. The good news is that at the time of this writing, there are still some to be found on the market. The bad news is that a bottle will set you back somewhere in the neighborhood of $3,500 (up from a retail of around $500).