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Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select vs Maker’s Mark Cask Strength
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select and Maker’s Mark Cask Strength sit on opposite sides of a familiar divide: an old-guard, classically built classic versus an uncut, wheat-forward heavyweight.
Key Specifications
| Feature | Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select | Maker’s Mark Cask Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Type / Style | Traditional Tennessee Whiskey | Wheated Bourbon, Barrel Proof |
| Mash Bill | 80% corn, 8% rye, 12% malted barley | 70% corn, 16% wheat, 14% malted barley |
| Age | No age statement | No age statement |
| Proof | 94 proof (47% ABV) | 110 proof (55% ABV) +16 proof |
| Approx. Price 1 | ~$45 – $55 | ~$40 – $50 ~$5 less |
| Availability | Limited | Widely available easier to find |
- US shelf prices as of 2026-08; they vary widely by market.
AG’s Rating and AG’s Notes
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Maker’s Mark Cask Strength
Not rated yetNo notes yet.
Flavor Profile
Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select Maker’s Mark Cask Strength
Axis by axis, biggest gap first
sweetness 6/9 sweetness: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 6 out of 10, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 9 out of 10
spice 5/3 spice: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 5 out of 10, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 3 out of 10
oak 7/5 oak: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 7 out of 10, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 5 out of 10
heat 5/7 heat: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 5 out of 10, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 7 out of 10
fruit 4/5 fruit: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 4 out of 10, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 5 out of 10
nuttiness 4/3 nuttiness: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select 4 out of 10, Maker’s Mark Cask Strength 3 out of 10
Flavor Profile Differences
Sweetness is where these two part ways.
- Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select: Barrels pulled from the top of the rickhouse, where the temperature swings are hardest, and it shows as considerably more oak than any standard Jack. A genuinely different proposition from the black label.
- Maker’s Mark Cask Strength: Undiluted Maker's, and the version that finally gives the wheated recipe some weight. Dense caramel and honey with real warmth, and one of the more affordable cask-strength bottles anywhere.
Which One Should You Choose?
- Go with Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select if you want a distinctly oakier, more concentrated Tennessee whiskey with barrel-to-barrel character.
- Go with Maker’s Mark Cask Strength if you want wheated sweetness at full strength for well under what most cask-strength bourbons cost without hunting for it.
Best enjoyed neat, rocks (Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select); neat, rocks (Maker’s Mark Cask Strength).