Dumping a shot of Jack into your morning joe might get you some strange looks around the office, but if you just can’t kick that Tennessee Whiskey flavor, the 150-year-old distillery is ready to save the day, releasing a non-alcoholic Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey Coffee.
Created in partnership with World of Coffee, the whiskey-flavored coffee grounds (sorry, no whole beans) boast that they are “premium 100% Arabica coffee, roasted medium,” and as it says right on the tin, “made with authentic Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey.” “We use the best tasting and highest quality coffees in the world and now add to that the authentic taste and aroma of Jack Daniel’s,” Charlie Newman, president/owner and roast master of World of Coffee, said in a press release. “We take a lot of care and pride in the coffee products we craft and Jack Daniel’s Coffee is no exception.”
Just how the flavor of real whiskey is “infused” in the alcohol-free grounds isn’t explained. As Huffington Post pointed out, Jack Daniel’s coffee has been on store shelves before, but a Jack Daniel’s spokesperson told the site that this new version is different: “There was a line of Jack Daniel’s Coffees that incorporated Jack Daniel’s flavoring into the grounds, rather than actual Tennessee whiskey. That product was discontinued in 2011.”
This latest take on mixing Jack and coffee is currently available at the distillery or online, with a nationwide rollout to follow. It comes in both regular and decaf – but come on, if you’re drinking decaf Jack Daniel’s coffee, you’ve really given up on your street cred.
Unfortunately though, 8.8-ounce tins of the grounds are priced at $21.95 – or, in other terms, way more than anyone should pay for anything that isn’t truly world-class coffee. (By comparison, a brand like Intelligentsia sells 12-ounce bags online typically for under $20.) And for the record, the tasters over at HuffPo weren’t fans.
Overall, if you’re looking for a novelty coffee (possibly to pair with your beef jerky Broquet), Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey Coffee is certainly the kind of present that will earn you a smile, but in general, it sounds like serious coffee drinkers should stick to the tried and true method of making proper Irish coffees the old-fashioned way. Your great-grandfather would be proud; your boss not so much.