Edited to add the 25 year JPS Rye, change the release date of the JPS17, and add the 26 year JPS Tennessee Whiskey

UPDATE: Yes, the price ranges are huge. If you would like a more specific number, message Jefferson’s, but they have not set an official MSRP since the 21 year bourbon, and retailers are taking advantage of that. My price range comes from the lowest and highest prices I see.

In a few short years, Castle Brands will have released seven Jefferson’s Presidential Select offerings. In 2013 alone, there was a 25 year rye mashbill bourbon, a 25 year rye, a 21 year rye mashbill bourbon, and a 21 year rye. In 2012 there was an 18 year wheated Stitzel-Weller bourbon, and a 17 year wheated Stitzel-Weller bourbon before that. There is also a 30 year JPS which will be a rye mashbill bourbon set to show signs of life in early 2014, as well as a 26 year Tennessee whiskey that just hit the TTB. Aside from the Tennessee which has yet to come out and the 17 year version which is long gone, there is a chance you could run in to any of these releases heading in to the holiday shopping season. Knowing that, it is important you know what you are looking at.

Because the Jefferson’s Presidential Select (JPS) line has used the same bottle and design template for all of the JPS releases, there has been a ton of confusion for consumers. Unless you have been paying attention since 2009, trying to differentiate between them when standing in the bourbon aisle can be quite difficult. The most important thing to keep track of are the four different factors that vary with each release: age, recommended price/retail price, mashbill, and source.

The fact that they have pumped them out in rapid succession has put retailers on the ropes, keeping them from understanding exactly what it is they have on their shelves. Because of this, you may or may not get accurate advice from a liquor store employee. When you are talking about $100 to $200 bottles, a clear distinction needs to be made between the 21 year rye whiskey and the 21 year rye mashbill bourbon, as well as the three rye bourbons and the two wheated bourbons, so that customers go home with what they intended to buy.

To stem the confusion during the holiday season, here is a quick road map to understanding the difference between the seven Jefferson’s Presidential Select offerings in reverse chronological order, with the coming Tennessee and second Ocean Aged release at the end.

7. Jefferson’s Presidential Select 30 Year Bourbon (12/2013 in select states, early 2014 everywhere else)

Updated 12/26/13

• 7th JPS Release (Review HERE)
• Age: 30 years
• Price: $200-$499
  
• Mashbill: Bourbon/rye mashbill (See below)
• Source: Unknown
• Proof: 90.4 proof
• The 17 and 18 say, “Kentucky Straight Bourbon” and “Stitzel-Weller” on the bottle. The 30 says neither.
• The price range for this is huge, partly because Jefferson’s failed to set an MSRP, again. On top of that, as you probably expected, you don’t know the source, mash bill (officially, anyway), the state where it was produced or aged, and you don’t even know the puffed up tasting notes a company will normally put out with a new bottle. All you know is that it exists, it is 30 years old, it comes in very limited numbers, and you should pay whatever your retailer tells you to. Considering that many consider the age to be non-potable, and there is absolutely no information about the bourbon’s provenance, it probably would have been a good idea to help limit the gouging by setting an MSRP.
• A good friend of mine in Georgia says the retailers that have been offered the 30 year JPS have been told that it is a rye mashbill bourbon, not a wheater, by the reps.

6. Jefferson’s Presidential Select 25 Year Rye (2013)

Photo courtesy of Gregg T

• 6th JPS Release
• Age: 25 years old
• Price: $140-$200+
• Mashbill: Straight Rye Whiskey (>51% Corn)
• Source: Unknown Distillery
• Proof: 86 proof
• This is NOT a bourbon
• Notice that the wax stamp is silver, there is the word, “RYE” under the JPS script, and the barrel sticker has a “Straight Rye Whiskey” claim. Just like the JPS 21 Rye, there is a “North American Rye” claim. The rye Jefferson’s uses for the standard 10 year release is a 100% Canadian rye, but the JPS 21 and 25 Rye do not get that specific about the country of origin or the mashbill proportions.
• The 25 year rye is only 86 proof. A low proof Canadian whiskey for $200 is not exactly calling my name, no matter how old it is. This is another release without a price recommendation from Jefferson’s, so if you want to try this whiskey, you may have to accept the fact that your wallet may have to be violated in the process.

5. Jefferson’s Presidential Select 25 Year Bourbon (2013)

• 5th JPS Release
• Age: 25 Years old
• Price: $140-$200+
• Mashbill: Bourbon/rye mashbill (>51% corn, rye, and no wheat)
• Source:  Distillery Unknown
• Proof: 90.4 proof
• Not a Stitzel-Weller bourbon, not a “Wheated” bourbon
• Be sure to compare the differences between the 25 year rye and the 25 year bourbon to ensure you are getting the right bottle. The 25 year JPS is very expensive, it is beyond the age where you can safely assume that the age has benefited the bourbon (which I tend to think is around 10-15 years), and you have no clue where it is from. You could be buying a very expensive, over-oaked, skunk, or you could be buying a rare age gem like the 27 year Parker’s Heritage. There is also no MSRP, so you are at the mercy of your retailer.

4. Jefferson’s Presidential Select 21 Year Rye Whiskey (2013)

• 4th JPS Release
• Age: 21 years old
• Price: $120-$175
• Mashbill: Straight Rye Whiskey (>51% rye)
• Source: Canada, TTB lists it as from Paramount Distillers, but odds are it is from Alberta, one of the only Canadian distilleries to produce any high age ryes.
• Proof: 90.4
• Not a bourbon, not Stitzel-Weller, not “wheated”
• Same deal here with the 25 year rye. Silver wax stamp, the word “RYE” under the JPS script, a “Straight Rye Whiskey” claim, as well as a “North American Rye” claim. A Canadian rye may or may not have been aged in used barrels. It may or may not be blended with the whiskey of multiple distilleries. Without “big brother” watching over the process, and without a clear distillery as the source, it is impossible to guess the quality of this rye, and it will cost you a pretty penny to find out for yourself.

3. Jefferson’s Presidential Select 21 Year Bourbon (2013)

• 3rd JPS Release (Review HERE)
• Age: A minimum of 21 years, with older barrels blended in.
• Price: $120-$160 (MSRP $119)
• Mashbill: Bourbon/rye mashbill (>51% corn, rye, no wheat)
• Source: Distillery unknown
• Proof: 94 proof
• Not a Stitzel-Weller bourbon, not a “wheated” bourbon
• This one came fresh on the heels of the wheated JPS18, so many people believed it was from the same Stitzel-Weller lineage. It is a bourbon, unlike the 21 year rye above, but it is not wheated like the JPS18 and JPS17 below. The 21 year age statement, the, “Straight Bourbon Whiskey” claim on the barrel sticker, and the red wax stamp will let you know that this is not the rye whiskey, and this is not one of the wheated, Stitzel-Weller bourbons. With that said, it was still a solid pour. I preferred the JPS18 much more, but it didn’t fail in its price range.
• JPS21 Markup Problems: Many retailers are under the assumption that this is another wheater from S-W, and that it will have the same demand as the JPS17 and JPS18. Retailers still had customers coming in looking for the popular JPS18 when the JPS21 came out, so they decided to mark up the JPS21 an extra $50 since they assumed it came with built in demand. Consumers got smart to the difference pretty quick when their bottles weren’t moving, but retailers have been stubborn to bring the price down to the recommended $119. Since this was the last JPS to actually have an MSRP, it is much easier to talk the price down.

2. Jefferson’s Presidential Select 18 Year “Stitzel-Weller” Bourbon (2012)

• 2nd JPS Release (Review HERE)
• Age: 18 years old
• Price: $90-$120
• Mashbill: Bourbon/wheated mashbill (>51% corn, wheat, no rye)
• Source: Stitzel-Weller Distillery, Kentucky
• Proof: 94 proof
• The JPS18 is Stitzel-Weller, and it is wheated
• The JPS18 also came out in a single barrel version in very limited quantities, for only a handful of markets. The barrel sticker looks like THIS, which will list who the single barrel was bottled for. Don’t expect to stumble across any of these out in the wild.
• The JPS18 came out in 2012. Its popularity was driven by the fact that it was sourced from the same distillery as Pappy Van Winkle, but this release also had a ton of people stocking up on it towards the end of the release because of the quality and multiple positive reviews.
• The infamous JPS wording dilemma: A lot of people will try and tell you that the poor choice of wording on the barrel sticker indicates that it is not actually Stitzel-Weller bourbon. Yes, the choice of wording is incredibly poor, but most enthusiasts consider this a topic covered ad nauseam. Trey Zoeller has said it is Stitzel-Weller bourbon, and Chuck Cowdery has backed that up if you crave an independent yet reputable source. Whether you believe the S-W sourcing or not, this was an incredible pour of bourbon. One of the best I had all of 2012.

1. Jefferson’s Presidential Select 17 Year “Stitzel-Weller” bourbon (2009)

• 1st JPS Release
• Age: 17 Years
• Price: $90-$130
• Mashbill: Bourbon/wheated mashbill (>51% corn, wheat, no rye)
• Source: Stitzel-Weller Distillery, Kentucky
• Proof: 94 proof
• The JPS17 is Stitzel-Weller, and it is “wheated”
• This was the first release. Castle Brands purchased dozens of Stitzel-Weller barrels for the JPS line, but only bottled a fraction of them at the 17 year mark. The remaining barrels were left to age for another year, and were then bottled as the JPS18. As you can see, since the first two releases were wheated, and they were both sourced from Stitzel-Weller, a lot of people made the leap that the third release would also be wheated and would also be Stitzel-Weller. They are not. Only the JPS17 and JPS18 are wheated, and only the JPS 17 and JPS18 were from Stitzel-Weller.

* Jefferson’s Ocean Aged II (Rumored release in 2014/2015)

• 2nd Ocean Aged Jefferson’s
• Age: 4 to 8 years before hitting the open seas
• Time at sea: TBD
• Price: TBD/start saving now
• Mashbill: Bourbon/rye mashbill
• Source: Unknown
• Before there was a JPS line, there was the Jefferson’s Ocean Aged Bourbon. To me, this was pure gimmick, but some people swear that the bourbon was actually quite good. The first run only had five barrels in total. This made it very rare, and very, very expensive. The second run will have 72 barrels, so it will be less rare, but probably still very, very expensive. Sure, I may be pretty snobby with my bourbon, but I am holding out for the “aged in space” release.

* Jefferson’s Presidential Select 26 Year Tennessee Whiskey (2014)

• 8th JPS Release
• Age: 26 years old
• Price: TBD
• Mashbill: Unknown (probable straight bourbon w/”Lincoln County filtration process”)
• Source: Unknown. Probably Dickel? Maybe a barrel from some guys basement?
• This will be one of the more interesting releases in the JPS line. A high age Tennessee Whiskey is very rare to the market. I got pretty excited when Dickel announced they would be releasing 9 and 14 year barrels, so a 26 year Tennessee whiskey will be a unique addition to the market, and maybe the most sought after JPS since the wheaters.

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