I like coffee. I like whiskey. Hell, I even like whiskey in my coffee. But non-alcoholic whiskey-infused pre-ground coffee? Not so much. That’s the premise of the new Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey Coffee, a product presumably created to answer the age-old riddle, “How can I combine two liquids to make one liquid?”
Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey Coffee is a collaboration with World of Coffee, a New Jersey-based roaster that “specializes in premium, high-end, great tasting, gourmet coffees, private label packing, [and] foodservice,” according to the JD press release. It’s made up of 100% Arabica—a selling point for most 7-Eleven coffees and those have never let me down—roasted to medium, infused with Jack (or at least the essence of Jack), pre-ground and non-alcoholic, just the way ole Gentleman Jack himself would have wanted it.
The website for the new whiskey coffee touts that it is “the best tasting gourmet coffee infused with authentic Jack Daniel’s® Tennessee Whiskey,” which is hard to argue.
Even the very best tasting tasting version coffee infused with authentic Jack Daniel’s® Tennessee Whiskey still sounds kinda horrible. And beyond the taste–which I imagine could be replicated by putting a dab of liquid smoke and some wood chips (charred, new Oak, preferably) in a pot of coffee on the heating element for no less than two years—doesn’t this product pretty much already exist? It’s called putting whiskey in your coffee. It’s been the fuel for countless barista shifts since time immemorial, from Melbourne to Melbourne, Florida. You think those effortless smiles are because of your witty banter? Nope. It’s whiskey. It’s always been whiskey.
There is literally no need for this product. No one is putting whiskey in their coffee for the “flavor”. You might like the way whiskey and coffee taste together, but this is simply a fringe benefit.
All that to say, I can’t be mad at it. If smoky, pre-ground, hooch-essence-infused coffee is your Truth, then live it. Live it to the fullest. Get you some Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey Coffee and be the best you that you can be.
Zac Cadwalader is the news editor at Sprudge Media Network.
*top image via Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey Coffee
