Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill High Proof Tennessee Whiskey
Well damn, Jack Daniel’s is kicking some ass recently. First the 2018 and 2019 releases of the Heritage barrels, then last year’s insanely good Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye. These two releases laid down the gauntlet and said one thing: Jack Daniel’s isn’t just your No. 7. Jack Daniel’s is here to play.
As the months passed by, I started to wonder what they’d cook up this year. Would it be another matured version of the Tennessee Tasters like the rye was? Would it be a technique-driven LE like the Heritage? After the 10 Year Old came out earlier this year, maybe - dare I say it - an older, age-stated rye?
Then, the TTB label came out: Coy Hill High Proof. A release from the top of Coy Hill itself on the grounds of the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. In the massive, hulking warehouse, these high-proof beasts slumbered, losing water at above-average rates year after year. Finally, they were ready.
Ranging between 137.4 and 148.3 proof, these are seriously powerful whiskies (sorry, still not bourbons). The one I tried, courtesy of BLVD in Long Island City, is relatively tame - as tame as a 139.7 proof whiskey can be, just 0.3 points away from hazmat territory.
As with any release like this, there’s the question of cost. At a $69.99 MSRP, no one could argue against it. Buy every one you can find. Of course, as soon as they were released, they hit the secondary market. The ryes from last year maxed out around $300, but this release built off of that and added the intrigue of even higher proofs - hazmat proofs. The result: $500 across the board. That’s a hard pill to swallow, even in today’s hyper-inflated price environment. I had to try it before even thinking of that price. And so I did.
Putting price to the side for a moment, consideration had to be given to what made this release special. The rye built off of Jack Daniel’s first new rye recipe in a century, the 10-year-old was the first age statement that high in nearly that long, too. Strip away the allure of the sanitizer-level heat, though, and this is, in effect, a spoofed-up Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof. Trust me, I hate saying that, too, but it is. It’s the same whiskey, just a higher floor, a higher elevation, a higher proof. Add the MSRP back into the mix, and it’s only a few dollars more than any Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof.
So, is it worth that much more? JD Single Barrels don’t have much secondary value on their own, mainly because it’s so easy to find them. Besides the picks done by stores and groups, Jack Daniel’s puts out its own single barrels. Simply put, there’s plenty of availability. Granted, the single barrels don’t hit hazmat territory, maxing out I believe around 135 proof, with most of them closer to the 130 proof mark. Plenty hot, and enough to satisfy a proof whore like I.
At MSRP, or even at maybe 2x (figure around $150), this is a great pickup. I’m willing to even go to $200. More than that, I need to turn my FOMO meter down and take the proof blinders off. I’ll say this as emphatically as text can convey: this is great, really great even, but it’s not worth anywhere near the secondary pricing. I want a bottle - I truly do - but $500? GTFO. It’s a super-charged Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof - take the time to find ones closer to the 135 mark and you’re inches from this at a fraction of the cost.
As for whether it tastes differently, I’ll admit that the bottle I tried did taste somewhat more mature than the everyday single barrel. The characteristic banana Runts flavor was more rounded, and the oak was creamier. Ultimately, though, it was a deviation from the norm rather than a true branch-off like the previous limited editions. I didn’t taste the proof at its stated point, feeling it closer to 115-120. I can’t speak to the hazmat, or the one that’s 148 proof (though you know I’m dying to try that).
And you know what, props to Jack Daniel’s for putting out a product that is another smasher. I’ll absolve them of the secondary pricing - love them or hate them, it’s not their doing any more than it’s Buffalo Trace’s fault that BTACs and Pappy’s go for thousands of dollars. There’s no deceptive marketing here - Coy Hill is a real place, there’s a single warehouse on its summit, and these bottles came from it. The environs caused the barrels to be higher proof than “normal”. No gimmicks, no fancy labeling different from previous limited releases.
Now if they’d just return my damn tweets…
Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill High Proof Tennessee Whiskey: Specs
Classification: Tennessee Straight Whiskey
Origin: Jack Daniell’s Distillery
Mashbill: Undisclosed
Proof: 139.7 (69.85% ABV)
Age: NAS
Location: Tennessee
Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill High Proof Tennessee Whiskey Price: $69.99
Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill High Proof Tennessee Whiskey Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Intense maple syrup. Medium rims and syrupy droplets.
Nose: Runts, but less artificial. Just a bit of proof. Burnt edges of banana bread. Quite warm without being spicy. An unexpected chocolate creme brûlée comes in after a few minutes.
Palate: Hot, but not nearly what I expected. Pepper and proof heat are both there, though there’s an inherent sweetness. Slightly bitter oak towards the end of the first sip. Dark chocolate banana bread, too. Mouthfeel is prickly, astringent, and medium-bodied, letting the proof and bitter chocolate open a bit more.
Finish: Medium length and hot, with the head fading slowly. Bitter chocolate is most of the finish’s flavor until some date cake rolls in. No spices or banana anywhere, oddly.
Overall: Much less hot than I expected at each turn. I expected quite a proof bomb, and yet that’s just not there. The banana Runt flavor is there but in a more mature way, less artificial and more true banana. Everything feels like a Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof that grew up.
Final Rating: 7.6
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Old Label Batch 4 or 2, Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (Stagg Jr. Batch 10, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
