In 2021, Jack Daniel’s Distillery set the world of Tennessee whiskey on fire with the initial release of Single Barrel Coy Hill High Proof, their highest-proof whiskey ever sold. The idea behind the Coy Hill series is that the metal-clad, non-climate-controlled rickhouse atop the highest part of Jack Daniel’s property could produce the highest-ABV whiskeys possible for them. To offer a tiny bit of science, often the very top levels of a storage warehouse get so hot during the summer that the water in the barrels is lost to the “angel’s share” at a higher rate than the ethanol. This concentrates the alcohol and can lead to much higher proof levels than the 125 proof level that Jack enters the barrel. Conversely, barrels on the lowest racks of the lowest floor of a barrel house can actually lose proof over time.
For the 2021 release, master distiller Chris Fletcher selected barrels from the “buzzard’s roost” of warehouses No. 8 and No. 13. This wasn’t an ordinary rack; instead the barrels were tucked under the roof between the rafters and the tippy-toppest level of racking. This produced proof levels as high as a tongue-burning 148.3 and revealed some amazing flavor extractions from the barrel and the overall aging process.
After releasing a small batch blend of Coy Hill barrels in 2022, Fletcher has returned with a new edition for 2024, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8. Fletcher invites fans to take a tasting tour through the warehouse by returning to one of the two rickhouses that produced those first hothouse specials in 2021, but this time focusing on barrels stored several floors below on levels five and six.
This whiskey began its long oak nap in September 2013, putting it just short of 11 years old when it was bottled last month. These barrels were never moved within the rickhouse and spent their entire lifespan on these two floors before the they were removed for emptying. Released uncut at full barrel strength, these bottles clock in between 122 and 137.8 proof, and the sample I tried was a robust 134.7.
The goal with this project was to demonstrate how big a difference the specific rickhouse and location therein can have on products made with the same recipe and procedures. It has definitely succeeded. While the 2021 high-proof was a powerful kick to the face with incredible oak characteristics and palate-coating heat, this year’s Coy Hill tastes like Jack Daniel’s, just … more.
The wood extraction has produced a dark copper whiskey in the glass, lightening to the edges as is common with older spirits. The characteristic banana/crème brûlée aromas of typical Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey are palpable, but they're overwhelmed by the other notes of caramel, toffee, vanilla and blackstrap molasses that are usually a little more muted. Baking spices such as clove, cinnamon and brown sugar are pretty easy to pick out, and that’s a good thing.
On the palate, sure, it’s a little hot, but it's not blinding. The complexity of tastes is remarkable, with a little earthiness that Fletcher describes as “barrelhouse funk,” which is unfortunately not a mash-up of boogie-woogie piano and George Clinton. Instead, it comes from the dustiness of old rickhouses, where there’s not a lot of air movement on the upper floors. This makes its way in to the flavors in an intriguing manner. Over the pleasantly warming and long finish, notes of spice, fruits and curiously, cherries, begin to emerge along with puckering tannins, drawing you in for another sip.
Although high-proof lovers danced in the streets over the first Coy Hill release, the goal of this series has never been to discover the highest ABV Jack could produce. Instead, it is to emphasize the unique sense of place that Coy Hill offers to the whiskey. Jack Daniel’s can produce more than a thousand barrels a day, and only 258 barrels were available for bottling in this release, so it’s not even a day’s production. Plus, after 11 years, those pesky angels stole a lot of liquid that never made it into bottle.
So this is also a snapshot of time, not just place. It’s quite nicely done, with nothing overdone. The limited-edition release is available now at select stores nationwide at a suggested retail price of $79.99, so time is of the essence if you’re looking to try this remarkable whiskey.
Chicken Cock Whiskey has also been doing some incredible things with small lots of barrels, choosing great whiskeys and finishing them in innovative ways to create something novel. For their latest release, the blenders selected just ten barrels of Kentucky Straight Bourbon from Bardstown Bourbon Co. under the guidance of Master Distiller Gregg Snyder and transferred them into the rare and expensive first-use Mizunara Japanese oak barrels for finishing.
These barrels are highly sought after in the industry, and few of them ever leave Japan, since they make great whiskey of their own in that country. Chicken Cock managed to wrest some away for this experiment, the fourth edition of Chicken Cock’s limited annual tin release. The original founder (and namer) of the brand was James A. Miller, a 19th-century miller who was a fan of roosters and used them to decorate his product labels.
For the commemorative tin that encloses this rare and lovely $249.99 bottle, packaging artists chose a depiction of the Onagadori rooster, a bird that is also stunning and incredibly rare, immediately identifiable by its distinctive long tail.
Snyder explains why they made the choice to invest in such expensive barrels for finishing. “The unique chemistry and structure of the Mizunara wood imparts a different flavor than American oak, including smoother, sweeter notes. The time it takes to grow, its rarity, the thoughtful selection process and the care taken in tasting and resting our Mizunara has resulted in one of the richest, smoothest and unique-tasting whiskeys we’ve ever produced.”
Among those different flavors from the Mizunara are wafts of sandalwood incense and baking spices along with saddle leather on the nose. The (probably) five-to-six-year-old whiskey greatly benefits from the additional elements of oak. It’s a pretty straightforward expression of really good Kentucky bourbon, exhibiting the familiar flavors of caramel, vanilla and peppery spice. On its own, it would be a fine bourbon but not unique enough to demand the high price tag. But thanks to the value-add and expertise behind the finishing process, this really is a special sipper. Plus, at 90 proof, you really can sip if straight out of a snifter, or maybe with a single rock or a splash.
Creativity shouldn't be cheap, so if you want to experience a little bit of the art along with the science, look for the long-tailed rooster on the tin!
