WHISKEY INDUSTRY NEWS | Lynchburg — It’s a moment Jack lovers and collectors look forward to each fall, the announcement of the Single Barrel Special Release and this year’s bottle marks the highest proof whiskey ever released from Jack Daniel’s. The 2021 Single Barrel Special Release, Coy Hill High Proof, will hit liquor stores in Tennessee this week.
Distillers released the first Single Barrel Special Release in 2018 and the 2021 release will try to top the extremely popular 2020 Barrel Proof Rye.
Distillers aged the Coy Hill High Proof barrels on the top ricks of the oldest barrel houses on Coy Hill, the highest hill on the Jack Daniel Distillery property in Lynchburg. In local rickhouses, the top floors produce the highest proof whiskey because the whiskey in those barrels gets exposed to the highest temperatures. It takes all four seasons to make an exceptional Tennessee whiskey but the hotter, lighter air of those top floors causes water to evaporate and drives the proof higher.
Jack Daniel’s bottled this limited release at proof points ranging from 137.4 up to 148.3. A sip reveals an aroma of seared oak and dark brown sugar with flavors of bold baking spices and a lingering finish of toffee, smoke and rich leather. The grain bill is Jack Daniel’s classic 80 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley and 8 percent rye. Like all Jack Daniel’s products the whiskey is mellowed drop by drop through 10-feet of sugar maple charcoal before entering barrels located within Coy Hill barrel houses #8 and #13. The whiskey was then matured until it is later bottled, uncut, from those single barrels.
According to distillery officials, this special release comes from bottles aged in what’s commonly referred to as the Buzzard’s Roost up on Coy Hill behind the Jack Daniel’s north campus. When tasters got ahold of it, they felt the flavor profiles were smooth enough to bottle uncut. The label also lists the specific barrel house the whiskey aged in, either Barrel House #8 or Barrel House #13. Each bottle will be numbered and signed by Master Distiller Chris Fletcher.
“The Coy Hill High Proof is all about pushing the limit for single barrel maturation to create one of our boldest, most innovative whiskeys we have ever released,” says Jack Daniel’s Master Distiller Chris Fletcher. “It highlights one of the unique attributes of the Jack Daniel Distillery – the dry air of the highest floors of the barrel houses – and the amazing impact it has on whiskey making.”
The limited-edition Coy Hill High Proof bottle is bottled at barrel strength and will hit shelves starting in November. It is available in the U.S. only in a 750ml size with a suggested retail price of $70. Due to the high barrel strength, the bottle should remain upright at all times unless being poured into a glass, according to the distillery. •
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