The Coy Hill was subjected to such extreme temperatures and variations that it resulted in more extractives and, thus, more barrel influence, including tannins. I did my own side-by-side later, proofing down a little of what Coy Hill I had left to 97º and tasting side-by-side, but in a press event before the release I asked Chris whether the two products would taste similar at the same proof: he said not exactly. The Coy Hill bottlings were between 9-9.5 years old, just shy of what would be the 10-year-old but evidence for what could come.Įxcept, as you may know from reading between the lines, no barrels that went into the Coy Hill releases were used for the 10-year-old releases. There was very little left in those barrels, and what was had risen in some cases over 150º (compared to average single barrels that come in within a few proof points of 130º). These barrels were aged in the pitch of the roof on the top floor of the warehouses on Coy Hill, as high a place as can be found on Jack’s vast properties. Case in point: Coy Hill Single Barrel (2021) and Coy Hill Small Batch (2022). To survive 10 or 12 years, though, those barrels couldn’t stay there or there wouldn’t be anything left in the barrel. These 10-year-old barrels are very much an extension of the single barrel plan - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. From these 60, they pull single barrels from the top floor(s) at between 5-7 years of age. Not every warehouse has these spots, but according to Chris plenty of them do, around 60 or so. The places across their 96 (!!!) warehouses that produce the best single barrels. To find that sweet spot, they went to the sweet spots: their single barrel sweet spots, that is. It would be the start of a new chapter of Jack Daniel’s, the return of age-stated Tennessee whiskies from Lynchburg. If done right, this wouldn’t be a one-off release like the Tennessee Tasters’ (now Distillery Series) releases. When creating the first new age stated product in over a century, Chris and his predecessor, Jeff Arnett, knew it would have to be something both unique enough to be worth the wait and familiar enough for wide release. When the man himself was alive, according to Master Distiller Chris Fletcher, they had age-stated whiskies up to 21YO - it boggles the mind, but just maybe it was excellent (or oak water - if you find a bottle, let me know). When Jack Daniel’s released their first 10-Year-Old Tennessee Whiskey last year (what would become Batch 1), it was the first age-stated Jack Daniel’s product in over a century. Self-aggrandizement out of the way, on with the day… I’ll get to the reviews in a second but I just have to say this, with the utmost sincerity and humility: getting samples of Jack Daniel’s new releases kinda makes me feel like I’ve made it - or at least I’m getting damn close.
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