Review #206: Jack Daniel’s Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8 (2024)

MASH BILL: 80% corn, 8% rye, 12% malted barley

PROOF: 128

AGE: 10 yrs 11 mo

COST: $80 MSRP for 750mL bottle 

I picked up this bottle through an individual who was liquidating their whiskey collection. It was part of a bundle of 3 of the top Jack Daniel’s bottles of recent years: 2024 Coy Hill, JD12 Batch 2, and JD14 Batch 1. Even though the JDCH and JD14 were about half-full and the JD12 was only shy about 1 or 2 pours, I’m going to consider it an even split at $150 for each bottle. So, with the going rate of these bottles on secondary, even for a half-full bottle of this JDCH, at $150 it was a hell of a deal. With Coy Hill labels having become somewhat “whiskey nobility,” I have not had the privilege of trying one, so I was really excited to be able to get a bottle to try at such a discounted rate. The 2024 Coy Hill release (Barrelhouse 8) features barrels that were aged on the fifth and sixth floors of Coy Hill Barrelhouse 8 and feature bottled proofs of 122 to 137.5. I’m solidly in the middle of the proof range with this bottle. Lets see if the Coy Hill label is worth the hype!

Reviewed neat in a Glencairn.

APPEARANCE: A deep, crimson color (1.8); quite oily with thin but extremely slow legs. 

NOSE: Dark, rich sweetness and bold spice. First take finds caramelized cherry syrup locked arms with very spicy cinnamon and red chili pepper spice or cayenne. I get an almost Wassail like aroma with warm spices like cinnamon stick and star anise, apple, and orange peel. The more I smell this I realize that a dried cayenne earthiness and spice really stands out as my nose approaches the glass. Great complexity with some foreshadowing of what’s to come.

PALATE: Medium mouthfeel and somewhat creamy. Luxardo cherry syrup, spicy oak, cayenne powder, and barrel char dominate. A few seconds in I start to get warm leather and cherry pipe tobacco. When I hold it on my palate for more than a few seconds and swirl it around, a soda shop Cherry Vanilla Coke note develops. Earthy spice notes of cayenne and black pepper meet brown sugar and creamy vanilla going into the finish.

FINISH: A long, spicy, creamy finish. A bold spice builds in right after the swallow over a few seconds: cinnamon, black pepper, and menthol all accompanied by a decent hug as well. Bitter, tannic oak and molasses show up late and pushes the sweeter notes from the palate aside. However, there is a deep vanilla note that persists. Earthier notes of old oak and leather outlast all other notes.

RATING: 8.3/10

OVERALL: This took a couple of pours before I could appreciate it. At first, it just came across too hot. But after a while, I was able to home in on the complexity and layers that this expression offers. The cherry notes are the chef’s kiss for me, but the barrel character that shows up with layers of various oak profiles, leather, and spices is a nice nod to its age. It’s not overly oaked for its age, but it does lean a bit into the spicier side of things (though, I find that to be an attribute of most Jack Daniel’s expressions anyway). This did not disappoint me for my first time to experience a Coy Hill expression, but the level of spice was somewhat unexpected. Best to be sipped in small sips due to the spice, but the sweeter notes certainly don’t want to be overshadowed.

 

1 | Disgusting | ...I've not subjected myself to this level

2 | Poor | Balcones Lineage

3 | Bad | High West Double Rye, Jefferson's Ocean 28

4 | Sub-par | Weller's SR, Woodford Reserve Distiller's Select, Hillrock Estate Sauternes CS

5 | Good | Buffalo Trace, Sazerac Rye, Green River Wheated

6 | Very Good | Blanton's, Holladay Bourbons, Eagle Rare

7 | Great | Baker's 7yr SiB, BBCo Origin High Wheat, 1792 BiB

8 | Excellent | Most ECBP batches, Maker's Mark Wood Finishing releases, High West MWND Act 11

9 | Incredible | Woodford Reserve Batch Proof 121.2, BBC DS #7, Four Roses OESQ

10 | Perfect | Found North Batch 08, RR15