Jack Daniel’s New Single Barrel Rye Is Strong But Good

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

I have not been a huge fan of some of Jack Daniel’s extremely high-proof whiskeys. What exactly is the point of these palate burners, and who gets actual pleasure from drinking whiskey bottled over 135 proof? Of course, there are always exceptions, and I count the new Single Barrel Special Release Coy Hill Rye as one. Given that this is a single barrel release, the proof varies, and some of these bottles soar well beyond hazmat level. But if you can find one with a more reasonable amount of alcohol, this is a whiskey worth spending some time with.

Jack Daniel’s is one of the most popular whiskey brands in the world, so it hardly needs any introduction. The distillery makes Tennessee whiskey, which is basically bourbon with an extra step called the Lincoln County process. Using the “b” word here makes some booze nerds mad, but the whiskey meets all of the legal requirements of the category, although it’s filtered through 10 feet of sugar maple charcoal before it goes into the barrel (which does not preclude it from being called bourbon). The distillery also started making rye whiskey back in 2017 using a mashbill that basically flips its traditional recipe around: 70 percent rye, 18 percent corn, and 12 percent malted barley. Interestingly, the charcoal mellowing process is different for the rye—instead of the usual 10 feet of charcoal, it is filtered through just three feet due to small amount of corn in the mashbill, according to master distiller Chris Fletcher.

Over the years, Jack has released several different ryes, including last spring’s Special Release Small Batch Rye, a hazmat whiskey aged in several different warehouses at the distillery in Lynchburg, TN. Like that release, this is another very strong rye whiskey that also happens to be very drinkable. This time, however, it was aged at just one warehouse site, Coy Hill, marking the first time a rye has been bottled as a single barrel expression from this location. Fletcher and his team have selected barrels from Coy Hill for other special releases over the past few years because this high-elevation location seems to yield some very good—and intensely strong—whiskey. Fletcher says that he’s not really sure why that is, but there’s something special going on there.

The whiskey was aged for ten years in Barrelhouse 1–13, and depending on which barrel your bottle comes from, it clocks in between 128.7 and a stunning 148.5 proof. The sample I got to try was bottled at just over 133 proof, which is still a indeed strong whiskey. Somehow, even with all of that heat, the rye character—or more specifically, the Jack Daniel’s rye character—still shines through. I tried it neat, and then I added some water to tone it down and unlock new flavors, and I definitely preferred the latter. The palate is full of notes of licorice, rye bread, orange marmalade, bitter lemon, oak, dried apricot, grapefruit, and vanilla, as well as that sweet and fruity banana undercurrent that kind of defines Jack. Add a few drops of water, and these flavors are amplified, but the fierce heat is toned down that otherwise hits you on the back palate.

So who is this whiskey really for? It’s definitely not geared towards the casual drinker, someone who likes to mix Old No. 7 with Coke (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I don’t even necessarily think it’s for your average rye whiskey fan. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Special Release Coy Hill Rye is aimed towards people who have been impressed by the more experimental direction the distillery has gone in over the past decade, and yes, for people who claim to really enjoy drinking high-proof whiskey. If you fall into one of those categories, definitely give this new rye a try.

Score: 88