Jack Daniel’s Boiler Hill #2 Small Batch Rye Whiskey Review

By Richard Thomas

Rating: A-

Jack Daniel’s has been upping their game in recent years on two separate tacks. One is their outstanding age statement whiskeys; the first batch of 14 year old from last year won a rare A+ grade from me. The other tack has been equally well-received: a series of releases built around highlighting particular warehouse groupings. Thus far those have been Coy Hill, Boiler Hill and Fire Brigade Fields. I know all three, a result of having written the literal book about them.

These bottlings are always cask strength, tend to be drawn from the upper floors of the rickhouse, and two are perched atop hills overlooking the distillery on top of that. As a result, they get cooked and experience high rates of water evaporation. They instantly garnered attention from whiskey nerds for their ultra high, sometimes even “hazmat” level of proofing (i.e. above 70% ABV/140 proof, where alcohol is considered too much of a fire hazard to store in airplane luggage).

The thing is, the nerds zero in narrowly on the idea of drinking super strong booze (proving their manhood?) and completely miss the point of what makes a whiskey like Boiler Hill #2 special: how it got to be so strong in the first place. In Lynchburg, most whiskeys are entered into the barrel at 125 proof. Over the course of a decade, the proportion of water to alcohol claimed by those greedy angels carried Boiler Hill #2 up to 142.7 proof. The interaction between the wood and the whiskey under those conditions, as well as the changes in chemistry as the water is squeezed out.

Making hazmat whiskey is actually pretty easy: enter the whiskey into the barrel at the highest strength allowed by law, which is 125. Most big distillers use 125 proof for barrel entry because it is more efficient, putting the most alcohol into the fewest number of barrels. Then store your barrel in a dry, over-like environment. That is not particularly efficient in terms of volume output, due to the high angel’s share incurred. Properly maturing a whiskey in this way is tricky, however, because time + heat is a recipe for over-oaking as well as over-evaporation.

Hazmat whiskeys are usually undrinkable, especially as is. 70%+ alcohol content blows the tastes buds on contact, and that is a scientific fact. But the process is the interesting part when it works, precisely because it is so counter-intuitive that it should, and that is the case with this Boiler Hill release. Writing for Robb Report, Jonah Flicker called attention to this very point, commenting with some amazement that this particular Hazmat release is “actually drinkable.”

The Whiskey
With or without water, this is a tremendously dark rye whiskey. I’ve found ryes are often lighter than bourbons, coming across as copper instead of amber. This stuff is as dark as maple syrup.

I put enough water in my pour to dial it down to approximately a Booker’s level of strength (so shaving off 5% ABV, give or take). I agree with Flicker: it is quite drinkable at that level, achieving sucker puncher status. That is to say, pour a double of this stuff, maybe put it on the rocks, and drink it. You won’t know what hit you until you stand up off the bar stool.

At my level of dilution, there was a trace of heat on the nose, but I did not want to take it down any further, so I dealt with it and settled in for a prolonged nosing. The scent is akin to cookie spices with mint flakes and extra ginger stirred into a dollop of raspberry jam. Gird that with barrel char (that undoubtedly being the alcohol vapor and not any actual charcoal scent) and some earthy cocoa powder.

The flavor is herbaceous and spicy, balanced by a cup of cocktail cherries and raisins with vanilla drizzle, and again girded with some earthy cocoa. Very flavorful, very big, but despite its inherent potency it does this without being ballsy. This is a quietly confident, big character of whiskey, not some braggart swaggering about the place crying about how “alpha” he is.

The Price
The price on this bottle, even at the half-size of 375ml, is pretty fair at $65. After all, it’s almost twice as strong as a normal, mass market whiskey. Think of it as concentrate.