(Photo: Jack Daniel's)
A trip to Costco can unearth myriad delights. In addition to flat-screen TVs, gold bars and Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies, the wholesaler has developed a reputation in recent years for rare spirits at shockingly affordable prices. And we're not talking about Kirkland Signature. Shoppers have discovered that elusive bottles like Blanton's Bourbon and Van Winkle, among others, regularly pop up at Costco even when the local liquor store is experiencing a drought.
Last week, a shopper in La Mesa, California reported that they found a bottle of Jack Daniel's latest single barrel release at their nearest Costco. To say that this release is different from a $20 bottle of Jack Old No. 7 would be a vast understatement.
The famed Tennessee distiller first introduced the Coy Hill Single Barrel series in 2021. Described as one of the boldest, most innovative whiskeys in Jack Daniel's catalog, the first expression was bottled between 137.4 to 148.3 proof — the highest ever for the over 150-year-old brand. Fans went ballistic. The release debuted at just $70 per 750-milliliter bottle; these days, it can go for over $4,000.
Jack Daniel's was quick to pick up on the hype. The brand eventually unveiled a 2022 edition bottled as high as 155.1 proof, and, most recently, a 2024 edition bottled as high as 137.5 proof.
The latest iteration boasted a few tricks under the hood. Though all of the releases were aged in the brand's high-elevation Coy Hill Barrelhouse in Lynchburg, Tennesse, the 2024 edition was the first to be aged on the fifth and sixth floors. In theory, its location protected the batch from rapid fluctuations in temperature, resulting in a smoother, less over-oaked final product.
We reviewed this whiskey and fell in love at first sip. After getting the chance to try a 68.75%-ABV bottling a few months back, we were blown away by its heady aromas of butterscotch, honey-roasted peanuts, brown sugar and coffee. On the palate, loads of toffee, crème brûlée and cinnamon gave way to a deliciously charred finish. It was one of the best offerings from Jack Daniels we'd ever tasted, and other critics seem to agree. We recently crunched the numbers on the brand's catalog and found that Coy Hill 2024 was its second-best-reviewed expression to date, sitting a single point behind the excellent Jack Daniel's Sinatra Century.
Click here to see the full list of the best Jack Daniel's whiskeys of all time.
Thankfully, the distiller's latest single barrel has yet to reach the ludicrous markup of its older siblings. The Costco shopper in California says they managed to buy a bottle for $70. Just don't get your hopes up if you live in the area — according to comments under the post, bottles were unveiled at 10 a.m. and sold out within 45 minutes.
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