The whiskey wash logo
The World's Most-Visited
Whiskey Website
The World's Most-Visited
Whiskey Website

Trending Stories

Search
American

Smokeye Hill 5-Year Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon Review

How did a high-altitude Colorado bourbon win Bourbon of the Year? We taste Smokeye Hill's 5 Year Barrel Proof to see if its bold spice and oak live up to it.

OVERALL RATING

6
$90.99
  • Jeffrey Nitschke is a Portland-based attorney passionate about whiskey and cigars, with deep ties to the American whisky community and culture.
Like Conversation

Tasting Notes

About:

Smokeye Hill was founded by Blake Johns and draws its distillate from a proprietary MGP mash. This is by no means a knock on Mr. Johns, as many quality products come from distillers who start with MGP goods and do great things with the raw product. The company is based out of Colorado Springs, where aging occurs and where the locale’s highly variable weather throughout the year and high altitude (6,035 feet) likely have a definitive effect on shaping the final product.

Today’s review is their Smokeye Hill 5-year Barrel Proof Straight Bourbon, which is a more concentrated version of their base product. The bourbon uses a mashbill of blue corn, yellow corn, rye, and malted barley, and is “aged in new American White Oak 30 & 53 gallon barrels. No.2, No. 3, No. 4 & No. 5 barrel chars. Non-chill filtered”. In 2024, the whiskey won Bourbon of the Year at the ASCOT Awards.
Appearance:
Richly darkened orange marmalade
Nose:
Grassy nose with red fruit, corn, and bitter oak.
Palate:
A hot start with vanilla, pepper, and bitter cacao. Spicy nutmeg overlaps with sweeter toffee.
Finish:
Peppercorn, honey and cloves, ground coffee beans and charcoal.
Comments:
It’s always a struggle for distillers and blenders to decide whether they want a fully balanced final product, or whether they want to more heavily emphasize certain flavors. Smokeye Hill’s barrel proof bourbon picks the latter approach to the extreme, dialing up the intensity on spice and tannic flavors at the cost of more subtle caramel and honey options. A dram that knows exactly what it is trying to be and nothing else, fans of heavily spicy and oaked bourbons will enjoy having this on their shelves.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Jeffrey Nitschke

Jeffrey Nitschke is Portland area attorney whose career has dovetailed with a love of fine spirits and cigars. His hometown is rich with microdistilleries, which has afforded him the opportunity to learn the nuances of whiskey tasting and whiskey making. His writing and enthusiasm for the hobby has led to lasting friendships with other whiskey aficionados and connisures across the United States.

All Posts

Latest On The Whiskey Wash

The whiskey wash logo