The Hazmat Project

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Hazmat whiskey is a very interesting category within modern American whiskey. By definition, a hazardous liquid is labeled as such when it is over 140 proof. This means that technically those 140.00 bourbons are not quite hazmat, but who's keeping track. I recently got in an absolutely excellent single barrel store pick that we did with Old Elk. An 11 year old, high barley straight bourbon, at an absolutely whopping 152.2 proof. Insane.

But proof isn't for everyone, so what happens to this particular whiskey when you start adding water? Luckily, I have a cylinder and some measurements laid out to help bring down the proof. For a very rough calculation, if you start with 25mls of your bourbon, adding 1ml of water will bring it down roughly 3-4 proof. That means that in order to bring this 152 proof monster down to about 100 proof, I had to add 15-16mls of water.

For this experiment, I kept a control at 152.2 proof, one glencairn watered down to roughly 120 proof, another glencairn watered down to roughly 100 proof, and a super scientific rocks glass full of ice with roughly 2oz of bourbon in it. Let's dive in!

100 Proof : Not surprisingly, the nose is the brightest. But what did come across as surprising, is that it is also the most pronounced. The scents present jump out of the glass at you. It has an almost plantain like scent, followed by raw barley grain, rich caramels, and a floral aspect I can't quite place. At 100 proof, this barrel almost blurs the line between American Single Malt and Bourbon, it's fascinating and intriguing. The palate is much more bourbon like, leading again with the plantains but also the caramel. What I find is most interesting, is the pour follows the same pattern as the cask strength version, just at lower proof. What I mean by that, is that at first sip some proof hits you, and then it quickly fades and drinks more like an 80 proof whiskey. I was not expecting that. The back end of the palate sees a lot of softer whiskey notes, with the floral aspect, a hint of grain, soft leather, and an almost overripe peach type note. Overall, it's good, and better than the 107 proof 10yr release, but I probably would have passed on this pick if it was bottled at this proof.

120 Proof: The nose is immediately much more up my alley. It greets you with a strong vanilla bean note that is quickly followed by caramel, leather, an almost berry like note, and just a hint of florality. It is honestly hard to believe this is the same whiskey. The nose is so much more inviting and almost completely lacks that strong raw barley note. If you go hunting for it specifically, you can catch a hint, but barely. The palate is wonderful as well. It also leans into a strong vanilla with rich caramel, a hint of clove spice, leather and some cola like notes in the background. There is no grain or bright tart fruit notes here. I like this a lot, this is legitimately like if you asked Old Elk to make a direct competitor to the old school wildly flavorful 14 and 15yr Knob Creek picks. It's still shocking how different this is from the 100 proof version. The backbone DNA is reminiscent, but the lower proof reveals a lot of unexpected flaws.

152.2 Proof: Oh mama. That thick molasses, cola, and almost maple like syrupy note is so dominant. It follows with dark fruity notes like plum or dark cherry, earthiness with leathers and tobacco, and a nice deeply charred wood like note. Ever evolving and just letting you go deeper in the glass. If you decide you need to water this down, smell it like this first. It is beautiful. The palate follows a similar path to this symphony. The caramels and vanillas from previous iterations just become darker and thicker, and more cola forward. The florality is replaced by a much more expressive espresso like note, the sweeter fruit notes become deeper and darker as well with black cherry and plum. Everything just turns darker and deeper. The earthiness from the nose remains present with strong leather, tobacco, and even an almost soil like note.

Summary: This is unfortunately, by and far, best at cask strength. Is that a sign of a poor whiskey? I am not sure. Because at 120 proof this single barrel beats out a LOT of other bourbons on the market today, even releases that are two to three times the cost of this one ($89.99). But then you have the option to unlock its full potential at cask strength, and absolutely obliterate annual limited releases from other distilleries at 5-10x the cost. I would argue that not all hazmat whiskey can follow this same trend. I have had some that made you feel like breathing fire and lacked any and all complexity. But this reminds me a lot of the 2021 releases of Jack Daniel's Coy Hill, not in flavor profile, but in experience. The depth of flavor and complexity that can be achieved with a well done hazmat bourbon is hard to beat. Not all hazmats can claim that title, and I'd actually argue that the majority of hazmat bourbons are disjointed messes, but when they come together just right... They can't be stopped.

Rocks glass with 7 ice cubes: Just for fun, let's test the Sunday sipper, eh? After the previous neat pours in a glen, the nose here is all but non-existent. It almost comes across like a caramel soap. But at the end of the day, you don't nose a glass full of ice with some whiskey. Woah, color me shocked. On first sip, this is incredibly enjoyable. The flavors are all but gone, but it punches with strong caramel and a hint of that plantain again. The most shocking part? The clove returns for a finish that sticks with you almost as long as the cask strength version. It defies logic. Is this the second best way to drink this bottle? Why? How? As it turns out, go for cask strength or Booker Noes famous bourbon tea at roughly 40 proof. Maybe I should have done 120 proof and 80 proof, because 100 proof surely is not the one.