Boot Hill Distillery Red Eye Whiskey
Boot Hill Distillery Red Eye Whiskey is a frontier-style Kansas whiskey built the way an 1880s Dodge City pour might have tasted — 80 proof (40% ABV), 750mL, from the distillery's bourbon new-make on its 51% corn, 49% wheat estate-grown mash. The whiskey ages six to twelve months across a mix of new and used barrels of varying sizes, then is blended for balance: butterscotch and floral notes on the nose, bright wood, strong vanilla and unexpected spice on the palate. It was named Best Whiskey in Kansas at the 2017 Heartland Spirits Fest. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 40% (80 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Mash bill: 51% corn, 49% wheat — estate-grown Kansas grain
- Aging: 6–12 months in a mix of new and used barrels, blended
- Origin: Dodge City, Kansas — Boot Hill Distillery
- Style: Frontier-style whiskey, recreating an 1880s Dodge City pour
- Awards: Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2020; Best Whiskey in Kansas, Heartland Spirits Festival 2017
An 1880s Dodge City Pour
Red Eye is Boot Hill's time machine. Frontier saloons poured young, blended whiskey — barrels of different sizes and ages married until the result drank bigger than its months — and Boot Hill recreates that style with its own soil-to-sip grain: a short rest in new and used oak, then blending for character over age. The style clearly works, taking Best Whiskey in Kansas in 2017 and a San Francisco Gold in 2020. Find it among our American whiskeys, meet the rest of the Dodge City lineup at Boot Hill Distillery, or keep browsing the whisky shelves.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Sweet butterscotch with a delicate floral lift; caramel corn and honey underneath. Palate: Bright wood up front, strong vanilla and a sweet-and-spice snap. Finish: Sweet grain, powerful vanilla, soft oak.
How to Enjoy
Built for the frontier serves: neat at the bar, on the rocks where the vanilla and sweet grain come forward, or in a whiskey-and-ginger where its spice holds its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Red Eye a flavored whiskey? No — it is an unflavored, barrel-aged blend of the distillery's bourbon new-make; its spice and vanilla come from grain and oak, not added flavoring.
How old is Red Eye Whiskey? The component barrels age six to twelve months in a mix of new and used oak before blending, per the distillery's current product page.
What does "Red Eye" mean? It is an old frontier slang name for whiskey — Boot Hill uses it for its recreation of an 1880s Dodge City-style pour.
Frontier style, Kansas grain, a San Francisco Gold — order Boot Hill Red Eye Whiskey online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.