If You've Had...Heaven Hill Edition

February 21, 2017 Eric Burke

I like learning things. I'm sure you do too, otherwise, why would you waste your time learning about bourbon? One of the best ways to really learn the differences between bourbons is to compare them head-to-head. That's the theory behind the If You've Had... series.

In case you missed it last time, the setup is like this: "If you've had Whiskey A then Whiskey B is..." hotter, spicier, sweeter, more floral, etc. Each section is written as compared to one of the whiskeys. So if you've had that one, but not the others, then that section will be of the most use to you. Remember there are no value judgments here. You get to decide based on what you know of Whiskey A if Whiskey B sounds like something you'd want to try.

Up tonight is the family of Heaven Hill-branded bourbons. Heaven Hill Black is a three-year-old bourbon bottled at 80 proof, Heaven Hill Green is a six-year-old bourbon bottled at 90 proof, and Heaven Hill White is a six-year-old Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon bottled at 100 proof. So without further ado, I present the fifth installment of the If You’ve Had… series.

If you've had Heaven Hill Black, then...

Heaven Hill Green is: similar on the nose, but with less grain influence. It shows less grain in the mouth but has more heat, mint, baking and pepper spices, and oak. The finish is longer, warmer, and shows more oak.

Heaven Hill White is: much sweeter on the nose, showing much more maple and caramel and less grain. The mouth is much spicier, showing both baking and pepper spices. It also presents more fruit and oak. The finish is longer, warmer, and sweeter with more baking spice and wintergreen.

If you've had Heaven Hill Green, then...

Heaven Hill Black is: similar on the nose, but showing more grain and much less oak influence. The mouth shows much younger: less oak, more grain, with a certain new-make quality about it. The finish is smoother and softer with more lingering grain and cotton candy.

Heaven Hill White is: sweeter on the nose, showing more caramel. The mouth is similar, though sweeter showing bubble gum that the green doesn't have. The finish is warmer and shows more spice.

If you've had Heaven Hill White, then...

Heaven Hill Black is: similar on the nose, but showing more grain influence. The mouth shows more grain bitterness. The finish is smoother, softer and more gentle.

Heaven Hill Green is: slightly less sweet on the nose. It is slightly softer on the mouth and slightly less sweet. The finish is sweeter but less spicy.

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Heaven Hill 6 year old, Green Label

February 16, 2017 Eric Burke

It was about two and a half years ago that I first became aware of the Heaven Hill brand of bourbons as they stand today.

Well, that's not exactly accurate. On my very first trip to Kentucky, I had a miniature bottle of Heaven Hill Bonded (White Label) that came with the glass I purchased at their gift shop. I thought it was good, but I didn't have much to compare it to yet. Oh, and I used to occasionally buy the Gold Label Bonded when it was still available locally. But after that went away, I pretty much stopped thinking about the Heaven Hill brand.

Until about two and a half years ago, that is. I was putting together the beginnings of the idea that would blossom into the "If You've Had..." series of posts when I happened upon Heaven Hill Bonded (White Label). I was planning to do a post comparing all of Heaven Hill's bonded bourbons and picked it up. Somewhere between the time I bought it and the time I decided to review it, Fred Minnick had decided to give the green label version some good publicity.

And that brings me to my last trip to Kentucky. If you followed me on Instagram about that time, you might have seen a cart filled with a combination of White Label and Green Label bottles. Filled because I loved the white label for the price. But since Fred recommended the Green, I grabbed a few of those too.

But now I'm down to my last bottle. I've been saving it to do another installment of "If You've Had..." this time on just the three Heaven Hill Branded Bourbons (look for that next week) and I realized I'd never reviewed this formally. So now...this.

Heaven Hill 6-Year-Old, Green Label

Purchase Info: $9.49 for a 750 mL bottle at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY (September 2016).

Details: 6 years old. 45% ABV

Nose: Leather notes combine with mint, brown sugar and hints of ripe fruit.

Mouth: Sweet with a peppery heat. Brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and mint.

Finish: Long and lingering. Sweet, but after a moment bitter dark chocolate notes appear.

Thoughts: This is a very tasty bourbon. There's enough heat and complexity to keep you interested, but not so much it'll distract you from other things that might need your attention (like writing this post, for instance). It's good enough to drink neat in a pinch but is sufficiently inexpensive that you can use it in a cocktail without hesitation. This is a very versatile bourbon that is easy to recommend for the price. Think of it as the slightly lower proof Heaven Hill version of Wild Turkey 101. About the same age with all that brings to the table.

The best laid plans...Streaming TV and an Elijah Craig Private Selection

February 7, 2017 Eric Burke

So...as of today, I'm officially a cord cutter. Last night at 11:59 pm, my DirecTV service was canceled. Not a big deal. Football season is over, and most of the shows we are watching right now are on hiatus or available over the air for free. We talked about it last weekend. To us, it seemed the perfect time to figure out what we will want when we need it.

Between Netflix, Amazon, and DirecTV I paid somewhere between $180 and $200 for video content (depending on how much of the Prime subscription I allocate to video and if I count taxes and fees). I knew I wanted to drop that $180 per month down below $100 for sure and even below $50 if I could. So, the services we wanted to try identified, we called and canceled.

Whoa. It's like a weight lifting off of your shoulders. Until we realized that there was one thing that we didn't plan for. The streaming device. We have an older AppleTV and an XBox One. It seems that neither of these will support most of what we want to try. The older AppleTV supports Hulu only (though a new one does Playstation Vue and SlingTV, though not Amazon). The Xbox does Amazon, Hulu, and SlingTV, but not Playstation Vue (for fairly obvious reasons). The Roku does everything but Apple stuff and I live in an Apple universe normally...

Ugh, so it seems I'll have to buy something and that nothing does everything we want. In other words, we had a plan, but it didn't account for one very major part of the equation. And we jumped in without thinking it all the way through.

Which, of course, reminds me of the whiskey I'm drinking tonight. I first bought this a few weeks ago and planned to review it. I didn't plan for one very important thing, though. It's really dang good, so good that I realized about the time that the bottle was empty that I had never reviewed it. Luckily, unlike my technology and entertainment problems, this one was easily solved by just going back to the store and picking up a couple more bottles.

Elijah Craig Small Batch, Single Barrel Selection by Ace Spirits

Purchase Info: $19.98 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN.

Details: 9-year-old Single Barrel Selection. 47% ABV.

Nose: Caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg and oak.

Mouth: Cinnamon and nutmeg combine to provide a nice tingle on the tip and sides of the tongue. Brown sugar sweetness and oak follow.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering baking spices.

Thoughts: At nine years old, this single barrel pick provides a nice call back to what made the 12-year old a fan favorite before the age statement was dropped. It's not as hot, but is every bit as complex as the 12. I like this one quite a bit. If you see a store pick of this, think about giving it a try.

UPDATE: I initially mistyped the price, listing it as $19.99 instead of $19.98. Thanks to Dan who caught that.

Heaven Hill Black Label, 80 proof

December 29, 2016 Eric Burke

"Best of the Great Kentucky Bourbons"

I just noticed that's what the neck label says about this bourbon. Oh man! Wouldn't it be a nice surprise if a company was selling their best whiskey for a price an average person could afford? This bottle was $7.99. And before you say I shouldn't expect anything good to come in under ten bucks a bottle, I'll have you know I picked up multiple bottles of the 90 proof, six-year-old Heaven Hill for just a dollar-fifty more. And yeah, I probably shouldn't give any more away on that one since I haven't written that post yet.

What this post is about is the Black Label version of Heaven Hill. Unlike some of its brand-mates, this one is NOT six years old. It is NOT 100 or even 90 proof. It is NOT Bottled in Bond. It is NOT even of an age where they give the age in years. Heaven Hill, Black Label version, is listed as thirty-six months old and bottled at only 80 proof. Needless to say, when I was picking up multiple bottles of Heaven Hill with green and white labels, only one bottle of Black Label came home with me.

Heaven Hill Black Label, 80 proof

Purchase Info: $7.99 for a 750 mL bottle at the Party Source, Bellevue, KY

Details: 40% ABV, three years old.

Nose: Dried grains, mint, orange peel and a hint of oak.

Mouth: Sweet in the mouth. Cinnamon candies, dried grains, and vanilla.

Finish: Short and kind of bitter with lingering dried grains.

Thoughts: Very grain forward with an unpleasant finish. Even for less than ten dollars, this is hard to recommend. Especially with the other Heaven Hill products in the general price range. Even with that said, this is only a meh bourbon. I've had plenty I dislike more.

Catching Up With Old Friends

December 20, 2016 Eric Burke

Four Roses Small Batch and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, my old friends.

It's the season of holidays. Christmas, Hanukkah, Boxing Day, Festivus, Saturnalia, Winter Solstice, Yule, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, and...I continually marvel that some people are offended by Happy Holidays when this is literally the alternative if you want to be kind enough to wish someone blessings for the holiday they celebrate instead of the one that you do.

But whichever of the many options you celebrate at this time of year, it is often a time to gather with friends and family. For many people, that means visiting with people that you see only once a year, or even once every few years. It's a nice time to reunite with old friends, even if it just with a card, dropped in the mail.

As such, I've chosen to catch up with a couple of friends of mine tonight. It's been a while since we really spent some time together and I'm eager to visit with them and see how they are doing. As they were previously some of my favorites, I really hope they are still doing well. And yes, of course, I'm talking about bourbon here.

Tonight I'll be catching up with Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, who I haven't seen since August 2013, and Four Roses Small Batch who was last treated very unfairly by being compared to two Limited Small Batch Releases in January 2013.

Four Roses Small Batch

Purchase Info: $31.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Viking Liquor Barrel, Prior Lake, MN

Details: 45% ABV

Nose: Ripe, juicy berries, almonds, and mint. This really reminds me of an alcoholic herbal tea blend.

Mouth: Follows the nose with ripe berries and herbal mint. Brown sugar, vanilla and a hint of oak that comes along for the ride.

Finish: Medium to short, but settles nicely in the chest with lingering sweet fruit.

Thoughts: Not to get too deep into the Four Roses marketing speak, but I've always found this to be a very mellow bourbon. Easy to drink with nice fruit and herbal flavors. I'm still a big fan of this one.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Purchase Info: $74.99 for a 750 mL bottle at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center Gift Shop (September).

Details: 69.7% ABV...you'll probably want at least a little water with this one.

Nose: Nutty oak, Cinnamon candies, caramel, vanilla, and baking spices.

Mouth: This is a hot one that you don't really want to drink neat or hold in your mouth very long, as might be guessed at very near to 140 proof. Beyond heat is a sweet bourbon with lots of caramel, nutty oak, and baking spices.

Finish: This finish is long and very warm with lingering oak and spices.

Thoughts: I've been enjoying the heck out of this one since I opened it. At this proof and price, I don't go to it often, but that's because I don't want to empty it too fast. Big, big fan of this.

Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Bourbon: Pre-Hiatus vs. Post-Hiatus

June 23, 2016 Eric Burke

An Elijah Craig 18 year old bottle that has been empty for 4 years plus a sample from it and a sample from a current bottle that have been empty for 4 days.

I used to work with some amazing people. My wife was going through chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and was suffering from immense bone pain due to it. They put together a collection to get her a night in a hotel with a private hot-tub to help alleviate the pain. It was an immensely nice gesture and very much appreciated.

While we were there I was an attentive errand boy, as I was every time a chemo weekend came up. But there were times when she was sleeping or we were watching tv when I could hop on twitter and spend a little time escaping from the reality we were living by reading about whiskey. And then I read a post from Pops over at Bourbon and Banter that Elijah Craig 18 yer old was going away. I didn’t really care too much. I never cared too much for it, but my wife was very upset. At $45 it was one of her favorite bourbons that wouldn’t break the bank. She likes oak a lot more than I do.

So I did what any good husband would do, I left the hotel to go get two bottles to put away. One I still have, we plan to open it up next year to celebrate 5 years cancer-free. The other we drank pretty quickly, but as always I put aside a few samples in my sample library to have in the future.

It turns out it is now the future. Elijah Craig 18 year is back. It’s almost three times the price, but it has been seen off and on at my local Total Wine. I did not buy it. I didn’t want to spend that much on a whiskey that historically I did not like. But luckily a friend of mine did buy it and knowing that Robin was a fan, gave her a healthy sample. I in turn gave him one of the samples I put away so he could compare. Then I pulled out my other sample so I could compare them as well.

It was a fun tasting. We did it blind in order to gauge which we liked better without any preconceptions being attached. So…is the one we have in the closet better than the one we could find today?

Elijah Craig 18 Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon Pre-Hiatus Versus Post-Hiatus.

Bourbon A:

Nose: Pear, caramel, oak and baking spices.

Mouth: Light and fruity with lively spices. Pear caramel, baking spices and herbal notes.

Finish: Spicy and warm with lingering herbal and fruity notes.

Thoughts: I would never guess this is 18 years old. It is a lively pour that almost dances across the senses. It is really good. I might even buy this one…if the price was right.

Bourbon B:

Nose: Creme Brûlée, floral notes and dusty oak.

Mouth: A little thin on the mouth feel. Caramel, mint and oak predominate.

Finish: Lingering oak and herbal notes along with a nice burn that sticks around for a while. Much of the flavor comes from the finish on this one.

Thoughts: This is muted and accentuates the oak flavors. It feels old and a bit tired. I don’t know that I’d buy it again based on this bottle. It’s just kinda meh.

So which is which? Can I go buy the energetic, virile, young 18 year old bourbon? Or am I stuck buying a tired, old bourbon at the end of its useful life? Well, I’m happy to say that Bourbon A was the post-hiatus Elijah Craig and that Bourbon B was the pre-hiatus version. And in a rare case of whiskey-math working like regular math, I think the bourbon that costs almost three times as much as it used to, is approximately that much better than it used to be. I’m shocked to say it, but I might even buy one of these if I see it on the shelf. Even at $130. Weird.

Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond

May 26, 2016 Eric Burke

There are seldom times when I am so pleasantly surprised by a whiskey as I was by the one I’m reviewing tonight. No matter how many times I read that people (even people I trusted) were recommending Mellow Corn, I just couldn’t bring myself to buy it. In fact, this would probably have never been reviewed if I hadn’t received a big sample from a friend of mine.

I thought he was giving it to me because he was trying to get rid of it and I accepted it because…free whiskey. Over and over I’d have a thought about things I could do with it. But each time I was almost ready to crack the sample the little thought of “you know you’re going to have to put that in your mouth, right?” would start up and I’d put it back on the shelf.

Finally, I’d had enough of that little voice. I decided to just plow ahead and review it. I figured in the worst case, I always need something to warn people away from. And who knows, in the best case, I might actually like it as much as others seem to.

I’ve had a lot of corn whiskey. Most of it had no age on it. Most of them I hated. And even those I liked, I don’t find myself going back to that often. So the fact that this was aged for four years and was Bottled in Bond was a factor in it’s favor. According to Chuck Cowdery it was four years in used barrels, but still four years is nothing to sneeze at.

When I sat down to review this, the first thing I did was nose it. And…the nose was really nice! Hmmm…

Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond

Purchase Info: MGM Wine & Spirits, Burnsville, MN. $12.99 for a 1L bottle

Details: 50% ABV. Distilled at DSP-KY-354. Bottled at DSP-KY-31.

Nose: Sweet and fruity with notes of caramel, vanilla and green apple.

Mouth: Hot and sweet. Vanilla, mint, and almond notes are readily apparent.

Finish: Warm and sweet with decent length.

Thoughts: This is not a complicated whiskey. But if you are looking for something warm and sweet to sip on while playing cards or chatting with friends, this is one to check out. I was very pleasantly surprised with this one.

Bottom-Shelf Bourbon Brackets 2016: Championship Rounds

March 31, 2016 Eric Burke

The Championship rounds: Buckhorn, Very Old Barton 86 proof, Evan Williams 1783 and JW Dant

Here we are: the Championship rounds! We’ve made it through the opening rounds and tonight we find out which of our Bottom Shelf Challengers will graduate to the Fancy Shelf.

Once again, I am struck by just how good the competition has been. Most years we’ve had a clunker or two that made it in. This year, I liked every bottle that made it into the competition. I blame this on the fact that we were just able to find better bourbons in the price range this year.

In fact, I’d say that the story of the year was certainly the “Total Wine effect.” Total Wine sells their national brands at as close to cost as they can get away with while marking up their store brands with a higher margin. This has had the effect of driving up the selection and driving down the price at many of their local competitors. Prices have been driven down to the point where many of the bourbons I included this year, wouldn’t have qualified last year.

Normally I have to scramble to find eight items to include. This year, I didn’t have that problem. The increase in local competition has made it such that I actually had plenty of choices and was able to be a little choosier about what I included (leading to that lack of clunkers mentioned above). By way of example, three of the four of the finalists either used to be sold at a higher price or weren’t in the market at all before Total Wine came in.

Yep. The Total Wine Effect is in full swing. And right now spirits consumers are winning in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market. To this point, unlike the many dire predictions from before Total Wine showed up, there have been few liquor store closings that I have noticed. If anything I find more reasons to spend money at more liquor stores than I did before. I now shop at seven-eight regularly instead of the three-four I visited in years past.

So here we go. The Championship Rounds. These were tasted blind again. And remember as with previous years, these were not formal tasting notes, just impressions to let us decide which one we liked better.

Round 2: Down to Four

Division 1: #4 seed Buckhorn vs #2 seed Evan Williams 1783

Thoughts: Bourbon A has a slightly richer nose and gets the nod there. A is sweeter on the mouth while B is more grain forward by comparison. Toss in a relatively and enjoyable finish on both and seems that A is fitting our palates better.

Winner: So which is which? Very much to our surprise, Bourbon B was Evan Williams 1783 while Total Wine house brand Buckhorn was Bourbon A. Buckhorn moves on.

Division 2: #1 seed JW Dant Bottled in Bond vs #2 seed Very Old Barton (86 proof)

Thoughts: Both of these have nice sweet noses. If forced to choose a favorite, I’d say A for being slightly sweeter. In the mouth A is slightly more grain forward while B has slightly more depth to it. These are both tasty and are well matched to on another. In the end Bourbon B gets the nod by a hair.

Winner: So which is which? Once again to our surprise Bourbon A was previous winner JW Dant Bottled in Bond and Bourbon B was lower proof VOB 86 proof. Very Old Barton 86 proof moves on.

Fancy Shelf Championship

Buckhorn vs Very Old Barton 86 proof

This is the first time we haven’t had at least one Heaven Hill product in the Championship round. Instead we have a couple Sazerac products competing. Buckhorn is the Total Wine Exclusive made by Sazerac under the Clear Spring Distillery name and Very Old Barton is made at Sazerac’s Barton 1792 distillery. In a break from every other year, both of these beat out higher proof competition to make it to this point. Which is a testament to the quality of the bourbon that Sazerac/Barton/Buffalo Trace is putting out even at lower proofs.

Thoughts: The nose on Bourbon A is fruitier and a little sweeter while Bourbon B brings a little more cinnamon red hots to the party. The mouth follows the nose with A being fruitier and B being spicier with a little more oak presence. This is close but in the end I gotta give it to Bourbon B, but just barely.

Winner: So which was which? Bourbon A was Buckhorn and our winner Bourbon B was Very Old Barton 86 proof.

Blog

If you've had Heaven Hill Black, then...

If you've had Heaven Hill Green, then...

If you've had Heaven Hill White, then...

Heaven Hill 6-Year-Old, Green Label

Elijah Craig Small Batch, Single Barrel Selection by Ace Spirits

"Best of the Great Kentucky Bourbons"

Heaven Hill Black Label, 80 proof

Four Roses Small Batch

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

Elijah Craig 18 Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon Pre-Hiatus Versus Post-Hiatus.

Bourbon A:

Bourbon B:

Mellow Corn Bottled in Bond

Round 2: Down to Four

Fancy Shelf Championship