Monday, October 28, 2013

Parker's Heritage Collection 2013: Promise of Hope


The Seventh and, rumor has it, final edition of the vaunted Parker's Heritage Collection is the Promise of Hope.  Parker Beam, former Master Distiller of Heaven Hill, was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's Disease).  The idea of the Promise of Hope was to represent Parker Beam's favorite style of bourbon and to help honor him by contributing $20 per bottle sold to a special fund set up to benefit ALS research.

The bourbon is a ten year old, single barrel rye recipe bourbon picked from Beam's preferred warehouse and released at his preferred strength of 96 proof.  He chose 100 barrels to go into the release. 

Parker's Heritage Collection Promise of Hope, 10 yo, 48% abv ($90)

The nose has saw dust, coffee grounds, peanuts (or peanut candy really) and wood; it's got a lot going on but in a sort of confused way (as opposed to a complex way).  The palate is dry with mineral notes and wood.  The finish is dry and woody.

This is a very nice bourbon with dry, mineral notes that are so pronounced it could be confused with a Dickel.  I like it, though, as with last year's Blend of Mashbills, it's not quite up to par with the best releases of the collection.  Still, it's good bourbon and for a good cause.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

While not cheap, PHC has been great for Bourbon fans. I'll sure miss the series... if in fact this is the final release. I wish Parker and his family and friends all the best.
Oh, and as always with single barrel releases, not every bottle will taste the same and mileage will vary. Of course you know this Sku, but I thought it a helpful to mention for the unseasoned seasonal-release Googlers.

Lazer said...

Another example of how bad Sku's taste is. I thought the 2012 PHC was one of the best whiskeys I've ever had.

Anonymous said...

Lazer,
Piss off. Keep posting Sku. Many of us enjoy reading your reviews.

sku said...

I'm pretty sure Lazer was making a tongue in cheek comment, at lest with regard to my "bad taste." Of course, I welcome folks to disagree with me on pretty much anything.

Lazer said...

Sku already knows I'm not a troll, I just have a bad sense of humor.

Anonymous said...

Richnimrod said;
FYI, anybody...I found my example of the '13 PH to be entirely different from the way SKU found his; as to taste and nose profiles. (I often find his taste and mine to be similar.) I assume that's due to a rather divergent couple of barrels. Mine was pretty much in line with Heaven Hill's older offerings. In fact I could be persuaded that it is from a barrel that was intended to bottle up some Henry McKenna SB, BIB. It's very much in that vein. I like it very well, though it's not a bargain for the higher bux.