Parker's Heritage Collection 2016

This is the tenth year of Heaven Hill's Parker's Heritage Collection (If you don't know the history, I recently recapped all of the Parker's Heritage Collection bottlings). This year's bottling is a 24 year old bottled in bond bourbon distilled at the pre-fire Heaven Hill distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky.

There are two releases of this year's bourbon: one was distilled in the Fall 1990 and the other in the Spring of 1991. I will be tasting the Fall 1990 release.

Parker's Heritage Collection 2016, 24 years old, 50% abv ($250)

The nose starts with light caramel and honey, Evan Williams like, and then develops nice oaky/leather notes. The palate comes on strong and oaky with a nice caramel in the back. The finish is strongly bitter.

The nose and palate on this bourbon are very strong and hearken back to the good old days of Parker's. The only flaw is in the finish which is too bitter. The good news is that even with the bitter finish, this is tasty stuff and the best Parker's Heritage release in years. The bad news is the price.

Thanks to Chris Dion for the sample.

Ten Years of Parker's Heritage Collection

Last week, Heaven Hill cleared a label for the tenth release of its Parker's Heritage Collection, which will be a 24 year old bottled in bond bourbon. Given that it's now been around for a decade, I thought this would be a good time to look at the Collection as a whole over the years. For each bottling, I've included the original price.

First Edition (2007) Cask Strength Bourbon ($80): The very first release of Parker's was a high power bourbon. Composed of 68 barrels distilled in 1996, it was released in three batches at slightly different proofs (122.6, 127.4 & 129.6). This was a delicious monster of a bourbon (and as per the world of 2007, it sat on shelves for months). The 122.6 proof is still my favorite of the entire Parker's series.

Second Edition (2008) 27 Year Old Bourbon, 48% abv ($185): These days, we're used to bourbon aged well into its third decade, but back in '08, few bourbons pushed past the 20 year mark and this 27 year old was, by far, the oldest bourbon available when it came out. That being said, it's a rare bourbon that can hold up over 20 years, and this one had some musty, old woody notes. It was good but didn't reach the heights of the first release.

Third Edition (2009) Golden Anniversary, 50% abv ($150): In honor of Parker Beam's 50 years at Heaven Hill, the Third Edition of Parker's combined bourbons from each decade he was on the job going back to the 1960s. This one made waves for receiving the highest rating to date from Malt Advocate Magazine (now Whisky Advocate): 97 points. I liked it but wasn't quite that enthusiastic; I thought it was on the sweet side. (I'm not sure why I never wrote this one up on the blog but I did rate it for the LA Whiskey Society).

Fourth Edition (2010) 10 Year old Wheated Bourbon, 63.9% abv ($80): After a couple of years of high priced Parker's that I liked but didn't love, Heaven Hill dropped a cask strength ten year old wheated bourbon and lowered the price back down to $80. And it was great! It had a great balance of sweet, savory and oaky notes. This was particularly surprising since Heaven Hill's standard wheated bourbons were mostly an afterthought back then. This is my second favorite after the First Edition.

Fifth Edition (2011) Barrel Finished, 10 years old, 50% abv ($80): This was a ten year old bourbon finished for six months in Frapin Cognac casks. The Cognac really came through and made for a tasty, if not exceptional bourbon.

Sixth Edition (2012) Blend of Mashbills, 11 years old ($80): The sixth edition was a blend of rye and wheat recipe bourbons bottled at cask strength. Like the first edition, this one was released in three batches at three different abvs (65.8%, 68.95% & 69.7%). This bourbon managed to capture the good elements of both mashbills and was a solid bourbon. This was probably the last of the very good to great Parker's Heritage Collection whiskeys. After 2012, the series really went into decline.

Seventh Edition (2013) Promise of Hope, 10 years old, 48% abv ($90): In 2013, Parker Beam, the Heaven Hill Master Distiller who the Heritage Collection was named for, announced that he had ALS. The Promise of Hope bottling helped raise awareness of ALS, and for every bottle sold, $20 went to ALS research. This was a ten year old, single barrel, rye recipe bourbon; 100 barrels were released. It was a noble cause to be sure, but while it was a decent bourbon, dry with a chaotic palate, it wasn't great.

Eighth Edition (2014) Wheat Whiskey, 13 years old ($90). For years, Heaven Hill was the only major distillery that produced a straight wheat whiskey (Bernheim Wheat), so it made sense that they would use one in a Parker's Release. This one had two batches at different abvs: 63.4% and 63.7%. I thought the 63.7% was decent for a wheat whiskey, but I found the 63.4% to be a sour and acidic mess. Most others didn't see much of a difference between the two.

Ninth Edition (2015) Malt Whiskey, 8 years old, 54% abv ($100). This was a pretty surprising release. Who even knew that Heaven Hill had made malt whiskey, but here it was, and it was pretty bad. I found it soapy and cardboardy with no complexity. Definitely my least favorite of the entire series.

Will this year's 24 year old return the Parker's Heritage Collection to its past glory? Will it set a record for pricing of the series? Will anyone be able to find it? Will Heaven Hill ever appease the whiskey geeks who have been pining for a 10 year old cask strength rye or a really old corn whiskey? Time will tell.

ADDENDUM (To keep the list complete)

Tenth Edition (2016) 24 Year Old BIB, 50% abv ($250). Pre-fire Heaven Hill bourbon distilled in 1990 and 1991.

Eleventh Edition (2017) 11 Year Old Single Barrel, 61% abv ($130).  This single barrels that were bottled for this edition all came from Rickhouses in Deatsville which, according to Heaven Hill, was Parker Beam's favorite rickhouse location. The precise rickhouse and floor is listed on each bottle.

A.H. Hirsch Blind Tasting Results

Back in May, I announced a blind tasting in which I would pit the classic A.H. Hirsch 16 year old gold foil against an off the shelf bourbon. After receiving hundreds of responses, I picked 12 individuals for the tasting. I tried to create a diverse group so I included people with a variety of tasting experience.  All were whiskey drinkers (they read my blog after all), but some had more bourbon experience than others. I picked some people I knew and some completely at random. The one requirement was that no one in the tasting could have tasted any A.H. Hirsch bottling.

Each taster was given two sample bottles, labeled only "A" and "B." One contained the A.H. Hirsch 16 year old; the other contained...Elijah Craig Small Batch, which I bought at my local shop for $25 (the one I bought for this tasting was the version that still had the 12 year old age statement on the back label, which has since been removed).

Each taster was given their bottles individually and was told to report back to me, in as much detail as they cared to give, about which bourbon they liked best and why. The goal of the blind tasting was to see how a cherished bourbon that goes for thousands of dollars on the secondary market would compare to a standard, good bottle of bourbon off the shelf.

Well, the results are in and...it's a tie. Six of the tasters preferred the Hirsch and six preferred the Elijah Craig.  There was not particular pattern having to do with tasting experience. A few bourbon veterans correctly identified which was the Hirsch, but not even all of them thought it was the best. And many tasters were lukewarm to both samples. That being said, a few tasters were very excited by the Hirsch and found it markedly better. Below are a few excerpts from the tasters' notes on each bourbon.

A.H. Hirsch, 16 year old (gold foil), 45.8% abv.

• "Not as complex"
• "Okay, nothing I'd run out and get, no matter the price"
• "Very smooth, sweet, warm, maybe a little one-note, though."
• "It has a really nice old-time flavor that I enjoyed."
• "It goes bitter on the palate and I'd call it over oaked. There's some wet grass in there. Overall it comes off as very tired."
• "This is pretty great. Not crazy complex or powerful, but well balanced. If this is the Hirsch, it lives up to the hype for me."
• "I wouldn't turn it down at a bar, but I wouldn't be excited to drink more of this."
• "Classic dusty caramel mouth feel."
• "Nothing I'd run out and get, no matter the price."
• "A fairly straightforward dusty-like pour with a lot of higher alcohol notes and a classic woody character."

Elijah Craig Small Batch (12 year old on back label), 47% abv ($25)

• "Banana bomb like most current bourbons."
• "Harsh and alcoholy."
• "TONS of butterscotch! The mouth-feel on this was much nicer than A, with a velvety smooth feeling..almost creamy."
• "Dry taste and mouth feel at first, tastes older but not sure it is, lots of dry wood."
• "I'd buy it, though not for three or four figures."
• "Spicier, the sweetness is at the backdrop and there is more balance from nose to palate on this one for me. It's a creamier dram."
• "Simple bourbon with not much in the way of flaws but nothing to make me want more."
• "When I think of bourbon, this is the essential profile I imagine." 

And a few concluding notes folks had on both of them:

• "I honestly didn't really enjoy either one. They would not be something I would go back to my bar for consistently."
• "Neither is fantastic."
• "I'm disappointed I didn't really jump for joy over at least one of these."

What does it all mean? 

Twelve people is too small a sample size to make any definitive statement, but the failure of Hirsch to blow away the competition, even among those who preferred it, certainly raises questions about its current value. If a bourbon that costs four figures on the secondary market isn't demonstrably better than a $25 off the shelf pick, then its value is obviously based on something other than the quality of the whiskey. The fact that it's scarce, no longer in production and famous increases its value just as scarcity does among any other collectible, and like it or not (and I'm firmly in the "not" camp), bourbon is now that sort of collectible. But if you're one of those increasingly rare folks who actually buys rare whiskey to drink, I would think this tasting might make you pause before plopping down thousands of your hard earned dollars on a bourbon that you might not like much better than one you could buy today for $25.

Many thanks to the Hirsch tasting group for their time and their fantastic notes. 

Despite Previous Denials, Elijah Craig 12 Drops Age Statement

After a lot of internet chatter from various sources over the last few days, Fred Minnick went on the record with the news that Heaven Hill will drop its 12 year old age statement from Elijah Craig, which will now be NAS (no age statement).

We all know the drill by now. A company claims that they had to drop the age statement because they are short on old whiskey and that they need the flexibility to blend in some younger whiskeys but that the average age will still be around the same, and it will taste the same. For the first few months, maybe a year, it does taste pretty much the same, but after that, it drops off quickly. Then, maybe a few years later, they release a limited edition age stated whiskey at double or triple the price. It's like the plot of the new Star Wars movie: totally formulaic following a very predictable script.

But here's the rub that makes this one extra slimy. Last year, Heaven Hill got rid of the "12" on the front label of Elijah Craig and moved it to the back. Many saw that as a sign that the age statement would soon be removed altogether. Heaven Hill's Bernie Lubbers addressed these rumors on his blog (he also mentions Eagle Rare's similar move with their ten year old, but Eagle Rare is made by a different company):

Eagle Rare (Buffalo Trace), and Elijah Craig (Heaven Hill Brands) have both come under some criticism lately for a label change. The age statements of 10 and 12 years have been moved to the back label. In the case of Elijah Craig, we put a barrel on the front, and emphasized Small Batch more. Well my goodness when you read some of the threads online you’d think were drowning people’s puppies, or are doing something SO devious that we are just trying to hide that we will definitely take the age statement off, and SOON.

Well we are NOT being devious, or trying to be misleading in any way. Whether the age statement is on the front or the back, or in writing, or in numbers, every drop is still 12 years old – PERIOD. There might be a time where we are faced with a decision of whether to take the age statement off completely, or leave it on forever. But these are just decisions you have to make in real time when reality raises it’s head and you’re faced with either keeping a whiskey at a certain age, or taking the age off, and trying as best as you can to keep the flavor profile the same.

That was on June 2, 2015. Despite Lubbers' attempt at face-saving caveats, I would say that taking the age off seven months later is "SOON," and that is, indeed, pretty devious. This saddens me as Heaven Hill has always seemed to be honest with their whiskeys and their information. Lying to consumers is bad business and doing it in a condescending way makes it that much worse.

From now on, I will give zero credence to any statement coming from Heaven Hill. Hell, given that Lubbers went out of his way to deny it, maybe they are drowning puppies.

See more good stuff on the Elijah Craig debacle, and a somewhat contrary view, from Red White & Bourbon, who brought my attention to the quote above. 

Cadenhead's Heaven Hill...or is it?

Heaven Hill seems to be one of the only bourbons bottled by independent Scotch bottlers. A few years ago, I reviewed an Alchemist bottling of Heaven Hill. Now, I'm tasting a Cadenhead's bottle of 17 year old Heaven Hill.

Interestingly, this bottle is 17 years old and was bottled in July 2014. If it went directly from cask to bottle, that would mean it was distilled in between August 1996 and July 1997. The Heaven Hill distillery, though, burnt down in a massive fire in November 1996, so if this is from Heaven Hill, it must have been some of the last distillate made from the Bardstown Distillery.

After the fire, Heaven Hill contracted out distilling to the other big Kentucky distilleries, including Jim Beam and Brown Forman. In 1999, they purchased the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville which now distills all of Heaven Hill's whiskeys.

The label on this bottle states that it was "Distilled at Heaven Hill Distilleries in Bardstown, Kentucky" so presumably, that's what it is.  Of course, it could have been distilled earlier than 1996 and stored in steel tanks, and since whiskey can always be older than the stated age, it could be older than 17 years, though it would be odd to use a lower age statement on a single barrel bottling (assuming that this is a single barrel. It's labeled "Individual Cask," whatever that means.)

Heaven Hill 17 year old Cadenhead's, 58% abv

The nose is heavily peanutty. The palate is oaky with light peanut notes trailing off into the finish with brown sugar. Hmm, this is very Beamy tasting with that peanut nose. In fact, it tastes much more like old Beam, say an older Booker's, than pre-fire Heaven Hill. Either way, it's quite good, and who doesn't love a bourbon with a little mystery?

Parker's Heritge Collection Malt Whiskey

There was some surprise when Heaven Hill announced that this year's edition of Parker's Heritage Collection would be an eight year old malt whiskey. Who even knew that Heaven Hill was aging malt? What's next year's release going to be? Spelt whiskey? Triticale? Are they just teasing those of us who are salivating over the idea of a ten year old, cask strength rye?

I didn't make much effort to try this one, but when Josh from The Whiskey Jug showed up at a tasting with a bottle, I figured I'd give it a shot.

Parker's Heritage Collection Malt Whiskey, 8 years old, 54% abv ($100)

This stuff smells like vanilla scented soap. The palate has oak and cardboard and is slightly sweet. That's pretty much all there is to it, and that same oaky cardboard note carries into the finish. It's boring with no complexity or depth of flavor.

I've often thought the problem with American malt whiskeys is that malted barley is too subtle a grain to withstand the new, charred oak required by American regulations. This seems to confirm that supposition. That being said, lots of other folks seem to like it (including The Whiskey Jug), so as always, different strokes for different folks.

The Sku Awards: Stupidest Bourbon

Everyone is always saying that there just aren't enough whiskey awards. To help cure this horrible shortage, all this week I will be presenting the Sku Awards. While most awards recognize greatness in whiskey or large entry fee payments, the Sku Awards celebrate stupidity, though I am happy to take entry fees. We will get started with the coveted Stupidest Bourbon award.

Stupidest Bourbon: John E. Fitzgerald 20 year old

This is possibly the most competitive category in whiskey today. From Kentucky Owl to Blood Oath to Blade & Bow, it really is the Golden Age of Stupid Bourbon. But just when Diageo thought it had cornered the market on stupid, Heaven Hill blasts in with this tiny vial of diluted Stitzel-Weller juice for $300 that comes in its own tomb.  There's no question, this is the stupidest bourbon of the year, possibly of the decade.

Congratulations to Heaven Hill!  Please contact me for your shelf talker and feel free to add this award to your promotional materials.

Tomorrow: The Year's Stupidest Whiskey Labels

Behold His Majesty John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve

"Stunning." "Amazing." "Mind blowingly awesome!" These are just a few of the comments in my notes reviewing the box that contains Heaven Hill's new John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve Bourbon. It's a huge cube of polished wood with a giant keyhole on either side; the wood's beautiful reddish hue is reminiscent of the color of the bourbon. The box opens outward to reveal the tiny rectangular bottle sitting on a pedestal over an engraved plaque. As you open it, a trumpet fanfare plays in your head. It's as if you had just opened the Lost Ark or the final horcrux. The bottle itself is thick glass with a heavy, metal stopper that feels like it could kill a rhino. It almost makes you forget how much they charged for this half bottle.

So what is the whiskey inside this lovely tomb?  Does it matter? Will anyone drink it? Well, it's none other than 20 year old Stitzel-Weller. According to Heaven Hill, this wheated bourbon was distilled in 1992, Stitzel-Weller's last year of production, and moved to steel tanks in 2013. It's bottled at 90 proof in a 375 ml bottle for a suggested retail price of $300.

The nose is fantastic, super oaky and dry like some of the best old Stitzel-Wellers.  Unfortunately, the palate doesn't follow suit. It's fruity and sweet with some cocoa, but it's lacking the strong oak notes and complexity of the nose. The flavors are diluted with a watery mouthfeel.  The finish is very light and a bit fruity. It's too bad that it didn't live up to the promise of the nose.

So this a good, not great bourbon. But kudos to Heaven Hill for finally producing a bourbon that people can be honest about when they declare, on illegal bourbon selling sites, that "the value of the item is in the collectible container, not its contents."

Thanks to the great Chris Stevenson for being one of the few people on the planet willing to say, "Hey I just got a Fitz 20, let's drink it."

The New Rittenhouse 100

Since I reviewed the new Pikesville Rye from Heaven Hill earlier this week, I thought I would check up on Heaven Hill's standard rye offering: Rittenhouse 100.

For many years after a fire demolished the old Bardstown, Kentucky Heaven Hill distillery in 1996, Rittenhouse Rye was made for Heaven Hill by Brown Forman.  Within the last year or two, Heaven Hill's own distillate, from the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville which it purchased after the fire, has started to appear in Rittenhouse bottles. I haven't done a formal review since the Brown Forman days so I thought it would be interesting to have a taste.

Rittenhouse 100, Bottled in Bond, 50% abv ($25)

The nose has honey and spice; it smells like the baking aisle in a market. On the palate, the spice is in the forefront followed by the honey and some more perfume type notes. The finish is slightly bitter with a touch of honey sweetness.

This is quite different than my memories of the Rittenhouse distilled at Brown Forman and not in a good way. The sweet honey notes are a bit too prominent for my tastes. The honey gives it a floral/perfume note that hides some of the spice, and I don't generally like a lot of perfume in my whiskey. It's a very disappointing result for a whiskey that used to be an old standby at a great price.

Pikesville Rye 6 year 110 proof

Heaven Hill recently introduced a new 110 proof, 6 year old version of its Pikesville Rye.  Pikesville is an old Maryland brand long owned by Heaven Hill and made in Kentucky.  For years, it was a very good budget brand. I've always been a fan of Heaven Hill ryes so I'm excited to see how this one measures up.

Pikesville Rye 100 Proof, 6 yo ($50)


This has got a nice, spicy nose with just a touch of honey in the background. The palate starts with bold rye spice and then develops some sweetness. It's a spice bomb with mint, clove and ginger. The finish is sweet and spicy with lots of ginger, but then it turns medicinal and bitter. Oh, and don't add water, it brings out bananas and other, weird fruity notes.

I was hoping to be blown away by this, but it was not to be. It's not at all bad (though the finish is a bit out of balance), but I found it underwhelming. That beings aid, it will make a fine addition to the ryes on the shelf today, and it's good to see a higher proof rye offering.

Proof Positive? Two Batches of Parker's Heritage Collection Wheat Whiskey

This year's Parker's Heritage Collection is a 13 year old Wheat Whiskey.  Heaven Hill has released at least two dumps at different proofs: 127.4 and 126.8, so I tried one of each to compare.  From what I can tell the 127.4 came out first and was the version sent to reviewers.

Parker's Heritage Collection Wheat Whiskey, 13 yo., 127.4 proof, 63.7% abv ($90)

The nose has soapy bourbon notes, like a bourbon-bubble bath, then a touch of oak. The palate is caramel sweet with a hint of acid that grows into the finish but keeps some wood to balance it out. The finish on the nose is quite nice, like a good, oaky wheated bourbon. Water adds some nice vanilla notes and gives it some wood spice.

This is exactly what you would expect it to be, an oakier, more complex version of Heaven Hill's Bernheim Wheat Whiskey.  Wheat whiskey isn't for everyone, but if you like Bernheim, you'll love this more sophisticated and very balanced version.   

Parker's Heritage Collection Wheat Whiskey, 13 yo, 126.8 proof, 63.4% abv ($90)

The nose has brown sugar and oak followed by earthy almost mushroomy notes.  The palate is quite different, sweet first, then quickly acidic, very acidic like it has a squirt of lemon in it.  The acid massively dominates the finish on the palate, but the nose retains the earthy stuff.  The acidic notes are so strong they really put the whole thing out of balance and give it a burning sensation that the first batch didn't have, even though the first batch is higher proof.  Water helps give it some composure and mutes it a bit but doesn't save it.  I definitely would not buy a bottle of this.


It's stunning how different these two batches are.  The first is quite nice and well balanced whereas the second is a bit of fiasco.  Not surprisingly, the freebie bottles that went to reviewers (not me) all seem to have been from the first batch.  I feel sorry for those who, based on those reviews, grabbed the second batch. 

Henry McKenna from Everson Royce

Today, I'll taste a bottle of Heaven Hill's Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond Bourbon bottled for Everson Royce in Pasadena.

Henry McKenna BIB 10 year old Single Barrel, Barrel 6386, 50% abv ($28.50)

The nose on this is really great with caramel and oak.  It reminds me of the nose on the old Elijah Craig 18 year olds.   The palate follows through well; it starts with that nice sweet/oaky balance, and then turns nicely spicy and earthy which is what sticks around into the finish.

This stuff is just really good bourbon. It's complex and rich, elements that are lacking in so many of today's bourbons.  Heaven Hill clearly still has some wonderful barrels in its massive warehouse.

The Whiskey Jug blog recently asked a number of whiskey fans (myself included) what they wanted to see from the whiskey industry.  Most of the answers boiled down to good product at a reasonable price with honest information and no gimmicks or inflated back stories.  Well, here's a prime example.  At a time of the year when people are searching the world over for the privilege of overpaying for a single bottle of Pappy or BTAC, it's comforting to know that you can walk into a liquor store today, pay less than $30, and go home with a great bottle of bourbon.

Disclaimer:  The sample I tasted was given to me by someone who is not affiliated with Everson Royce or Heaven Hill but who received a free sample from the store.

More Bourbon from Japan: Martin Mills 24

This is another legendary bourbon for the Japanese export market. Japan became interested in aged American whiskey about a decade before the US, so there were many aged whiskeys that went to the Japanese market that we never saw in the US.

Martin Mills was a Heaven Hill bourbon distilled in 1974 and bottled in 1999.

Martin Mills 24 yo, 53.5% abv

The nose is deep and rich with espresso notes.  The palate is both rich and savory with red wine notes, and the finish is sweet and candy like.  This one is terrific, changing in flavor from nose to finish with the emergence of sweeter notes toward the end.  It's really well done and quite wonderful.

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.

Elijah Craig 21

Heaven Hill's Elijah Craig bourbon just keeps getting older and older.  For years, Elijah Craig single barrel was an 18 year old.  Then, in 2011, they released a Elijah Craig 20 year old.  Now, there's a 21 year old, and TTB COLAs show that it will likely be followed by 22 year old and 23 year old expressions.  Of course, as the whiskey gets older, the price goes up by an even higher rate.  The 18 year old used to be in the $40 range.  The 20 and 21 year old are a full $100 more than that.

And keep in mind that these are single barrels, so different barrels will vary (and Elijah Craig is particularly known for barrel variation).

Elijah Craig 21 year old, Barrel #6, 45% abv ($150)

The nose is very nice and very typical of Elijah Craig with lots of polished wood notes and some spice.  The palate is dry and spicy with lots of oak and a touch of acid; that sourness of the acid dominates the early finish but is then followed by some brown sugar and really nice oaky bourbon notes.

Overall, these super aged Elijah Craigs have not impressed me.  I'm a fan of oak, but I think this one just has a bit too much and the sour notes didn't help.  I really wish they would have just kept releasing Elijah Craig at 18, which may have been the best age for this bourbon, but in today's market, I suppose it's hard not to ramp up the age and the price. 

Mind Your Batches & Barrels

Last week, I reviewed the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof which comes in two releases.  The first release was fantastic.  The second was very good.  The only way to distinguish them is their batch numbers.

Similarly, I recently gave a very positive review to this year's Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel.  The one I found on my local shelf was Barrel 3-3J, which I loved.  Later, though, I tried 3-3I and found it to have a very different character.  Whereas 3-3J was spicy and complex, 3-3I was minty and medicinal, tasting blind, I actually guessed it was an MGP bourbon.  I thought 3-3J was exceptional while 3-3I was average.

Most big American single barrel releases have multiple barrels released.  In some cases, as with Four Roses, it's easy to track because they list a barrel number right on the bottle.  In others, like Knob Creek Single Barrel or EH Taylor Single Barrel, there is no indication anywhere what barrel the whiskey came from, so you have no idea if too bottles are the same or different.

Similarly, many whiskeys are produced in batches.  You have no way to tell the difference unless the label includes a batch number or, as with the Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, the whiskey is at cask strength, which means that each batch will have a different proof.  While the producers will claim that they are selecting barrels or batches with consistent flavor notes for these releases, the tastings clearly show that there is a difference, sometimes a big one.

And here's the rub: most reviewers only review one bottle of these whiskeys.  For the big guns, they get sent only one sample by the distilleries, and the little guys like me are only going to buy one bottle.  But the bottle I rate may not be the one that shows up on your shelf.  That's why it's very important to note, where possible, the batch and bottle number being reviewed.  I also do my best to try multiple batches, but it's not always possible, so do your best to mind your batches and barrels.

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof

One of the hottest new bourbons of the year is Elijah Craig Barrel Proof.  This is a barrel proof version of the popular Elijah Craig 12 year old that was released earlier this year, but has been nearly impossible to find.  This stuff came and went in a blink of an eye.  I'm told that the allocations are less than those for Pappy Van Winkle, so it will be tough to track down. The suggested retail price is $40, but I don't know if that's what it's actually been going for.

So far, there have been two releases, the first came out at 134.2 proof (67.1% abv) and a second issued at 137 proof (68.5% abv).  I sampled both of them below.


Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (first release), 12 years old, 67.1% abv

This has a huge, wonderful aroma of polished wood.  The palate is candy-sweet with some nice pine and oak notes.  The finish is rich and sweet.  Water brings out caramel on the nose and some tobacco and spice on the palate.

It's been a long time since a new bourbon release really blew me away, but this one did.  It's got huge wood notes balanced with candy sweetness, and with water, complex, spicy notes emerge.  Tasting blind, I would have guessed that this was far older than its 12 years.  A big win for Heaven Hill. 


Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (second release), 12 yo, 68.5% abv 

The nose on this release is more medicinal than the first.  The palate is woody, piney, with some acidic notes. The finish leaves a lot of candy on the nose.  This one also does well with water; in fact, it needs water more than the first release.  Water again brings some spice, but also some candy corn sweetness that settles in for the finish.

This is very good but doesn't quite reach the heights of the first release.  I would recommend both of these, particularly if they are anywhere near the suggested retail price, but if you have a choice, go for the initial 134.2 proof release.

Elijah Craig 20

I though I'd make this week a Heaven Hill trifecta. Elijah Craig 20 year old was first released in 2011 as a gift shop exclusive, but saw wider release last year (the gift shop bottlings have a blue label while the wider release has a brown label).  I'm not sure if there is more of it in the pipeline.  Like the 18 year old, it's a single barrel offering so quality can vary.

Elijah Craig 20, 45% ($130)

The nose on this has huge oak notes along with traditional bourbon corn.  The palate has oak, orange rind, some spice and dry wood notes, getting drier as it goes down.  By the finish, you're left with a very dry peppery wood note.

This is a good, solid bourbon, though it's quite heavy on the wood, and those more sensitive to wood might not like it.  I liked it much better than the Evan Williams 23, but for the price, I'd go for this year's Evan Williams single barrel.

Evan Williams 23 Year Old

In a time when whiskey age statements are dropping like flies, Heaven Hill is one of the few whiskey distilleries anywhere that is adding older age statements to its regular line up.  Within the last two years, the distillery introduced Elijah Criag 20 for the domestic market and Evan Williams 23 for the overseas market.  The Evan Williams 23 is available domestically but only at the Heaven Hill Visitor's Center, and only for $400, which is a pretty wild price for a 23 year old.  I tried the Evan Williams 23 as part of a blind tasting on Twitter (thanks to @Bourbontruth for setting it up).

Evan Williams 23 year old, 53.5% abv ($400)

The nose is hugely oaky with caramel and toffee.  The palate set me back with an acid attack.  It's sharply acidic, then yeasty.  With a bit of air, caramel notes emerge, but it's still really sour.  The finish gets back to some of the candy notes but still has that acidic sharpness.

I really didn't care for this.  The nose is nice, but the palate is way out of balance with the heavy acidic notes.  This was a gift shop bottling, and I've heard that some of the export bottlings are better, but this one is seriously flawed, and for the price, that's a real crime.

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2003

I've never been a huge fan of the Evan Williams Single Barrel series, but I always like to try a new whiskey.  As per usual, this year's release is just shy of ten years old, having been distilled in 2003.

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2003, Barrel 170, 43.3% abv ($25)

The nose is very grainy with light caramel.  On the palate, it's very corny with just a touch of spice.  The finish is peppery and slightly soapy.  This is a well done bourbon which emphasizes the corn in the mash.  The rye notes are so subtle that it almost has some wheater like qualities.

This is definitely one of the better Evan Williams Single Barrels I've had (and I've had most of them), and the good thing about this release is it's always a good deal and easy to find.