Heaven Hill 7yo Bottled in Bond Straight Bourbon (50.0%): Remember the craze when Heaven Hill announced to discontinue their worst kept secret Kentucky state only 6yo Bottled in Bond bourbon almost two years ago..? So, this is the new BIB which replaced the old one with an additional year of maturation and a 250% price increase. Even though it is available in multiple states now it's still a hot commodity, highly allocated and really hard to find... It is distilled from a mashbill consisting of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley and since it is a Bottled in Bond whiskey it is a product of one distilling season, stored in a federally bonded warehouse for at least four years (in this case seven), bottled at 100 proof (50% abv) and marked with the name and Distilled Spirit Plant (D.S.P.) number of the distillery that made it (in this case it is D.S.P.-KY-31) on its label. Well, I have a bottle at home and let's pop it open to see what all the hype is about.
Color: Medium amber, orange blossom honey with thin but very persistent legs.
Color: Medium amber, orange blossom honey with thin but very persistent legs.
Nose: Corn bread, boiled peanuts and melting butter. Salted caramel, fresh tarragon leaves and sesame seeds. Peanut butter, fresh sage and tobacco leaves.
Palate: Pretty much follows what the nose suggested before with the addition of heavily toasted oak staves and more spice. Tobacco, whole cloves, cardamom and allspice. Apple cinnamon muffins, peanut brittles and cooked chestnuts.
Finish: Long with cinnamon dust, oak, white pepper and Werther's Original hard caramel candies.
Overall: Although I don't enjoy too much corn dominated mashbills I very much enjoyed this bourbon... Yes, the nose is corn heavy to say the least but the savory and spicy tobacco, old leather and oak notes on the palate balance them very well. I don't remember its 6yo predecessor well enough to do a comparison now since I had it only once or twice in my life but in this day and age we kinda got used (they made us get used) to pay 40 bucks for a bottle of bourbon we like to sip... Is this bottle worth the price tag..? I'll let you be the judge on this one. To be honest I am torn... At the end I didn't feel too bad about having paid the price but I also have a couple of other favorites in the same price range.
Finish: Long with cinnamon dust, oak, white pepper and Werther's Original hard caramel candies.
Overall: Although I don't enjoy too much corn dominated mashbills I very much enjoyed this bourbon... Yes, the nose is corn heavy to say the least but the savory and spicy tobacco, old leather and oak notes on the palate balance them very well. I don't remember its 6yo predecessor well enough to do a comparison now since I had it only once or twice in my life but in this day and age we kinda got used (they made us get used) to pay 40 bucks for a bottle of bourbon we like to sip... Is this bottle worth the price tag..? I'll let you be the judge on this one. To be honest I am torn... At the end I didn't feel too bad about having paid the price but I also have a couple of other favorites in the same price range.
Price: $40
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