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.

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1792 High Rye and a Look at Whiskey Geeks

February 14, 2017 Eric Burke

Last week I asked a question that I thought was just going to be a bit of fun. The premise was that Whiskey Geeks complain. It's what we do. As a friend of mine once said while giving a bourbon talk, "we're a bitchy lot."

And it's true. We whiskey geeks are a passionate, opinionated people. If you ask a whiskey "expert" how you should take your bourbon, the answer will range from "drink it any damn way you want," to "no, here's the type of glass you should use and the setting you should be in." And that's just if the topic is ice. If you ask them about soda...Well, let's just say I almost had a bartender in Louisville start to tear up as he recounted a customer asking for a Pappy and Coke.

About the only topic that causes as much consternation is flippers. Geeks bitch about flippers. They bitch constantly and conspicuously. Partly it's because flippers contribute to a market where those who wants to drink a whiskey can no longer find it through legal channels or for anywhere near MSRP. Partly it's because a good portion of those people conspicuously bitching are just over-compensating for their own flipping.

So that's where things sat when I asked which people would rather see. I thought it would be a little fun, a few people would vote, and we'd get some laughs. What I didn't expect was to have to turn off comments on the post. I didn't expect every comment that came in to be an attack on those people participating. I saw "mouth-breathers." I saw "big-brother." I saw "Marxist." Eventually, I had enough and made one scolding comment and shut the rest off. The idea of whiskey geeks being whiskey geeks seemed to have touched a nerve.

One thing I never did was answer the question myself. And for me, the answer is easy. I'd much rather see someone truly enjoy a Pappy with Coke than see someone keep another from enjoying a bottle by flipping it. And it seems that most of you agreed with me. As of this writing, 73% of respondents voted the same way. 11% hated polls and thought that voting was stupid. Leaving only 17% of people who'd rather the price of a particular bottle get jacked through the roof than see it wasted with soda. For the record, there is no right answer...which is what makes it so much fun to argue about it.

So that's a recap. But let's turn away from what other people do with a limited edition whiskey and turn our thoughts to what we'd all like to do with one. Drink it. Tonight it's Valentine's Day, so it is appropriate that we are celebrating with one that my wife loves.

1792 High Rye

Purchase Info: 49.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Ace Spirits, Hopkins, MN

Details: 47.15% ABV. According to the company's website. This uses "a much higher percentage of rye as the secondary grain than most bourbons do."

Nose: Butterscotch, custard, cinnamon, mint and a pleasant nuttiness.

Mouth: Sweet and spicy with allspice, butterscotch and hints of mint and banana.

Finish: On the longer side of medium, with very little burn. Lingering mint and banana.

Thoughts: Like I said above, my wife loves this. She put a little heart as her rating in her tasting journal. Me? I like this a lot, but I'm not quite ready to give it a heart just yet. It's very close, though.

As I was finishing the tasting, thoughts of banana bread popped into my head. This is sweet with baking spices and hints of banana, so that isn't an outrageous comparison. And personally I love banana bread, so this is a compliment. I do know that some people react negatively to banana notes in their bourbon so be aware.

Like I said, for $50, I think this is a great whiskey and worth the price they are getting for it. I'd feel differently if they were asking $75 for it, though.

For the record, comments are off on this one too. Mostly because it's the same topic and I hate getting the emails that are full of spite and hatred. It's a bit of a gut-punch to an otherwise nice day. It's whiskey...it's not worth all the anger.

A Question for You and a review of Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Brandy Cask Finish

February 9, 2017 Eric Burke

I had to work late tonight. Worked up twelve logos for a heating and air conditioning contractor. Of those 12 I like 10 or 11 so I'm actually doing pretty good on the project. I only have to come up with a few more before I deliver concepts. But my brain is completely fried right now.

Added to that is the fact that tonight I'm reviewing a whiskey from a series that is usually regarded as being more interesting to taste than actually good to drink. And since I've talked about what the purpose of the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection is trying to accomplish, I'm going to take a hard left turn before we jump into the review.

Speaking of limited edition whiskey, I have a question for you. And I'm going to do my best to not lead you by giving any indication as to what my feelings on the matter are.

Would you rather see:

A) A person with more money than sense enjoy a limited, expensive and really tasty whiskey mixed with soda.

or:

B) A person run into a liquor store, snag a limited, expensive and really tasty whiskey, and then post it online from the car to flip it before even leaving the parking lot?

And now on to the review.

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection, Brandy Cask Finish

Purchase Info: $76.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 45.2% ABV

Nose: Ripe fruit and caramel jump out in front to be followed by a nice nuttiness.

Mouth: The mouth shows a lot of influence from the brandy. Very fruity with caramel and baking spices.

Finish: Short but flavorful with lingering caramel.

Thoughts: First let's get this out of the way. I'm ok with this one. It isn't a world-beater, but it isn't bad either. It tastes a lot like they dumped some brandy in some Old Forester. But since I have done exactly that on occasion, I can hardly find fault with the idea. No, in this case, it all comes down to price. I can make something that tastes as good if not better with a bottle of Korbel 12 and a bottle of Old Forester Signature. It'll cost less, I can blend it to my tastes and I have the option of having a brandy, a bourbon or a combination of them. I'm finding it really hard to recommend unless you really like exploring the Master's Collection or really like brandy finished bourbons.

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.

Old Forester 1920 - Prohibition Style

February 2, 2017 Eric Burke

As I write this, it's Groundhog Day. And whether you are sick of what the government is doing or just sick of everyone complaining about it, I think it is safe to say that we are all starting to feel a little like Bill Murry in the film of the same name. Every day it's the same damn stuff.

That's about as political as I will get right now, but I think it's safe to say that we could all use a drink and that turning our gaze back in time wouldn't be out of the question either.

Enter Old Forester 1920 Prohibition Style Bourbon. 1920 is the latest expression in the Old Forester Whiskey Row series. As with the previous releases, it is formulated to be, at least a bit, like the bourbons that would have been available in the year it's named after.

In this case, it is proofed to 115 proof, a typical Old Forester barrel strength of the time. Now, you wouldn't have been able to get bourbon at that proof if you were just Joe Nobody on the street, but if you knew someone who knew someone, you might be able to get your hands on a little straight-from-the-barrel bourbon. And if that somebody knew somebody at Old Forester, it might have been just about this proof.

So as we turn our gaze back to what is in our glass today, how is it?

Old Forester 1920 - Prohibition Style

Purchase info: $53.99 for a 750 mL at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN

Details: 57.5% ABV

Nose: Fruit, leather, brown sugar oak and a light mintiness.

Mouth: Sweet honey, mint, oak, black pepper, baking spices, bubblegum, and leather.

Finish: Spicy, long and warm with lingering bubblegum, fruit, and baking spices.

Thoughts: I think that this is probably the best bourbon Brown-Forman produces. And easily was one of my favorite releases of 2016. It is an amazingly well-balanced bourbon, and I can find no faults with it. I love this. I think it is nearly perfect. It has everything I want in a bourbon: sweetness, richness, and spiciness. Plus it is very drinkable neat even at 115 proof...well maybe that is a fault. I'm kidding, but only a little.

If You've Had... Bulleit Bourbon Edition

January 12, 2017 Eric Burke

My Goodness! I can't believe that it has been almost a year since I last did one of these! I love these posts. They are just the most fun to do the tastings for. And if you like them too, then I have good news: I've got two more for sure on the editorial calendar and another two that will depend on the availability of products. So without further ado, I present the fourth installment of 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 Bulleit Bourbon family. Bulleit Bourbon, Bulleit 10-Year-Old Bourbon, and Bulleit Barrel-Strength Bourbon.

If you’ve had Bulleit Bourbon then…

Bulleit 10 Year is: less floral and drier on the nose. The mouth has more complex flavor with more peppery heat, baking spice, and cocoa notes. The finish is longer with more baking spice.

Bulleit Barrel-Strength is: similar on the nose though more concentrated while showing more baking spice and oak. It shows more floral notes in the mouth and is hotter due to the higher alcohol content. The finish is longer, warmer and shows more floral and baking spice.

If you’ve had Bulleit 10 Year Old Bourbon then…

Bulleit Bourbon: shows more cinnamon candies and less cocoa on the nose. The mouth is much less floral with a finish that is slightly shorter and less spicy.

Bulleit Barrel-Strength is: sweeter and less floral on the nose but shows more cinnamon. The mouth is sweeter and hotter with less oak presence. The finish is longer and warmer.

If you’ve had Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon then…

Bulleit Bourbon is: similar on the nose, though it does show more black tea. The mouth is much less hot, with less spice but seems sweeter because of that. The finish is shorter.

Bulleit 10 Year is: Oakier on the nose. The mouth has less heat but more oak and cocoa notes. The finish is shorter, with less heat, but is more floral.

Bulleit 10 Year Old & a Rant About Agglomerated Cork

January 10, 2017 Eric Burke

In light of recent allegations made by the daughter of Tom Bulleit of his homophobia and mental and physical abuse toward her, I have made the decision that BourbonGuy.com can no longer endorse products bearing the Bulleit name. An update has been added to reflect this change in policy.

Do you know what I hate?

Agglomerated cork closures on whiskey bottles. Never heard of agglomerated cork? Neither had I until I looked up what the closures made of compressed cork granules were named. But now that I have a fancy name for them, I hate them even more.

What is agglomerated cork? Well, it's just what I listed above. It's a closure made out of real cork, except instead of being a solid piece of cork, it's created from the ground up bits that are left over from making a solid piece of cork. Think of it as the particle board of the cork world. It's a bunch of different pieces of cork glued back into a cork shape.

Now, from my research, there seem to be some really good reasons to use particle cork. It apparently keeps air out a little better than solid cork. And, lo and behold, it is also much cheaper than solid natural cork. Both of these are excellent things. One keeps the whiskey in the bottle in better shape, for a longer time-frame, and the other helps keep the price down.

So why do I hate them so much? Easy. Every broken cork I've ever had to fish out of a bottle of whiskey has been particle cork. For my money, if you have to use a low-cost option, go with a screw cap. I know. I know. It doesn't have the same aesthetics. (And as such it won't help you justify the higher cost you've put on that pretty bottle.) So if a screw cap is out of the question, maybe a synthetic cork? I've had them break as well, but normally it is the glued-on top separating from the closure, not the closure itself breaking in half.

In any case, particle cork is my least favorite closure. And yes, I am geeky enough to have both a favorite and a least favorite closure. But fortunately, as I look at my shelf, I see particle cork is the least well represented, used by only Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Wild Turkey Rye, a rum, and the three open bottles of various Bulleit expressions on my shelf. Which brings me to the bottle that set off this entire learning experience.

Bulleit 10-year-old Bourbon

Purchase Info: $42.99 for a 750 mL bottle at Total Wine, Burnsville, MN.

Details: 45.6% ABV. Aged ten years.

Nose: Floral with cotton candy, caramel, and baking spices.

Mouth: The mouth follows the nose. Floral, caramel, baking spices, cocoa nibs, and oak.

Finish: Long and warm with lingering floral notes.

Thoughts: This is a tasty, though drier, version of Bulleit. It is very floral and tends toward bitter (in a cocoa nib sort of way). This reminds me of some of the blends I came up with while doing my Four Roses blending experiment a while back, which isn't terribly surprising since there is probably a still good proportion of Four Roses juice in here.

Is this worth twice as much as the regular release of Bulleit. That depends on how you feel about dry and bitter versus sweet bourbons. But personal preference aside, I have to say that in an era of increasing prices and disappearing age statements, it is nice to see a ten-year-old bourbon for under $50.

2019 update:

As stated above I have made the editorial decision that I can no longer endorse or recommend products from the Bulleit family of labels. This is an extension of the policy in my Statement of Ethics where I do not allow homophobic comments. In this case I’d rather not continue to help enrich a man alleged to have physically abused his own daughter over her sexuality. The review has been left intact for transparency’s sake.

Well hey there, bourbon-lover. I just wrote a great big thing about cork yet; I have nothing made from cork for sale over at BourbonGuyGifts.com. Is this some sort of mistake? Did my marketing team miss the boat? No. It just goes to show that I am not driven by advertising. Even when I'm advertising for myself. And that I have no marketing team. Anyway, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com you can head on over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and buy something. It's a great way to make sure I can pay all my bills.

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

January 5, 2017 Eric Burke

I visit Kentucky, on average, a couple of times a year. Often it isn't the destination, but I find a way to make most of my Eastbound road trips route through it. I'd try to route the other road trips through there as well, but I haven't figured out how to frame the argument that Kentucky really is on the way to Colorado from Minnesota.

Every time I visit Kentucky, I'm struck by the same thought: "How broke would I be if I lived here?" I mean there are bourbon events, bourbon bars, even bourbons that are only available there. If I had all of that around me all the time...

Well, I'd probably still be a hermit. But I do think that my budget for the occasional special bottle or dram would strain a little harder than it does in Minnesota. What, with all the temptation and all.

I think about things like this, like moving to a warmer climate, a lot at this time of year. Don't get me wrong, all things considered, I like Minnesota. But I hate winter. I mean I really hate it. And when the temperature dips, not just below freezing, but into the sub-zero range it gets a bit rough. (That's somewhere around -20 C for those of you who use that other measuring system). Today I had to bundle into boots, hat, heavy coat and gloves just to get the mail.

That got me to thinking about one of the Kentucky-only bottles that I'd picked up on my last trip south and I decided it was time to take another look at it.

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

Purchase info: $48.99 for a 750mL bottle. The Party Source, Bellevue, KY.

Details: 59.6% ABV. Non-age stated.

Nose: Rich with ripe cherries, cocoa nibs, herbal mint, and oak.

Mouth: Peppery heat with caramel/vanilla, oak, JuicyFruit gum, cloves, mint, and anise.

Finish: Long and lingering with fruit, mint, cinnamon, and anise.

Thoughts: This is hands down the best whiskey in the Bulleit family. The more concentrated flavors from the higher proof really shine in the glass. Toss in a price in the $40-50 range and this is a real winner. I can't recommend this enough.

Blog

Heaven Hill 6-Year-Old, Green Label

1792 High Rye

Would you rather see:

Woodford Reserve Master's Collection, Brandy Cask Finish

Elijah Craig Small Batch, Single Barrel Selection by Ace Spirits

Old Forester 1920 - Prohibition Style

If you’ve had Bulleit Bourbon then…

If you’ve had Bulleit 10 Year Old Bourbon then…

If you’ve had Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon then…

Do you know what I hate?

Bulleit 10-year-old Bourbon

2019 update:

Bulleit Barrel Strength Bourbon

2019 update: