Tastes

BACKGROUND: Heaven Hill Distillery is known for producing reasonably-priced quality bourbons, and at just $12.99 per bottle, this 90-proof, six-year aged-stated offering remains among their best bargains. Just 10 proof points lower than Heaven Hill's six-year bottled-in-bond line that was recently discontinued (and later repackaged at a higher price), many compare the Green Label to that cult favorite. The Heaven Hill Green Label, according to the distillery, is available for sale only in Kentucky and portions of Indiana although cases have been known to be bought, bootlegged, and re-sold in some other markets. The company does nothing to promote this particular offering, spends no money on advertising it, and does not even include it among the brands on its website. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle in Alabama, and my thoughts on it follow. NOSE: The nose is a combination of leather and cornbread, and while those two scents might not seem to mix well on first thought, they marry delightfully. It's like someone buttered a piece of cornbread and spanked it with a belt. Some brown sugar is present, as well. A wonderfully sweet and intoxicating nose. PALATE: A sweet bourbon when it hits the tip of your tongue, it transitions to peppery spice by the time it hits the back of your throat. Brown sugar on the front of the palate becomes mint on the back. FINISH: A long finish with a bit of cinnamon becomes quite drying and somewhat bitter, yet it is not unpleasant. FINAL ASSESSMENT: I traveled to Kentucky last summer to begin the Bourbon Trail and plan to make a return trip this year. At just $12.99 a bottle, a case of Heaven Hill Green Label will be joining me on the ride home to Alabama. It is better tasting and more enjoyable that other bourbons I have had a several times the cost. I give the Heaven Hill Six-Year Green Label three-and-a-half cork pops out of five.

BACKGROUND: Long considered a lower-shelf offering, Brown-Forman decided to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Early Times bourbon by releasing a bottled-in-bond version in 2017. It quickly became a cult favorite within the bourbon community and is routinely selected among the best products of its kind in blind tastings conducted by podcasters and YouTubers. The Early Times BiB is manufactured pursuant to the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, which was passed by the U.S. Congress (hence the "I'm Just A Bill" figure in the photo) to ensure the highest standards in whiskey production and mandates the following requirements: The bourbon must be made at a single distillery, The bourbon must be produced by one distiller in one distillation season. The bourbon must be aged for at least four years in a federally bonded and supervised warehouse. The bourbon must be bottled at 100 proof. According to the Early Times website, this BiB bourbon is made with a mash bill of 79% corn, 11% rye and 10% malted barley. The bourbon's distribution is somewhat limited, and its popularity has made it rather difficult to find, but after due diligence, I got my hands on a bottle and had the following reactions. NOSE: The Early Times BiB has a rather sweet nose with the usual bourbon scent of caramel, but there is also a definite maple syrup foundation, as well. Despite the fact that the bourbon is aged only four years, there is a strong oak presence. I also detect just a hint of straw or hay. PALATE: Much like the nose, the palate is a sweet one with the overwhelming flavors of children's cherry cough syrup and oak. Try as I might, I cannot get beyond those two predominate tastes. . .but I enjoy them. FINISH: The flavor finish is medium in length, but there is no real burn or hug despite its 100 proof. The flavors turn from very sweet in the front of the mouth to slightly bitter on the finish, but not in an unpleasant way. FINAL ASSESSMENT: The Early Times BiB is an easy sipper when consumed neat in a glencairn, but its affordable $23 (average) price for a one liter bottle won't stop you from using it in cocktails. I understand why this great value bourbon is getting more and more difficult to obtain. If it were easier to acquire in my area, I'd definitely add it to my daily drinker rotation. I give it four out of five cork pops.

BACKGROUND: Each year, Jim Beam releases four high-proof batches under its Booker's label in honor of former master distiller Booker Noe. The bourbon used to complete each batch is personally selected by Booker's son, Fred Noe, and given a name along with a description explaining its origin. The "Shiny Barrel" batch is a 124-proof bourbon that is aged 6 years, 5 months, and 1 day and comes from varying floors in four different warehouses. The description provided for the "Shiny Barrel" name reads: Back in the day, some of the distillery’s rackhouse workers would carry around “mules” – pieces of plastic tubing they carried in the front of their overalls – and use them to thief out a taste of whiskey (or two) straight from an aging barrel. Some of these men had, shall we say, prominent physiques.When they went in for a taste, their bellies would rub on the side of the barrel, removing dust and shining it up. Some used to say, “the shinier the barrel, the sweeter the whiskey,” and most often, Dad would find these shiny barrels in the center cut of the rackhouse where the temperature and humidity were just right. I was eager to get my hands on a bottle and give it a try, and it did not disappoint. NOSE: Like most of its products, this Booker's has the traditional "Beam funk" on the nose, but it also smells gloriously like the inside of a rickhouse (i.e. - oak and must and age even though it is only six-year-old). There is a bit of vanilla on the nose, which Booker Noe supposedly insisted all of his best bourbons possessed. The nose is also ethanol-heavy and caused my eyes to cross a bit on the first whiff even though I used the open-mouth nosing method. PALATE: The bourbon not only tastes like thick, syrupy molasses, but it also coats the mouth like molasses. It's a wonderful mouth feel. The other predominant flavors are oak...oak...and oak with, perhaps, a bit of citrus lingering in the background. Despite its alcohol-heavy nose, there is no intense alcohol kick upon first sip. FINISH: Though the initial palate does not offer much alcohol, the finish provides heat and hug for days. The rich taste of caramel also develops in the finish though not on the palate. The Beam peanut taste makes its presence known on the finish, as well. FINAL ASSESSMENT: It is difficult to believe how much this bourbon changes and develops from front of mouth to back of throat. I know that many Booker's aficionados have said the first two batches of 2019 were lackluster and saved most of their love for the "County Ham" and "Beaten Biscuits" offerings, but I found "Shiny Barrel" to be a great treat. Though I typically drink bourbon neat and in a glencairn glass, I might try Shiny Barrel with water or an ice cube to see how it further develops. Shiny Barrel is yet another fine release in the impressive line of Booker's products. I give it four-and-a-half cork pops out of five.

BACKGROUND: Because I enjoy Jim Beam's higher-end offerings like Booker's and Knob Creek and limited releases like Repeal Batch, Bonded, and Double Oak, I thought I'd try the Distiller's Cut that the company produces. Unfortunately, locating a bottle proved a challenge as it appears the line may have been cut back or discontinued and no longer appears on the Jim Beam website. I luckily spotted a dust-covered box in a Manhattan package store while on vacation and flew it back home to Alabama a few days ago. The 100 proof bourbon is aged between five and six years and is non-chill filtered in order to give fuller flavor. Released in November 2017, Jim Beam master distiller Fred Noe personally selected the bourbon used to produce the line, which resulted in its name. It retails for $22.99. NOSE: The traditional Beam funk, which I enjoy, and oak dominate the nose. There is a good bit of citrus/orange peel and an underlying corn scent, as well. Though many reviewers have noted a heavy ethanol nose, I did not detect a significant alcohol sting. PALATE: Beyond the traditional caramel/butterscotch flavor that most bourbons possess, cherry and oak make their presence well known. Rye pepper is strong in the back of the throat. There is a surprising lack of the peanut shell/dust flavor that has become a Jim Beam trademark. The mouth feel and viscosity is a bit thin. FINISH: A medium-to-long finish results in lingering rye spice and a bit of Big Red gum cinnamon. FINAL ASSESSMENT: The Distiller's Cut would make an excellent addition to my rotation of daily sippers, which makes me sad that it has proven so difficult to find. Perhaps that difficulty results from the fact that Alabama is a heavily-regulated state, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control agency does not include it on the list of stocked products. If you enjoy Beam's higher-end products as I do, the Distiller's Cut will fit right into your wheelhouse. I give it four out of five cork pops.