Tastes

Neat. Neck pour. 7.5 year old. Super nutty! Geez almost Circus Peanuts even. Nuttiness mixed with a strawberry taffy. Lots of vanilla. Herbal quality to it too. Maybe nutmeg and clove. Hint of mint. Lot going on with this nose. Texture isn’t thin but I wouldn’t describe it as creamy either. Vanilla and cinnamon at first but quietly gives way to the peanuts and taffy. Legs are peanuts and a hint of oak. The taffy comes back in the aftertaste. I associate taffy/bubble gum with young craft whiskey, so surprised to find it here in a 7.5 year Heaven Hill. Luckily it has a lot going on around it to save the experience. Super smooth, light, but flavorful sipper.

Neat. Sample provided by Scott at My Bourbon Journey (fantastic YouTube channel if you have never checked out his content). This is from 1983. This is the oldest bourbon (in terms of bottled date) I have ever tried and this is my first Heaven Hill pre-fire taste. So I am quite excited and appreciative to sit down with it today. For 86 proof it is very rich and oily. Reminds me of Wild Turkey 17 in the sense that it’s low proof should not be underestimated. On the nose is sweet corn, caramel, and a fantastic cherry note. Some nice vanilla and pie crust, begins to come off as a fruit tart even. Getting some chocolate and cinnamon as I sit with it more. Hint of honey even. A nutty aspect is emerging too. It is a pretty perfect nose honestly. Sweet, delicious, and evolving. Nice creamy texture that really lights up the palate. Blast of fruits as it sits in the tongue, cherry, apple, raspberries. So sweet. Transitions to a rich caramel and oak. Legs bring back a very nice cherry finish. Once again, though lower proof, it is very oily which is giving it a nice medium to long finish. I was born the year this was released. Sampling this makes 1983 even more special to me. This is such a perfect bourbon. I have an ounce left of the sample that I will be cherishing and cracking open on a special occasion.

Neat. Opened around a year. Been a long long time since I cracked open this bottle. On the nose, I am quite surprised by be smell. Lots of fruits and floral. Apples, apricots, and even oranges and lemon. Beyond the fruits and floral brightness, the familiar MGP starts emerging. Graham cracker, rye, lightly charred caramel. Nice, thick and creamy texture. Apple cinnamon on the tongue. Hits you with the apricot and transitions to more familiar MGP territory again on the finish with the rye and charred caramel. The finish is a bit lacking and a little tannic even. Really enjoyed this but my MGP experience has expanded substantially since the first time I had this. The fruits and floral are so interesting, but it’s not a flavor bomb and the finish is just okay. The aftertaste is a slight turn off even. There is better MGP for the same price.

Neat. Neck pour. This is my first Light Whiskey. MGP, 12 year, 137 proof. As you imagine, it is hot on the nose. Intense butterscotch, super rich. Some nice fruit, I’d call it blue berries even. Caramel and vanilla. Graham cracker. Cotton candy. So just sweet sweet sweet. Quite viscous and syrupy. Initially dark on the tongue with a maple syrup. Lights up the mouth with flavor. Explosion of that butterscotch. Transitions to the blueberries, brings it back to the caramel, and ends on the graham cracker. The caramel lingers. Man that is good. Official a light whiskey MGP fan. So rich and flavorful. That proof is over the top and hot on the nose if you go in too deep but not present on the taste. It’s hot, there are hugs, but it never hits you with ethanol on the taste. Risky purchase that paid off. This is a great pour.

Neat. Neck pour. I just drank the Backsetter Rye and I liked it. It’s a funky adventure with a nice salted caramel flavor I have never found in a 100% rye whiskey. Let’s see how the bourbon is... The peat notes are definitely less in the face than the rye but it’s still initially a band-aid rubber note. There is a lot to dig at behind the peat. This is more recognizable as a New Riff Bourbon than the rye was. Tea leaves. Toffee. Caramel. Vanilla frosting. Baking spices and cinnamon. The peat goes more and more into the background as I sit with it. Apples are starting to come through to really round out the nose. Nice creamy texture. More toffee up front but it turned into sweet BBQ rub. Was not expecting that. It’s like Grippos seasoning even. Oh that is funky. Even the legs are Grippos! Eventually getting the caramels and vanilla but then the legs brings back the Grippos. Grippos? Grippos! How? Can’t escape it. This is weird and fun. But mostly weird.

Neat. Neck pour. I know the negative buzz on this going in but I am keeping an open mind. On the nose, that peat is so interesting. It does present itself initially as band-aid but the longer you sit with it a smoked cedar aspect shines through. It really nullifies the rye. You get a hint of a rye spice but the rest is muted. What shines through instead is a salted caramel. Almost like a sea salt caramel taffy you’d get from Hilton Head. ...I double checked the bottle and I definitely opened the rye first. Nice and creamy on the palate. Runtz banana candy all of the tongue. Lights it up with sweatness. And I am attacked by campfire. Ah that is interesting. So the sea salt caramel is the dominant taste but then the oils carry the smoke around the fringe of the tongue and down the neck. This after taste is like I am sipping New Riff while smoking a mild cigar. Interesting. I think this is fun. I’m going to pour the regular rye to compare before ending this... Yeah the regular bottled in bond rye is in your face rye. Just delightful rye spice and citrus. Those notes are soooo muted and replaced it’s hard to believe they are cousins. This Backsetter isn’t a variation of their rye, it’s an entirely new expression to be judged on its own. I like it. I want to drink this outside in the fall, by a campfire.

Neat. Neck pour. Wheatley Spec’s pick barrel 13. On the nose, it is lighter and brighter than I expected. Vanilla frosting. Hint of BBQ and char. Cinnamon and baking spices. Baked apples. Leather. It is very inviting. Reminds me of 2019 Birthday Bourbon in many ways. NOT what I was expecting compared to Antique. Nice creamy texture and it lights the tongue up with cool flavors. Wow. Taste is better than the nose. Long long legs. On the tongue, the baked apples, cinnamon sugar, and hint of cherry light up the tongue even before the swallow. Transitions to deep, rich vanilla, pastry crust. Waves of vanilla returns and some oak emerges as well. It’s great, but it’s not over the top great. In some ways this barrel is more simplistic and straight forward than Antique, which is odd to me. The extra proof didn’t result in more flavor or spiciness, it just gave it a creamy texture and legs for miles. Antique can throw people off blind because it’s such a spicy beast. This is a more traditional wheater. Top of mind, I think the Boone County MGP 6 year wheaters beat this.

Neat. Opened more than 6 months. I remember not being too impressed with this pour on first impression. With time on the shelf, the nose ain’t bad. Corn and old hay in a barn. Watermelon starburst. Vanilla. It’s muddled but not off putting. It’s light but not thin on the tongue. Cinnamon sugar up front. Transitions to bubble gum and that watermelon starburst note. Not a fan of that bubble gum note when I hit it. Seems to happen more often on young craft whiskey. This isn’t meant to be consumed neat. It a mixing bourbon sure.

Neat. Neck pour. I am a fan of the Lost Monarch as a great budget bourbon-rye blend. Found this old bottle of batch 1 (dated 2017) and grabbed it out of curiosity. On the nose, I get bubble gum... never a good sign when it leads with bubble gum for me. Ripe red fruits, raspberries actually. Cinnamon and grass that has been drying in the sun. Baking spices. Struggling in this nose a bit... Nice creamy mouth feel. Those raspberries dominate the tongue. The port finish really shines here. That is actually really nice and crisp. That actually might be my favorite port note. Vanilla and a hint of that grass shine brightly on the legs. Man, that port note is impression even in subsequent sips. Like biting into the juiciest fruit, it just gushes. Saves the entire experience. This is a muddled blend. Comes across young and odd with that bubble gum note on the nose, but the port on the taste is yummy. This is well below the Lost Monarch but it’s fun to see where they started and how they have grown.

Neat. Opened three months or so. Whiskey Bear 4 year pick. First impression on this one is that it was too young and green. Let’s see what a few months of air time does. Still very bright but just a little green. Caramel dominates this one. Vanilla frosting. Hints of apple. Baking spices. Almost like an apple parfait. Caramel and vanilla frosting dominate again. Apple shows up on the legs. Not much else to say. It’s tasty. For 4 year MGP, this is really good. I’d put it above Mic Drop 3.0 but still well under the 5 year SAOS floating around. At least it is better than the first impression and the overwhelming youngness subsided.