Tastes

Nose: Sweet dark sugars, light vanilla, grassy herbal notes coming through a lot, black pepper, and dill. Flavor: More herbal sweet notes, a little spicy but not as much as I'd expect or prefer. Cherry and fig in the background. Finish: Medium length with some oak and some spice. Overall this was kind of boring. I prefer my rye sweet and spicy and this was more herbal and grassy than I'd like. Not bad but nothing I'd seek out to try again. I'm kind of disappointed as I like the EH Taylor Bourbon series quite a bit.

So...I like Heaven Hill products. A lot. Wheated Bourbon? Check. Heaven Hill? Check. I'm excited to try this especially as a value bourbon. Nose: Very sweet smelling with vanilla and caramel up front. Grassy background notes with a smell of fresh baked bread. Very yeasty on the nose with background dried fruit and banana notes. Smells a little like banana bread. Flavor: Very sweet, maybe too sweet actually. Vanilla and brown sugar with some light herbal notes and background oak and toasted walnuts. A little bit of banana here too. Kind of hot for the proof. Finish: More oak tapering to a drying finish, medium short length and kind of spicier than I'd expect from a wheated bourbon. This one is ok and good for the cost but nothing I'd seek out. A pale shadow of the awesomeness that is the Old Fitzgerald Bottled in Bond collection. Needs a higher proof and more time in the barrel to be solid. At this price point I'd say go with Weller Special Reserve if you can find it.

Sampled at a tasting event held by the "Sonoma County Single Malt Society". I recognize the irony here. I should point out I typically do not like peaty whiskeys and this is no exception. I am 100% unqualified to rate a peated whiskey. Nose: Peat, smoke, ash, BBQ rub?, honestly this just smells to me like burning plastic. Flavor: Vanilla, sugar, Band-Aid, sweet and bitter, oak and smoke. Finish: Tar, tobacco, and barrel spices, medium length. I hate this so much. This tastes like what I have to imagine a tire fire smells like. I ate so many crackers just trying to get the taste out of my mouth and even after half a dozen crackers and several glasses of water a healthy pour of Hedonism just tasted like tar and death. Blech!

Sampled at a tasting event held by the "Sonoma County Single Malt Society". I recognize the irony here. Nose: Dark sugars, oak, light ethanol punch, smoke, and peat. Flavor: Sweet right up front, vanilla, mildly peaty and smoky, buttery, kind of boring and smoky. Finish: Lightly spicy, medium length finish with baking spices and less smoke and peat than I'd expect. Very hot on the finish. I wanted to like this based on the story but there just wasn't much flavor happening here. Very subtle in a boring way.

Sampled at a tasting event held by the "Sonoma County Single Malt Society". I recognize the irony here. Nose: Sherry and funk right up front, wood, light smoke, light dates, light baking spices, and a background herbal note that I can't quite pick out. Flavor: Mildly sweet, cherry, vanilla, and not a whole lot else. Given all the description here I expected a more complex flavor. Finish: Surprisingly short, light spices, light smoke, and then nothing. I really wanted to like this as I'm a big fan of sherry finished whiskey but this was just super bland and not complex at all. Not bad but nothing exciting at all.

Sampled at a tasting event held by the "Sonoma County Single Malt Society". I recognize the irony here. Nose: Sweet and fruity, apricot, and citrus, spices, with a background cereal note. Flavor: Fruits up front, apricot, citrus, clove, anise, baking spices, floral background notes, vanilla as well. Finish: A lot of spices but nothing that jumps out at me specifically. Medium finish fading in to a heavy oak. My second favorite Compass Box item that I've tried. Nothing super exciting here and a little bit watery but nice. I wouldn't buy a bottle but I wouldn't turn down an offer of a drink either.

A sample from dthom as part of the "Whiskey transfer program". Nose: Sweet vanilla and honey notes with quite a bit of oak on the nose. As this sat in the glass I started to get toasted nuts and dried fruits like figs and dates. Just the lightest hint of sea air like one would get from an Islay Scotch in the background. Flavor: Very sweet with dark sugars and musty wood. Heavy ethanol burn. Not as complex as the nose would suggest. Finish: Drying and spicy leading in to a bone dry oak finish. Medium long. I thought this was ok. I wouldn't seek it out but it wasn't bad either. Very interesting nose but a very bland taste and finish. Sort of like this was almost special and just fell short.

A sample from dthom as part of the "Whiskey transfer program". Nose: Right up front super heavy peanut. Vanilla, honey, dried cherry, cedar, apple, background grassy notes. Very fruity and nutty. A complex pleasing nose. Flavor: Super weird and off putting. Very herbal and grassy and very hot ethanol burn up front. Nondescript sweet notes. Finish: Finishes medium short with cucumber and spice notes transitioning into more toasted peanut. The nose on this was super complex and pleasing and then the flavor and finish were just super weird. It almost has notes on the tongue of gin. It's interesting but that's all that can be said here. If you're looking for a solid bourbon that hits the usual notes this isn't it. Kind of gross to be honest.

A sample from dthom as part of the "Whiskey transfer program". Nose: Vanilla, brown sugar, apple skins, and some of the herbal dill notes that I expect from a high rye bourbon. Very mild alcohol on the nose given the high proof. A background wood note as well. Flavor: Sweet with heavy caramelized brown sugar and vanilla, baking spices, wood, and leather. Really smooth with a buttery mouth feel and I barely get the proof at all. Finish: Finishes spicy with a lot of wood, black pepper, and barrel spice. A shorter finish than I'd expect at the proof but this probably reflects the 4 year aging. Overall I really enjoyed this but felt like it was a little one dimensional. The four year aging is working against this whiskey a little and I think 2-4 more years would make this a powerhouse.

A sample from dthom as part of the "Whiskey transfer program". Nose: Vanilla and heavy blackstrap rum and dark caramelized sugar notes right up front. Grassy notes, presumably from the wheated bourbon, baking spices though I'm not sure if this is from the rum finish or the high rye bourbon. Some yeasty bread notes in the background and a hint of black pepper. A very complex nose. Flavor: Very sweet right up front with less of the rum notes than I'd expect. More grassy sweet notes like a wheated bourbon with vanilla, poached pear, and caramelized sugars. Finish: Medium length and spicy but with some of the background rum notes and then transitioning to an oaky dryness that surprised me given how sweet the flavor was. Interesting whiskey. Sweet and spicy with some of the wheated bourbon notes that I often enjoy but each was separate and distinct. Well balanced. Overall I enjoyed this but wouldn't pay $100 or more for a bottle. If this were $50-$60 I'd be more inclined.