Heaven Hill Green Label 6 Year

Great for the price

For the price, I don’t think you could anything better. I was going to use the qualifier, “much,” but it is that good. Heavy peanut notes, warm, full. Very impressed by this.

Skip to the end if you want the actual review, otherwise be prepared for wax poetic. The big 200. I have learned quite a lot along the way but am still no where near where I would like to be. But I have an admission. I am not a true whisk(e)y drinker. The true whisk(e)y hero, or locally spotted bourbon hero, is the elderly man or woman in a baseball cap or oversized sunglasses who walks out of the liquor store with two handles of Evan Williams white label or when they're feeling fancy Maker's Mark. Whiskey is a household staple. It is mixed, sipped, cooked with and possibly used to clean. My wife's grandfather was one of these men. After WWII he sipped 7 & 7 highballs until he could afford something more than Seagram's. By the time he died he was well known to Toddy and his famous liquor store in Bardstown. When he was too worn down to get out he would call up and ask for a delivery of a handle of Makers, get and give Toddy a hard time, and then retire to his easy chair with a highball after the Makers was hand delivered. I am not this whiskey hero. I am a nerd, an academic, a questioner. I wanted to learn more about Kentucky's native spirit upon moving here 15 years ago and started with the likes of Elijah Craig, Four Roses single barrel, Corner Creek (thanks to Distiller's recommendation algorithm - I can't say I remember it well now), Eagle Rare, Basil Hayden, Bakers and eventually laid down cash for Bookers. In college I had sipped Glenlivet 12 and Glenfiddich 12 and could appreciate a difference but never knew of the peated and cask finished bottles out there. What a spectrum of flavor and intensity. Then came Weller special reserve and an often failed attempt to separate wheated mash bill from rye. Then more questions, and more questions. Distiller became my only source for what is essentially peer-reviewed whisk(e)y literature. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. Eventually I found reviewers who's palates seemed to match my own or whose opinions I trusted. I made a few friends and spent a fortune on distilled spirits. My mind has been blown and my palate sadly disappointed. My jaded ignorance has also been made apparent. This all leads me back to a fundamental question about what whisk(e)y is all about anyway. ------- Enter Heaven Hill. DSP-KY-1. Home to the Elijah Craig 12 that I first adored and sipped neat. Thus far they remain possibly the least bloated and yet most impressive of the large distilleries in Kentucky. Wild Turkey may be equally "for the people" and Eddie Russel can be found wondering the visitor's center any given day. Yes, Four Roses is probably more innovative and masterful in their blending of so many mash bills. Buffalo Trace - get over yourself. Barton, bless your heart. Brown Forman, well done but I'm on to your marketing game. For #200 I wanted to crack something special. I can't find BTAC (or Old Fitz decanters) and honestly don't want to. Bourbon hunting is exhausting, expensive and sometimes downright degrading. Scotch less-so but uniformly more expensive in Kentucky. Why not then turn to DSP-KY-1's gift to Kentucky itself. An inconspicuous $12 bottle that lives on the bottom shelf. -------- This is Heaven Hill green label. Screw top cap. Six years. Ninety proof. In the glass it is a beautiful amber color. Thin appearance with slow tear drop legs. Nose is full of rich, sweet cherry cola, honey bun and charred wood. It's not, but sniffing this I feel like it could be a proofed-up Elijah Craig (which is actually 47 ABV to this ones 45 ABV). There's also a bit of ginger and brown sugar with faint bubble gum and varnish. A generous sip is full of spearmint, bubble gum, cola, wood and has a nice medium feel to it. The finish is a nice interplay of ginger spice, brown sugar, bubble gum again and wood char. I would say the finish goes on for a good minute if not more. There is no oily or coating feeling to it and just a mild warmth in the chest. Never is there a bite or a burn. To start with several other offerings I would say this is toe to toe with an $18-20 bottle of WT 101 (which I believe is substantially underrated). This could also wrestle with $20 Old Bardstown Bottled in Bond and win 2 out of 3 times. Honestly, I would take this over the standard Elijah Craig small batch or Evan Williams Bottled in Bond some days (though not every day because that would get boring). A $35 bottle of Henry McKenna BiB isn't all that far off but might edge ahead with the few additional proof points, but then again might not. I would say EH Taylor small batch is a contender but I would take this over standard Buffalo Trace, Blantons, Weller Special Reserve and possibly Elmer T Lee. The only place where the Buffalo clearly pulls ahead is Rock Hill Farms or Weller OWA - neither of which are more than $50 (ie none are worth more than a bottle of OF 1920 or RR). So how does this compare to a Rare Breed, Russels Reserve or OF 1920. I would say those bottles are the equivalent to this bottle on steroids. Bigger, bolder nose, flavors and finish but also more than double the price. I couldn't give any of those three up for this bottle. When it comes to ECBP, JD Barrel proof, Bookers and Stagg Jr (you can hate me for including Bookers in that group) it becomes an entirely different ballgame. The rewards in terms of flavor and feel are miles beyond, especially the way they play out in the finish whereas this has a very pleasant but straightforward finish. Regarding the $100+ category of Bardstown Discovery, well that category itself is a mixed bag but again this generally can't contend and for $12 shouldn't be expected to. As for a rating it's hard to say. If you want something as good or better for $20-30 I say good luck and don't over pay. Grab this if you're in Kentucky or an Evan Williams BiB or Elijah Craig if you're not. If you want something to impress yourself or other people then expect to pay around $40-50. If you want your mind blow then grab something barrel proof over 6-9 years (looking at you Bookers) but likely stop once you hit the 15 year mark (and don't buy IW Harper 15 unless you just want the fancy decanter - I kid you not this green label is better). And there you have it. #200 thanks to my Kentucky home and DSP-KY-1 who along with the Russel family still seems to really get it. And again, for those not in KY please do not lust for this bottle. Spend $18 on WT 101 and then sit in the hammock, mow your grass, smoke a cigar, spend time with your family, play games, read a book or do anything besides chase bourbon. Cheers!

God I wish I lived in KY. This is an exquisite bourbon, and if it was $30 I would still probably give it a 'buy' recommendation. A KY retail exclusive, I was able to pick up a few bottles while there on a road trip. Same, but better than EW SiB - classic bourbon nose and notes. More fruity, and less caramel than the EW SiB I've had, but still overall a very sweet and bright profile. Sips wonderfully for 90 proof. Only complaint is mouth feel, which is thin and watery just like EW SiB. Finish is long and sweet, trending slightly bitter. I poured some Buffalo Trace for a side-by-side comparison. The HH 6yr nose won, but the mouth feel of the BT was definitely better. I think the BT is a deeper flavor profile, while the HH 6yr is lighter and more floral. The finish on the HH 6yr is a little more memorable and longer lasting, although a little bitter (charcoal filter?) while the BT is more oaky and little more sweet, but doesn't last as long. Obviously, both are wonderful. BUT the point here is that one is half the price of the other. And that is amazing to me. Wish I could ship a crate here.....

Not great but good. At 15 bucks it’s a great value at the price. A typical bourbon, but I challenge you to find a better bourbon near the price that goes down this smooth. Peanut brittle with caramel, the finish is nonexistent so would be perfect for the newcomer. Tasted neat but I believe this might be an incredible mixer .... I’ll update as I bought a case