Old Heaven Hill Gold Label Bottled In Bond Bourbon

A friend of mine buys and resells estates. A few of them still have alcohol at the bar and fewer still have some old dusty pearls. This was a quart bottle put up in 1979. The bottle was about one third full. As a bottle in bond product with no age statement, it has to be at least 4 years old. The liquid was quite dark. Much darker than the 6yo juice of a few years ago and the current 7yo stuff. As my son opened the bottle for us to have a taste, I could smell it across the room before I knew he had opened it. They say that bourbon does not age in the bottle but I am certain it changes. Glad this has a plastic screw cap. So what's really in the bottle. Intense rick house on the nose, oak, caramel, vanilla and lingering spiciness. The legs were thick giving it a significant chewiness. Surprisingly, it was quite hot on first taste. While true to the nose the heat was more like a 120-130 proofer. Finish was fleeting. If you can still find a dusty 6yo bib, it is a superior product. The current 6yo 90 proof a notch better still. I am adding a half a point to this review for nostalgia. The $7 price tag was still on the quart bottle and it took me back to when you could just go to your local liquor store and have your pick from about twenty that were always on the shelf and then go home and enjoy. It wasn't my brand back then but there was more similarity across brands and at a bar you typically would just ask for a bourbon. For the record, Ezra Brooks was my brand.