William Heavenhill Bourbon (5th Edition)

The nose starts with a rich burst of dry oak, floral rye spice, a touch of cherry syrup, as smooth notes of vanilla and brown sugar round it all out. It is quite intoxicating to keep visiting as it quickly mellows out, offering you a deeper exploration of what it has to offer. The palate is chewy and dry, filling the mouth with dry oak and intense rye spice, giving a very peppery feel. Touches of cinnamon adds to the intensity as it mixes with vanilla, creating quite the bold experience. It calms down gradually, making the spice more pleasing while letting you explore the creamier notes more. It manages to be smooth and spicy at the same time, in a nuanced way. The finish is medium long and tingly, with a lingering creaminess that lingers on the tongue. Incredible if enjoyed slowly, allowing for appreciation for the depth of flavors.

3rd floor, Rickhouse U, Barrel #2 (barreled 2-6-03, dumped 4-20-17) This at firs hit like you would expect a 115 proof version of Elijah Craig would do. Big cherry and lots of wood. At 14 years it’s definitely more of a musty wood but we’ll balanced with vanilla frosting, a bit of heat and notes of leather and cedar. There’s more but if you’ve had an EXBP you know what to look for. No surprises but just a bit more varnish and old wood after an additional 2 years. Chewy. Not viscous per say but the flavors are so dense that you go through 2-3 plates as you actually chew on it and move it around your mouth. At first it’s musty old oak and allspice, then more clove and fruit, then the vanilla frosting and pecans, then just flame broiled sugar and flan before a very long wave of old oak, leather, dried figs, cherries, maybe even a bit of citrus (sort of a bitter blood orange thing) and tobacco. This is like an ECBP with softer edges and yet somehow more complexity. It seemed a bit more fruit forward than woody but it carries its age well. How they decide which mashbills, proofs and ages will earn the label I do not know but I would like to have been part of the barrel sampling journey along the way to know exactly when to dump this one.

Carmel and vanilla front end. A hint of spice on the finish. Drinks very smooth for a 115 proof. Heavenhill did it again.

2019 134.4

Was expecting more for a bottle that sells at $250. Strong burn that wasn’t cut well with water. Decent flavors of oak and smoke but overshadowed with too much spice. Not worth the cost of a bottle in the least.