dhsilv2
Murray Hill Club Blended Bourbon
Bourbon — (blended & bottled in Washington D.C.), USA
Reviewed
January 5, 2020 (edited September 19, 2020)
This review is of batch 18. Would be nice if Nancy could pop in an let us know if anything has changed for this batch.
Nose - So my first impression is that this is overly sweet, almost too much and almost getting into aspartame levels. I do still get a nice bit of oak, vanilla, caramel...it is a very traditional bourbon note and very on profile for a bit of a generic bourbon. That said it is amped up to 10, it's intense nosing, there's far more intense sweetness than a 103 proof bourbon should provide. Still, I can't really give high praise on nose alone, it's good.
Taste - This is not the bourbon I remember from my first bottle. You definitely get that there is some older whisky in here. Adding water really helped this one. So with water you start to get some of the sweeter note but some fruity flavors are coming out too. I'm getting a hint of tobacco as I go. This is complex without anything jumping out and over powering the overall rich sweet aged bourbon profile.
This is classic bourbon. It isn't nutty, it isn't chocolate, it isn't cinnamon, no mineral notes, no over the top oak. It is those vanillas, caramels, corn, and yes there's an oak note here but it's just classic bourbon oak. It's old enough, there isn't a lot of a "hug" or a bite but it's got a really good mouth feel and great proof.
So I'm at a 3.25. A very very sold offering, a bit expensive, but the quality is here. There is a hint of a bitter finish that pushes me from 3.5 to the 3.25. I think the last bottle I had was pushing 4.0.
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@Bourbon_Obsessed_Lexington she noted that the batch 13 was the older so I'd assume the 7 is most assuredly the same.
@WhiskeyBlender can I ask if batch 7 would have come from the older, lower proof stock? I came across several batches but the lower numbers seem like they might be the place to start? That said, I’m a fan of your head work and don’t mean to be picky but appreciate yourself transparency and appreciation between the nuances between batches!
@whiskeyblender I will absolutely be on the hunt. Sadly your special release of this and cigar blend are brutally hard to get. That won't stop me from chasing them. I have loved the last special release and you commented on JO and I reviewing it (poorly) on the party source's youtube channel.
Hey there @dhsilv2, master blender Nancy Fraley here to the rescue to answer your questions! Yes, there is a slight change in the most recent batches of MHC. The proof is MUCH higher on these barrels than it ever has been for the MHC coupes. Thus, I'm going from a rough aggregate proof of 130 (or even higher) down to 103, which has been the standard proof of MHC since its inception. The barrels at that age are usually somewhere between 100 and 116, if that gives you any indication. These days I'm only using 1 barrel of light whiskey (10 to 15 years old) to 11 barrels of the 12 to 20 y.o. straight whiskey. At any rate, hope you can get ahold of some of the Murray Hill Club Special Release finished in Cider & Malt casks from VA Distillery Company. Would love to get your thoughts on that one! Cheers, Nancy.
@PBMichiganWolverine well, there is a "special" version of this which is a differnet wine cask...I'd have to look it up. That is the hardest to get as they've just done two batches i know of, but I thought that one had the most wow factor. As for magnus vs cigar, really just imo comes down to preference. I think their regular 12 year MGP sherry xo finish is as good as the must more expensive cigar blend. But at the same time, I'd gladly pay a premium for the cigar blend. Everything they do with finishing is just awesome. They are the one distillery where I'd rather get an offical bottling than a store pick
Out of the three Joseph Magnus ones, I’m guessing their Armagnac finished one was the best? ( Cigar Malt?)