I tasted this alongside an E.H. Taylor Small Batch as a bit of a bottled in bond battle. This was my first opening of the Heaven Hill BiB. I try not to review neck pours, but this is one of them where I did. Read the follow up pour of E.H. Taylor Small Batch here.
Company on Label: Heaven Hill
Whiskey Type: Bourbon
Mash Bill Percentages: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Barley
Proof: 100°
Age: 7 years
Further identification: Purchased early 2021
Nose: Bright, sweet, dry vanilla. Something else attached to it that resembles the smell of a fresh stack of paper. Candied apple. White pepper. A tobacco that is very light and masked in a touch of ethanol. Dry, old oak. Definitely primarily driven by vanilla & white pepper. Some extra char here yields a marshmallow note I've thoroughly enjoyed out of some Elijah Craig offerings. Some light raisin notes round this nose out well. Late nose is most enjoyable; turns all sweet.
Palate: Wow, unironically smooth. Incredibly balanced mouth feel on first sip, the pepper and a light zest forming in the center of the tongue. Vanilla is a permanent fixture around the rest of the mouth coating. This drinks just ridiculously silky smooth. The marshmallow bits of char here mix well with a rich plum. No matter how I chew this, I can't elicit any bite. The vanilla and paper I experienced on the nose crescendos very intensely on these chews however. The linger is intensely long, driven by a recently acquired vanilla sweet lemon cake that breathes through my airways for the better part of a minute. The overall vibe is definitely explosive vanilla notes.
Rating: 4/5
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