After the r/bourbon community review of Evan Williams Black Label I realized I hadn’t tried much of Heaven Hill’s bourbon so rectify that I went out and picked up the Heaven Hill Distillery American Whiskey Tasting Experience. It’s a little box set with 5 100mL bottles of different whiskies, 3 bourbons, a rye and a wheat whiskey. Tonight I’m reviewing the 3 bourbons; I don’t think I can do 5 tastings in one sitting haha. The bourbons are Larceny, Evan Williams Single Barrel and Elijah Craig Small Batch.
Larceny
Age: NAS
Abv: 92 proof (46% ABV)
Color: A medium amber, very similar to Evan Williams Black Label and the other two in this set
Neat
Nose: Heavy notes of butterscotch, almost cloying but just on the right side of too sweet.
Taste: Smooth and butterscotchy sweet, still pretty one note though
Finish: Middling length and still smooth and sweet
On a rock
Nose: Lighter notes of butterscotch
Taste: The ice greatly improves the mouthfeel and while the notes remain sweet it doesn’t just taste like butterscotch anymore but I couldn’t quite place the second sweet note.
Finish: A little shorter and a sort of nutty or toffee note comes in.
Evan Williams Single Barrel
Age: 7-8 years according to the packaging
Abv: 86.6 proof (43.3% ABV)
Color: Also a medium amber
Neat
Nose: Sweet with primarily vanilla and oak notes and just a touch of alcohol
Taste: Underwhelming with mostly just an oak note and a very thin mouthfeel
Finish: A long finish where the oak fades and a mild caramel lingers
On a rock
Nose: The ice quenches anything other than the oak note.
Taste: Significantly improved by the ice. Sweet honey notes come forward to compliment the oak but remains a little thin
Finish: A nice spice note lingers with the sweetness from the neat finish. Definitely better.
Elijah Craig Small Batch
Age: 8-12 years according to the packaging
Abv: 94 proof (47% ABV)
Color: Also a medium amber
Neat
Nose: Sweet vanillia, oak and baking spice in that order, very nice
Taste: The vanilla is no where to be found as the oak dominates the taste and the spice notes compliment it. The mouthfeel is nice but not outstanding.
Finish: Middling length finish where the oak and spice give way to the vanilla from the nose
On a rock
Nose: The ice had very little impact on the nose, if anything the oak stands out a bit more and the vanilla relaxes a bit.
Taste: All oak notes but the mouth feel is improved by the ice
Finish: I was pleasantly surprised that the ice didn’t noticeably shorten the finish and the oak and spice notes blended better with the vanilla throughout the finish.
Conclusion
This tasting flight was definitely an adventure. To start with I was disappointed with the Larceny, it wasn’t bad but I’d prefer any of the Weller lineup for a wheater. I honestly surprised by how good the Evan Williams Single Barrel was. I’d love to try a barrel proof version of this. The Elijah Craig Small Batch was exactly what I expected, having had it before haha, it’s always enjoyable though once you’ve had the barrel proof the small batch is a little underwhelming.
Larceny - 0 Stars - Poor to Fine: I would not specifically choose to drink this
Evan Williams Single Barrel - 1 Star - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies
Elijah Craig Small Batch - 1 Star - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies