Reviews #168-169: Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7 Year vs Old Ezra 7 Year

When Heaven Hill discontinued the beloved 6 year Bottled in Bond we knew it was just a matter of time until they released a very similar product at a significantly higher price and a couple weeks ago that time hit central Texas! I enjoyed the old 6 year, especially for the price, and was excited to see if an extra year of aging made a big difference. I’ve also been waiting to compare Luxco’s Old Ezra 7, thought to be sourced from Heaven Hill, with the distillery’s release. So let’s see if this shiny, expensive new release is worth it.

Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond 7 year

Age: 7 years

Abv: 100 proof

Price: $40

Neat

Nose: Sweet and nutty with peanut butter and vanilla notes.

Taste: More peanut butter and vanilla notes from the nose but with some light oak and baking notes. Solid but unimpressive mouthfeel for the proof.

Finish: Medium length finish with warm spice and more of that peanut note.

1 Star - Good whiskey: I would choose to drink this over readily available whiskies

Old Ezra 7 year

Age: 7 years

Abv: 117 proof

Price: $30

Neat

Nose: Sweet vanilla, boiled peanut and faint oak notes.

Taste: Peanut, vanilla and caramel notes are balanced with warm baking spice notes and backed up with a viscous mouthfeel.

Finish: Medium to long finish that is sweet, nutty and a bit spicy.

2 Stars - Very good whiskey: I would want to have a bottle

Conclusion

I’ve tasted the Heaven Hill 7 year blind against the discontinued 6 year twice now and picked the 7 once and the 6 the other time. When I tasted them not blind I picked the 7 both times. So I’d say they are fairly close and the big price hike definitely feels bad but the national distribution is nice and the new price is lower than secondary was on the old ones.

All that said they both lost individually and in a 3 pour blind against the Old Ezra 7 which is both barrel proof and cheaper. I like the whiskey in this bottle but not for the price. I’d still happily drink it and would be fine ordering it at a bar with limited selection. There are just too many other great offerings at the $40 price point for me to want another bottle of this over say a McKenna 10 or Rare Breed.

TL;DR: The Heaven Hill BiB 7 is solid if overpriced but the Ezra is clearly better.

Scale

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