Heaven Hill 7yo
Bottled in Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon | 50% ABV
Toto, we’re not in Calendonia any more!
Whiskey isn’t whisky.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my whisky journey over the past six years, and as you may have gleaned from my prior reviews, I am enamoured with uisge beatha. Single malts and blended malts are certainly my lane. And, despite the hurdles of getting my hands on a large variety of expressions while I lived in Connecticut, I was rather successful in finding ways to uncover malt gems.
Now that I have moved to North Carolina, and it being an ABC state (as I have complained about previously), trying to get my hands on new and different single and blended malt bottles is exponentially more difficult.
While I still carry my single malt pick axe with me to find hidden veins of malt, I also must embrace where I am. When in Rome… As my new friend, Lev, made perfectly clear to me, North Carolina is bourbon country.
It is one thing to understand that fact, but it is another thing to fully appreciate it. I didn’t truly appreciate just how embedded bourbon is until I moved here. Bourbon here is, indeed, king.
Of course, without the competition, or even a real presence, of Scottish single malts, the whiskey of choice is the only whiskey of choice. Henry Ford’s quip about “choices” rings in my head when I look for whiskey at the different, local ABC stores. In 1909, when questioned about a customer’s choice of colours for his Model T automobiles, Henry replied by saying “any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants, so long as it is black.” You want whiskey here in North Carolina? You can have any whiskey so long as it’s bourbon. That may be hyperbole, but not far off from the truth.
And, painting with a broad brush (to continue the theme), folks south of the Mason Dixon line here have grown up with bourbon. That, coupled with the fact that down here we are a bit more openly patriotic than my kinsmen up north, gives an added bit of appreciation. Bourbon is America’s spirit (literally, and perhaps figuratively, as well). Even the newest bourbon drinker down here knows that no bottle of bourbon can be labelled as such if it is distilled or bottled outside of the United States. ‘Merica.
Here I am, transplanted from the North, and I want to ingratiate and immerse myself in this new culture. While, as of yet, my taste for bourbon has not fully blossomed, I am interested to flip the script on what had been my past view of bourbon. My past experiences – well before my whisky journey began – dealt with budget bourbons as mixers or accelerants for boozy college evenings. And, perhaps, those prior experiences have unfairly tainted and coloured my view.
Over the past year or so, I have come across some very good expressions. This has started to open my eyes. Here on Dramface I reviewed the Kentucky Tea Batch Booker’s bourbon as well as the Rare Breed expression from Wild Turkey. Both of those bottles were surprisingly good. Delving into these new whiskey waters, both the Booker’s and Rare Breed have each provided me comfort in knowing that my college-era memories of bourbon are not indicative of what is now presently available.
As with the Scotch single malt whisky boom, the American bourbon boom has been broad and impactful. There are seemingly countless numbers of craft bourbons now coming to market, so many creative distillations and expressions, and an ever-broadening spectrum of flavours to explore. While I haven’t been an avid bourbon drinker, I have kept abreast of the bourbon world through tastings with buddies, print articles, as well as my favourite YouTube views with The Mash & Drum and It’s Bourbon Night. Between the sips, the reads, and the views, as well as the fact that I am now immersed in bourbon country, it is time to stop dabbling in the liquid, and to start a bourbon journey proper.
This past Friday, after work, I made my way to the nearest ABC store to examine the bourbon shelves. And, unlike the experience in the more reserved land of Connecticut – where people keep to themselves, avoid eye contact, and silently make their way in and out of stores – here in more rural North Carolina, every shopping experience is a potential social event. Whether it is going to the grocery store, the pharmacy, grabbing a sandwich at a restaurant, or going to buy some whiskey, down South we are open and chatty.
“Y’all got dressed up to get some liquor?”
After entering the liquor store, that was the comment that greeted me as I came around a corner to look at the bourbon shelves. I turned to see an older, robust and slightly rotund fellow with a grin. He was wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with “Retired USMC”, and also wearing a red sweatshirt with the US Marines’ eagle, globe, and anchor logo. And there I was, after coming straight from work, still in my navy blue suit, white shirt, and a neon orange tie. He and I immediately started chatting about all things great and small. (This is one of the many things I love about the South…as I have a big mouth and love to chat.) He and I chatted for roughly ten minutes about The Marines, my father who served on a Marine base, his granddaughter, baseball, and favourite places to find good barbecue. For God’s sake, initially, we didn’t even introduce ourselves formally – but this is the South, and we chat. Chat and get along.
We then turned our chat to the topic of bourbon. He asked me if I had any recommendations, as he wanted a good bottle for a family reunion. I asked what his favourite brand of bourbon was. He was a fan of Jack Daniels, but was quick to put his hand on my shoulder, chuckle a bit, and tell me with a big smile that “Jack ain’t bourbon, my friend… that’s Tennessee whiskey.” Absolutely, it is.
I pointed out the Jack Daniels Single Barrel, Barrel Proof expression. He had not had it before, and I told him about my very favourable experience with that bottle a few months back. As it turned out the store had it on sale for $65.00. He examined the bottle, nodded, and thanked me heartily. He then asked me what I was looking for. I told him I was looking for an easy sipper, something that wasn’t overly expensive but a solid pour that I wouldn’t overthink. He looked at the shelves with me, and pointed out the bottle that is now in front of me.
“Straight, good, and easy,” he said as I retrieved the bottle from the shelf. “You can do better, but this will be a good pour tonight.”
I thanked him, and we chatted some more. Before parting ways, I introduced myself and I learned his name was Rick. We shook hands, and he said, “Looking forward to seeing you again – and we’ll compare notes about our bottles.”
Looking forward to it, Rick.
Review
Heaven Hill 7yo, Bottled in Bond, Bottle codes: 17 23 333 2218 11 and A0724052, 50% ABV
USD$49 (£39) paid, domestic US availability
Aside from a few drams here or there at a bar or at a gathering, I have not had much experience with Heaven Hill bourbons. This is the first Heaven Hill bottling I have purchased. Heaven Hill is a huge outfit, and under its umbrella of whiskey labels, its expressions include names such as Henry McKenna, Bernheim, Rittenhouse Rye, Larceny, Parker’s Heritage, Evan Williams, Old Fitzgerald, and Elijah Craig. And, as it turns out, Heaven Hill is, according to its website, the largest producer of Bottled in Bond expressions.
The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 is considered as the first consumer protection legislation in the United States. In the late 1800s, bourbon was big business, but the liquid, itself, was often of questionable provenance and make-up. One outlet points out that many distillers were undercut and duped by nefarious folk who would make column-distilled neutral spirits and would falsely market the alcohol as bourbon by dousing the liquid with all sorts of additives to disguise the true nature of the liquid and/or would stretch the batch of liquid to be sold. Additives such as prune juice, gasoline, wood resin, sugar, iodine, glycerin, tobacco spit, turpentine, fusel oil, and even formaldehyde were used to bring fake flavours and colours to a bottle. In addition to protecting the real bourbon producers from imitation and falsified liquor claiming bourbon status, the Bottled in Bond act was also put in place to prevent the serious health issues that resulted from the bogus packaging.
I am not sure what this says about us as a species or us, Americans, in particular – but it is true that before any consumer protection legislation was enacted to protect the food supply here in the United States, the government first enacted consumer protection legislation to protect whiskey.
The resulting stamp of a bourbon being “Bottled in Bond” was, and continues to be, a mark of safety and high standards. While there have been countless other food and liquor regulations that have come since 1897, the Bottled in Bond Act remains. One bourbon outlet refers to the Bottled In Bond stamp as the “craft certification” of today, as it remains a mark of provenance and transparency.
To earn the stamp of being a bottled in bond bourbon, a bourbon must be: (1) distilled at the same distillery, (2) consist of the same spirits and same class of materials, (3) be the product of one distilling season (either January to June, or July to December), (4) be stored at least four years in wooden containers, (5) stored in a bonded government warehouse, (6) reduced in proof only by pure water, (7) bottled exactly at 100 proof, (8) bear the real name of the distillery, and (9) bear the name and number of the Distilled Spirit Plant (DSP) where it was produced and, if different, the DSP number of the bottling facility.
So, I have some confidence in the bottle before me due to the combination of the well known Heaven Hill name, a Bottled in Bond designation, and a firm recommendation from Rick the retired Marine.
Nose
Right off the bat, I have vanilla and oak. There is a wave of pecan pie. Honey and caramel. Slight wisps of pipe tobacco and some over-ripe plums. Not sure of the mashbill, but I do get a slight hint of rye spice. This is pleasant and inviting.
Palate
That oak and spice is prominent – the spices being that hint of rye, a bit of allspice, and some cinnamon. Butterscotch. Graham crackers. A layer of stone fruits is present but not forward. Honey and vanilla make themselves known after the oak and spice initially hit your tongue. Roasted nuts – pecans and peanuts – come mid-palate. The finish is relatively long with a nice tobacco and cracked pepper addition to the flavours coming at the end.
The Dregs
This bottle is exactly what Rick told me. This dram is straight, good, and easy. It certainly is an easy, good pour. The flavours provide a solid profile. While the mashbill of this bourbon is not on the label, after I had a few samplings, I did some digging online. I found that the mashbill is 78% corn, 12% malted barley, and 10% rye. I am glad to see the not-insignificant rye portion noted, as it was re-affirming that the ability of my palate to identify and describe flavours is not as poor as I sometimes think. And, while this is a 50% ABV whiskey, it drinks much lighter.
This is an easy sipper. It is not overly complex, nor does it bring a big hit of alcohol warmth as do some other higher strength bourbons. What it does bring is a sweet (but not cloying) fruit-vanilla-nut profile that is rather nice.
I have this as a 6/10, but it was admittedly a struggle to assign a score. For a while I was teetering between a 5/10 and a 6/10. I reconsidered my score after comparing it to my Wild Turkey Rare Breed. I still have a heel of that bottle that I reviewed last summer, and I poured a dram to compare.
The Rare Breed earned a 6/10. The price point is almost identical ($49 for the Heaven Hill and $51 for my Rare Breed). The Rare Breed has a significant leg up in the ABV department – 58.4% to 50% – and, as a result, you get a bolder and gripping experience as well as a more significant Kentucky Hug. While I like the Rare Breed more, it is somewhat challenging to compare as the flavours are different. The Rare Breed carries that Wild Turkey profile of cherries, red fruits, and cinnamon, while the Heaven Hill bottle brings vanilla, oak, roasted nuts, and caramel. Both are solid pours, but each is distinctive.
The preferred bottle, but not convincingly so, is the Rare Breed. Despite this, based on our Dramface scoring guide, I would still have to place this Heaven Hill in the 6/10 category. This bottle fits the definition of a whiskey that is “[p]riced fairly, [and is] . . . encouraged as a solid purchase.” I am not sure if $49 is too high, but it does not offend me – perhaps because I have been conditioned by purchasing Scotch single malts that are often markedly more expensive. That said, no doubt to me, that this is a solid purchase as an easy sipper, and this bottle is better than the descriptors of a 5/10 on our scoring guide. After going back and forth, I am satisfied that my Rare Breed is, perhaps, a high 6/10 and this Heaven Hill is a lower 6/10 . . . but 6/10, nonetheless.
Here in rural North Carolina. Just as this bourbon is straight, good, and easy, I love that in most circumstances here we bump into complete strangers and have straight, good, and easy chats. It’s the way things ought to be, in my opinion. No worries. Don’t hesitate to socialise with folks around you. It just might make the world a better place. And, this bottle might just make a few evenings and gatherings a measure better.
Again, Rick was right. Straight, good, and easy. And, perhaps, I am enjoying this as much as I am because this bottle fits the place in which I find myself.
Score: 6/10
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