2021 Heaven Hill Select Stock 8yr Toasted (6mo) Finished Barrel Proof SmB | 123.4°

 

Nose: A light sweetness with an immediate spice to the nose with a soft backdrop of clouded in a mist of dense air.  Notes of earthiness remind me of my wife’s garden – for some reason, green onion flashes briefly across my mind.  This item exhibits more of a spice than one may expect. 

 

Palate: A vibrant flavor with an ebullient feel – reminds me of bubbles rising as you open a bottle of soda. Some element of sweetness but much less of it than one may expect - not as many oak characteristics for an item that was finished in a second barrel.  I have always felt that a good bit of the flavor one gets from the bourbon is from the wood, the more time bourbon gets to go in, and out of the wood, the depth usually is amplified – that wood, in turn, is really reflecting trace elements from the soil that have feed it all this time.  Some elements of sweetness but are masked by a sense of leather, tannic bitterness that dominates the profile.  The spirit does exhibit a good finish that lasts longer than most.  

 

Verdict:  I do want to confess that toasted barrel finishes bourbon is not my favorite (minus 2014 and 2015 Michter’s Toasted Bourbon), but I was excited to see a barrel proof variety as other’s (e.g., Michter’s toasted bourbon, EC Toasted, Down Home Toasted) has not been at cask strength. I was expecting a little more oomph to it, but potentially being eight years wasn’t long enough.  It was an interesting pour – possibly if proofed up, I may enjoy it more.

Shall revisit in the following weeks as it changes.