Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond Bourbon Review & Tasting Notes

 

This was originally published on March 15, 2018 at Bourbon & Banter.

BOTTLE DETAILS

• DISTILLER: Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.
• MASH BILL: 75% Corn  |  13% Rye  |  12% Malted Barley
• AGE: 6 Years
• YEAR: 2017
• PROOF: 100 (50% ABV)
• MSRP: $11.99

 

NOSE: Vanilla | Honey | Orange Peel | Oak

 

TASTE: Peanut Butter | Butterscotch | Oak | Rye

 

FINISH: Despite the thin mouthfeel, the finish is amazingly creamy. There’s nothing that you could call “rough” on it, either. It is warm without burning and hangs around for several minutes, letting you enjoy it slowly while mild rye spiciness parks on the front of the tongue.

 

SHARE WITH: Bourbon snobs on a blind-tasting basis only. Otherwise, share with those who appreciate good Bourbon at a fair price.

 

WORTH THE PRICE: It is a bargain at or even several bucks above MSRP.

 

BOTTLE, BAR, OR BUST: Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond truly opens up a new fourth choice: Case. Unless you live in Kentucky, buy it by the case. For the cost of a premium bottle of Bourbon, you can get a Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond case.

 

OVERALL: In the glass, it presents itself as a muted amber, almost caramel in color. Swirling it around leaves a thin rim that generates thicker legs to drop quickly back into the pool of liquid sunshine.

 

The nose is much more complex than you’d expect in a bottom-shelf whiskey. Inhaling through my mouth made the vanilla and orange explode like a Dreamsicle. For me, I couldn’t wait to put it in my mouth.

 

The mouthfeel is thin but coats the tongue nicely. There is a front, middle, and back palate, each differentiating itself.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond has a very limited distribution. Sometimes, you can get it outside Kentucky, but this is primarily a Kentucky-only gem. Surprisingly, it is also not listed on Heaven Hill’s website, leaving you to wonder if they’re trying to keep one of the worst-kept secrets in Bourbon locked away.

 

Bottled in Bond is my favorite category of whiskey. Heaven Hill Bottled in Bond is one of the best representatives of that category. #RespectTheBottomShelf

 

 

 

 

My Simple, Easy-to-Understand Rating System

• Bottle = Buy It
• Bar = Try It
• Bust = Leave It

 

Whiskeyfellow encourages you to enjoy your whiskey as you see fit but begs you to do so responsibly.