I have, open and within easy reach, the 97, 98 and 99. I also still have some 94, a particular favorite of mine. Last night I did a side-by-side between the 94 and 99, and while they are both good whiskeys, they are very different. The 94 tastes much older than the 99 and also much older than its nine years, more like 14 or 15. Lots of char and the darkest of dark fruit. I don't know if there is such a thing as smoked raisins but if there is, they probably taste like the 94 EWSB. The 99 is much lighter and its sweet side runs more to the caramel candy than dark fruit. The 94 is DSP-31 (Bardstown) juice, while the 99 is Brown-Forman, possibly with some Bernheim. The 2000, which will be previewed in October, should be all-Bernheim. A fraction of the 96 and all of the 97 is Beam juice, while 98 and 99 are Brown-Forman. Although Heaven Hill has always been truthful about where their whiskey was made after the fire, they've never been enthusiastic about discussing it, so some of the details are assumptions.



