Old Heaven Hill 8 year old 86 proof

[Grain Belt]

I was curious which states offer Old Heaven Hill 8 year old 86 proof bourbon. Here in MN it comes in 1 liter and 1.75 sizes. A local store has the 1L bottle for 10.29. It is not bad. I think it is a nice anchor of the bottom shelf around here. I enjoy it in a Manhattan, on the rocks, and as a mixer for hot days. I don't think it is distributed to all states. Anyone enjoy this one out there?

[Wryguy]

Was excited to grab a couple of these in MN, find it to be incredibly good and easy drinking for the price and age. I especially enjoy this on the rocks. Compared to the 8 year Beam there is no contest in anyway IMO. The only state in New England that has any that I've seen is RI. But I still haven't been everywhere.

[squire]

We get five versions of Evan Williams, green, black, white BIB, 1783 and SB, but we don't get the Heaven Hill labels, go figure.

[anyexcuse]

I was curious which states offer Old Heaven Hill 8 year old 86 proof bourbon. Here in MN it comes in 1 liter and 1.75 sizes. A local store has the 1L bottle for 10.29. It is not bad. I think it is a nice anchor of the bottom shelf around here. I enjoy it in a Manhattan, on the rocks, and as a mixer for hot days. I don't think it is distributed to all states. Anyone enjoy this one out there?

I'm from MN so I don't know about other US states, but I have done personal blind tastings a couple times, and I liked the HH 8 year 86 definitely better than the Evan Williams black. Same basic profile but the HH seemed more "together". It is, and has been for years, my go to bargain bourbon!

[Brisko]

It was available in Oregon at one time, I believe. Not sure if it still is.

It is my "table bourbon." I buy it in the family size and fill a RHF decanter bottle with it. Especially recently the quality is very good. I also prefer it over EWB.

[BFerguson]

Add me in also, a MN gem.

Hopefully Parker wont get his hands on any and put a mad run on it!! :slappin:

B

[Mark_M]

I see it too here in St. Paul, but never tried it. I need to buy some. I am always looking for a cheap alternative. Personally I don't care for EWB that much, but the college kids love that stuff! Last time I was at a liquor store near St. Thomas College, some big dudes were grabbing 1.75's of EWB. I went directly home and stayed off the streets that night!

[squire]

The bottle isn't fancy enough to interest Parker.

[BFerguson]

But it's got Old and Rare in the name!?!? Anything with the word "rare" in the name certainly would be of interest to him now, wouldn't it??

:grin:

Heck, I'm just glad that it's available round these parts, nice to have a more than decent bottom shelf-er.

B

Edited May 12, 2013 by BFerguson

[squire]

Only if it's expensive and hard to get.

[Flyfish]

Only if it's expensive and hard to get.

Not expensive but may be hard to get. Those of you who have access to the 8YO 86er, how does it compare to the 6YO BIB? And where did you find it?

[Grain Belt]

We don't get the 6 YO BIB here in MN but we do get the 4 YO BIB (gold label) I was fortunate to get a handle of the 6 YO BIB (white label) this fall from a TPS order. I thought it was rich and well rounded. I really liked it. THe 8 YO 86 proofer is a nice pour but it is not in the class of the white label. It is good on the rocks and makes a really nice manhattan without breaking the bank. The 4 YO BIB (gold label) is a little rough and a little hot but it is still a good drink. I like it on the rocks with a splash of water.

[JPBoston]

Only if it's expensive and hard to get.

[BFerguson]

Visiting the past this evening, and brought this up.

Link-15245

It's nice to see that even in the "boom", which was mentioned nearly 2 1/2 years ago, that it's still readily available, and reasonable priced. The last two that I bought were $10.99.

Love the value's that are still out there!

B

[Brisko]

Current bottles are quite a bit more balanced than the first one I bought. I've been buying it by the handle for around $18 on sale. It's also good with a splash of the gold label BiB to beef up the abv and add some youth.

[camduncan]

Picked up a bottle of the 8yo a couple of weeks back on a trip to New Zealand as it was never released here in Australia. The store owner (an American running a whiskey store in NZ) recommended it when I mentioned I am a fan of Old Fitz. I'm not sure if they compare, but I'd be very interested to read some tasting notes.

[Brisko]

I don't have any serious notes but the current stuff is very similar to the EC12 profile, or what you would expect EC12 to taste like at 8 years old. It's a little more vanilla-heavy and chewy than EWB and it has much more barrel influence on the finish.

Older bottles I've had were grassy and quite dry.

[Restaurant man]

They don't have great bottom shelfers like this in GA

[BFerguson]

Only in MN and RI apparently.

I wrote HH and that is what I got back for where it is distributed.

It makes absolutely no sense, but I'm not complaining. :grin:

B

[Sasquatch]

Same situation with Virgin BiB, which I'm a big fan of. Time for me to find a friend in MN or RI!

[mbroo5880i]

I know that some Heaven Hill offerings are available in some parts of Indiana while different offerings are available in other parts of the state. Who makes this determination? The State? The distillery? The distributor?

[JPBoston]

Who makes this determination? The State? The distillery? The distributor?

I'd like clarification on that as well... When say Very Old Barton isn't available in AZ, yet Barton Vodka and Barton Irish Whiskey is... is that a distributor or distillery decision? Surely it's not a state issue, especially in a non control state?

Or maybe a little more apples-to-apples comparison would be EWB and EW:SB available, but EW BIB not. Or BT available, but not ETL, etc etc.

[squire]

Part of it may be Barton produces more white goods (gin, vodka, liqueur, cordials) than straight whisky. If their Canadian whisky brand, Black Velvet, is available there then the other brown goods may follow.

[sutton]

Only in MN and RI apparently.

I wrote HH and that is what I got back for where it is distributed.

It makes absolutely no sense, but I'm not complaining. :grin:

B

Unbelievable - this has to be the first time something hardly distributed winds up practically on my doorstep :grin: - thanks for the info, B! Looks like a trip over the line is in order this weekend!

[Grain Belt]

Thank you everyone for the information. The latest about this HH product being only available in MN and RI is extremely interesting. I have read that Fleishman's Rye is only distributed to Northern Wisconsin. There are some quirks in our love of brown liquors. That is for certain. All I really know about all this is that I can get a liter of a really nice bourbon for $10.29.