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2020 PHC


BottledInBond
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So I don’t think I’ve seen much chatter about this year’s PHC yet. If someone else already started a thread on it, mods certainly merge this with it or whatever. 
 

10 years, #5 char, 120 proof, NCF. I can’t really think of another release that aligns well with those stats for anything to project possible comparisons to. I’ll certainly grab one or two if I can around MSRP, but as we all know that’s getting harder and harder these days. Hopefully I at least get to try it. 
 

You guys excited about it this year?  Disappointed? 

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I'd characterize my reaction as intrigued. The only PHC I've had was the orange curacao finish. 

The 5 char and 120 proof sounds like an interesting combination. I'm pretty sure I've never had anything aged in a 5 char barrel. 

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Of course I'll jump if see one.  #5 char definitely something to try.  Would prefer more age.  Though HH is good at 8 & 10 year, The 27 year PHC was astounding.

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The high char rye from last year was fantastic. It really added a lot of sweetness and extra caramel flavor. As well as toasted marshmallow to the nose.

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I’ll give this a go.  Probably not worth the price relative to ECBP but interesting enough to buy one.

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21 hours ago, flahute said:

I’ll give this a go.  Probably not worth the price relative to ECBP but interesting enough to buy one.

I loved the rye last year, so I am glad they are continuing with the high char experiments.    Ironically I revisited the orange from 2 years ago with my bride recently, and It was even better than I remembered.   Definitely distinct, but fabulous none the less.

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4 hours ago, geclbxf said:

I loved the rye last year, so I am glad they are continuing with the high char experiments.    Ironically I revisited the orange from 2 years ago with my bride recently, and It was even better than I remembered.   Definitely distinct, but fabulous none the less.

I think I appreciated the curaçao finished one more as time went on. I think the first time I tried it, I was expecting to not like it ahead of time, mainly because I really didn’t like the Willett XCF stuff which was the only thing I could think of as a comparison. After having the PHC a few times it grew on me, and I was able to eliminate any lingering XCF bias.

 

That XCF, and the terrible 80th anniversary stuff, are the worst things Willett has done to the WFE product line......

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I hope this year's PHC is a winner.  I've passed on opportunities to buy some of the more recent ones, (Rye, Orange barrel finished, and Malt). 

 

If I were them I would make the next several PHC releases just be hand-picked "best-of-the-best" barrels from ECBP stock in order to get the PHC brand back where it was a few years ago.

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26 minutes ago, Kepler said:

I hope this year's PHC is a winner.  I've passed on opportunities to buy some of the more recent ones, (Rye, Orange barrel finished, and Malt). 

 

If I were them I would make the next several PHC releases just be hand-picked "best-of-the-best" barrels from ECBP stock in order to get the PHC brand back where it was a few years ago.

Did you try any of the malt/orange/rye?

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Yes I tried the Orange and was not impressed.  I'm not much of a malt fan and the rye was too expensive for what it was and had lackluster reviews (I chose WT Master’s  Keep Cornerstone instead, plus I still challenge any rye to match Pikesville at $41).

 

I loaded up on the PHC 11 Year Single Barrel bourbon a few years ago, and it was a great decision in hindsight. I also loved the Blend of Three Mashbills and the Wheat whiskey from several years ago.

PHC used to be an elite series and I hope they regain their lost glory.

Have you tried their better stuff?

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1 hour ago, Kepler said:

I hope this year's PHC is a winner.  I've passed on opportunities to buy some of the more recent ones, (Rye, Orange barrel finished, and Malt). 

 

If I were them I would make the next several PHC releases just be hand-picked "best-of-the-best" barrels from ECBP stock in order to get the PHC brand back where it was a few years ago.

Yes.

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11 minutes ago, Kepler said:

Yes I tried the Orange and was not impressed.  I'm not much of a malt fan and the rye was too expensive for what it was and had lackluster reviews (I chose WT Master’s  Keep Cornerstone instead, plus I still challenge any rye to match Pikesville at $41).

 

I loaded up on the PHC 11 Year Single Barrel bourbon a few years ago, and it was a great decision in hindsight. I also loved the Blend of Three Mashbills and the Wheat whiskey from several years ago.

PHC used to be an elite series and I hope they regain their lost glory.

Have you tried their better stuff?

I’ve had them all. PHC #1 was the whiskey that turned me on to higher end bourbon and I’ve loved that product line ever since. Some releases more than others certainly. I definitely liked the Blend of Mashbills, more so than the wheat, but that’s just a personal preference thing. Kind of like how I thought the POH was just a great classic bourbon profile, but I’m not a cognac guy so I wasn’t amazed by the cognac finished one. The Malt was still good whiskey even if everyone wasn’t as excited about it. It had a great oily viscosity. I’m not a scotch guy but I’m glad I tried it. In general, I appreciate that PHC has taken chances and been versatile. The rye was good enough for me to buy 2 bottles, and I tried Cornerstone but never bought my own bottle. Cornerstone is good whiskey, but having tried Rare Breed Rye now, I would take a couple of those over a Cornerstone for sure. And, I’ll take Rare Breed Rye over Pikesville now. Granted the RBR is more expensive, and I generally have an affinity for WT rye (I drink a shitload of WT101R).

 

my pipe dream is still a well aged barrel proof rye for PHC. A barrel proof 15 or more year NCF barrel proof rye one of these years? Yes please. No barrel finishes or other gimmicks required 


 

 

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2 minutes ago, BottledInBond said:

I’ve had them all. PHC #1 was the whiskey that turned me on to higher end bourbon and I’ve loved that product line ever since. Some releases more than others certainly. I definitely liked the Blend of Mashbills, more so than the wheat, but that’s just a personal preference thing. Kind of like how I thought the POH was just a great classic bourbon profile, but I’m not a cognac guy so I wasn’t amazed by the cognac finished one. The Malt was still good whiskey even if everyone wasn’t as excited about it. It had a great oily viscosity. I’m not a scotch guy but I’m glad I tried it. In general, I appreciate that PHC has taken chances and been versatile. The rye was good enough for me to buy 2 bottles, and I tried Cornerstone but never bought my own bottle. Cornerstone is good whiskey, but having tried Rare Breed Rye now, I would take a couple of those over a Cornerstone for sure. And, I’ll take Rare Breed Rye over Pikesville now. Granted the RBR is more expensive, and I generally have an affinity for WT rye (I drink a shitload of WT101R).

 

my pipe dream is still a well aged barrel proof rye for PHC. A barrel proof 15 or more year NCF barrel proof rye one of these years? Yes please. No barrel finishes or other gimmicks required 


 

 

I really loved the Blend of 3 mashbills.

 

And I'm disappointed in the WTRB Rye. Lots of anticipation but nothing new to see here.  RRSiB Rye and WT101R still fill the bill quite nicely.  And  I still prefer Pikesville over any of those.

And I don't regret skipping  the PHC rye. 

To each his own I guess.

I'm still hopeful they will win me back wirh a stellar straight bourbon again.  I'm nothing if not open minded.  ?

 

 

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To me the PHC line has had too many whiffs lately.  I'm afraid it is a  result of the sad loss of Parker. 

I sense the quality control & blending areas of  Heaven Hill has been in disarray since his passing. 

Across their brands, there has been a marked drop in quality. ?

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12 hours ago, Kepler said:

I really loved the Blend of 3 mashbills.

 

And I'm disappointed in the WTRB Rye. Lots of anticipation but nothing new to see here.  RRSiB Rye and WT101R still fill the bill quite nicely.  And  I still prefer Pikesville over any of those.

And I don't regret skipping  the PHC rye. 

To each his own I guess.

I'm still hopeful they will win me back wirh a stellar straight bourbon again.  I'm nothing if not open minded.  ?

 

 

If we all had the same preferences, the stuff that everyone liked would all disappear quickly, and none of this would be very interesting at all. 
 

Regardless of the heavy char level (which I did like on the rye last year), I was excited to see that the new one will be 120 proof. Just off the 122 proof of ol’ #1 that I loved

 

cheers 

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On 9/19/2020 at 11:05 PM, Kepler said:

 

And I'm disappointed in the WTRB Rye. Lots of anticipation but nothing new to see here. 

 

 

 

Thank God I'm not the only one.  I'd take 101 rye any day over RB rye, and Cornerstone still rules the roost for me.

Not much of a RR SB rye guy either.

Perhaps I just like WT rye in batched form.

 

Back on topic, I enjoyed the PHC rye last year, but not enough to chase one down.

And Pikesville is very hard to beat.

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On 9/19/2020 at 10:57 PM, BottledInBond said:

 

 

my pipe dream is still a well aged barrel proof rye for PHC. A barrel proof 15 or more year NCF barrel proof rye one of these years? Yes please. No barrel finishes or other gimmicks required 


 

 

I liked last year's rye, but that would be taking it to another level.  

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The PHC11 came out my first year in bourbon and I missed that one.  Have tasted it and it was fantastic.  Did not like the Orange (see Barrel Aging Thred) and passed on the Heavy Char Rye last year as I did not want to spend that much after already buying Cornerstone.

 

Loved Cornerstone, very much enjoyed the new RB Rye and think like many large batched products that one will improve with time.  Pikesville is good, but it's been awhile.  Probably should do that one blind vs RBR.

 

For this years PHC?  Meh.  I'd like to try it, and I guess if one comes my way at MSRP I would have a hard time passing, but I am not going to be searching for it at all.  Not counting the PVW and BTAC the one I am most interested in this fall is the 4R and in a perfect world would probably buy multiples if given option.  AKA can have a PHC or a second 4R.  Would just get the double.  Same with things like the OF14yr or OFBB.  Would just rather focus on what I like and KNOW will be fantastic.

 

Unrelated but 134pf WLW this year also sounds fantastic!

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I didn't care much for the Heavy Char Rye last year, so I'm not too excited for this either.  Now if I happened to find it near retail, I'd likely still get it,.

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  • 1 month later...

I've been away for a while and missed this news altogether. This sounds like a very "normal" release compared to all the gimmicky PHCs in recent memory. I kinda look forward to the simplicity here given that the Promise of Hope was the last masterpiece in the lineup for me.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have they got a master distiller that actually wants the job yet?

 

There must be something very deeply unpleasant with the management culture when you can't get someone to step up to run Heaven Hill !!!

 

This year, I would have thought they'd release a vial of Coronavirus vaccine for PHC...

 

Maybe some hand sanitizer from Warehouse H?

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On 11/3/2020 at 11:23 AM, The Black Tot said:

Have they got a master distiller that actually wants the job yet?

 

There must be something very deeply unpleasant with the management culture when you can't get someone to step up to run Heaven Hill !!!

 

This year, I would have thought they'd release a vial of Coronavirus vaccine for PHC...

 

Maybe some hand sanitizer from Warehouse H?

?

Parker's

Hand

Cleaner

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  • 1 month later...

I am really enjoying this year release of PHC.  I had some doubts as while I thought that last years heavy char rye was good, it wasn't befitting the PHC moniker that I had grown accustomed to over the years.  As previously mentioned by others, the early PHCs were fantastic with the Blend of Mashbills and PHC1 & PHC2 all placing very high on my all time favorite whiskey list so I was very pleasantly surprised at just how good this one in.  Make not mistake, its not up to the same level as those early PHC releases, but its a marked improvement over the last few years.  I was lucky to get two bottles and if I'm lucky enough to stumble across any more even remotely close to MSRP, I'll be taking them home with me.

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