BOTM 03/25 Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 7 year

[Jazz June]

The Basics

 

Distillery: Heaven Hill (New Bernheim)

Brand Owner: Heaven Hill

Mash Bill: 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley (Heaven Hill’s primary rye recipe bourbon mash bill)

Proof: 100

Age: 7 years old

MSRP: $50 ($55 for picks)

Expression introduced: 2019

Last time as BotM: First time (its predecessor 6-year bonded version was BotM in July 2017)

 

Distillery Tasting Notes

 

Aroma/Nose: Warm notes of vanilla, honey and a rich caramel sweetness

 

Taste/Palate: Smooth, warm and sweet with a subtle rye spice note; caramel and honey mingle with just enough oak and char to round out the richness

 

Finish: Long, lingering

 

My Thoughts

 

National Bottled in Bond Day is March 3^rd, with the Bottled in Bond Act signed into law on March 3, 1897 (it has since been repealed, but its provisions are now codified elsewhere in law). Once upon a time the designation was reserved for a brand or distillery’s most premium product, but in recent decades had become primarily associated with good value brands. The bourbon boom has brought renewed focus to it though, with many craft distilleries touting bonded bourbon and rye releases and a few of the legacy distilleries releasing high end bonded bourbons (see Old Fitzgerald bottled in bond decanters).

 

A bonded spirit (doesn’t have to be just whiskey) must be:

 

1.        Distilled at a single distillery, in a single season (a 6-month period), and by a single distiller.

2.        Must be aged at least 4 years in a bonded warehouse.

3.        Must be bottled at 100 proof.

4.        Must identify the DSP (distilled spirits plant) where it was distilled and where it was bottled (if different).

 

I personally really like bonded bourbons and typically use them to get a good baseline feel for a distillery’s products. While older bonded bourbons certainly exist (see Parker’s Heritage Collection 2016’s 24-year bonded bourbon), a large number of them are in the 4 to 6 year age range, meaning they are a potentially nice balance of quality and price.

 

Heaven Hill was established after Prohibition and in 1939 they were able to release a bonded bourbon under their Heaven Hill brand name. This bourbon has existed in many different ages and label colors, but was supposedly the best-selling bourbon in Kentucky for many years. The version immediately preceding the current one bore a white label and a 6-year age statement. It was famous for being a tremendous value, with its price somewhere in the low and mid-teens until its demise in 2018/2019. Later in 2019, this 7-year version was introduced at more than twice the price. It is a good whiskey, but the replacement of a beloved expression coupled with a big price jump certainly earned it ill-will from many longtime bourbon drinkers.

 

It's been a minute since I have had it, but my impression is that it is a solid, classic bourbon, if not a true standout against other similarly priced offerings. For me, it is comparable to Elijah Craig small batch, but with significantly less tannic oak flavors. Very drinkable, without much in the way of spice, and a reasonably medium length finish.

 

Heaven Hill distills at New Bernheim in Louisville (DSP-KY-1) and bottles at Old Heaven Hill Springs in Bardstown (DSP-KY-31). The distillery at Old Heaven Hill Springs famously burned down in 1996, but they are now building a new distillery there. So in a few years we may be seeing distilled and bottled at DSP-KY-31 once again.

 

So, Straight Bourbon, what do you have to say about Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond?

[PaulO]

I have not yet tried the 7 year bottled in bond.  I probably will one day.  My local grocery store carries it.

Over the years, I have enjoyed the other bottled in bond brands from Heaven Hill.

Here's some trivia about distilling seasons.  There are two every year.  Distilling shuts down for the hottest time of the year in summer.  This is because too warm a temperature causes the yeast to ferment too fast, and produce off flavors.  Cooler temps and slower fermentation is ideal.

[fosmith]

When the 7yr first appeared in CA, a friend and I did a side by side with with it, the HH 6yr BiB and Evan Williams BiB.  We both felt that all three were very close in flavor with the HH 6yr slightly edging out the other two.  Needless to say, given the price, I haven't bought another bottle of the 7yr since then.  

[flahute]

Like others, I'm in the camp of never having bought a bottle due to the sudden and high upcharge for only an extra year of aging. I have had it at the bar by my office and it is good. However at $49 it's a hard pass for me when I can get McKenna at $50.

[fishnbowljoe]

I tried a bottle of the HH 7 when it first came out. I was in Bardstown for one of our get togethers and saw it at a store there. (Kroger?) I was a bit concerned with the price of $39.99. Maybe the price influenced me a little. I thought it was decent, but…. I didn’t buy another bottle for quite a while because the price creeped up and up. Some stores had it from $59.99 to $69.99. Not long ago the price dropped to $49.99, so I bought one. In the last few months, the price at a few places has dropped to $39.99, and one store has it on sale fairly often for $36.99. At that price, I’m a buyer. My stubbornness aside, it is a good bourbon IMHO. Lots going on, but in a good way. Still, I miss the old HH 6. A good, easy drinker at a great price.

[PaulO]

15 hours ago, flahute said:

Like others, I'm in the camp of never having bought a bottle due to the sudden and high upcharge for only an extra year of aging. I have had it at the bar by my office and it is good. However at $49 it's a hard pass for me when I can get McKenna at $50.

And I can get JW Dant @ $17 a liter.  

[MM818]

While I think it’s above average bourbon I rarely reach for it. It’s a mouthful of flavor. It’s a sweet conglomeration of oak, citrus, and cherries.

 

It’s in that crowded BIB category and it’s easy to forget how good it is. 

[Kepler]

The new HH7 BiB is good but way overpriced.  A 7 year bourbon from a big Legacy Kentucky distiller for 49?   Beam has their 7 year bourbon priced at $21.   Come on Heaven Hill, snap out of it.

[Wedelstaedt]

9 hours ago, Kepler said:

The new HH7 BiB is good but way overpriced.  A 7 year bourbon from a big Legacy Kentucky distiller for 49?   Beam has their 7 year bourbon priced at $21.   Come on Heaven Hill, snap out of it.

Generally, I have left Heaven Hill brands behind.  Hard for me to say, as their whiskey was really my gateway into bourbon. EWSiB grabbed me. I really liked the profile, the upscale packaging,  the single barrel varieties (a big reason even today I favor SiB, regardless of brand.)
Then, I discovered EC12, outstanding profile, 12 years of age, again great price.
Both brands  were priced under $20. At that time, they were under WT101 in price and beating 101 in taste. Fast forward to today. WT101 easily defeats both of those,  on price and consistent quality.
I’m not even going into how I feel about what HH has done to HMcK10.  

 

I hope, someone at HH will regain their senses and return to making a quality Bourbon, the working man can be happy, proud and afford to own. 
 

Cheers

[Jazz June]

This discussion spurred me to take a look through the MSRPs of bonded whiskeys sold at Virginia ABC. Here are the ones under $40:

 

JW Dant BiB $36.20 (handle)

JTS Brown BiB $33.50 (handle)

Evan Williams BiB $21 / $36 (handle)

Rittenhouse BiB $27 / $32 (liter) / $35 for PS version

 

Old Tub BiB $25

Old Grand-Dad BiB $25

Old Overholt BiB $25

 

Benchmark BiB $25

 

Early Times BiB $26 (liter)

 

Jack Daniels BiB rye $37 (700mL)

Jack Daniels BiB $37 (700mL)

 

I found 11 options, with 3 of those being ryes. Heaven Hill still offers the cheapest bottled in bond bourbons with JTS Brown BiB taking the crown in a handle size at the equivalent of less than $15 per standard 750mL bottle. Heaven Hill also makes a TW Samuels BiB, which I bought for less than that in Kentucky years ago, but I don't know what its current price would be. Old Overholt is the cheapest of the three ryes at $25.

 

Heaven Hill has also cleared a label for a 7-year bonded version of Old Fitzgerald. Clearly this is intended to be a more regular and cheaper version of the Old Fitzgerald BiB decanters, but I will be interested to see just what that price is.

 

Another interesting comparison is the recently released Bulleit BiB, which is similarly 7 years old and clocks in at $55. There were quite a few bonded craft whiskeys and some stepped up BiB offerings from the majors in the $45 to $60 range, where the Heaven Hill 7yr BiB sits.

 

 

 

[Kepler]

Good numbers, thanks for pulling these together.  But for me, there is still a bit of an apples and oranges comparison here.

 

HH is still the king of 4 year BiB.  

But slap much age on it (say, 7 years and up) and they aren't the same.

And I hope HH (legacy Kentucly distiller) is not comparing themselves to Bulleit.

[Dean E]

Actually I'm a fan of the HH 7 year.  It is a solid well rounded bourbon that I can pick up at Sams for $40.  The one that disappoints me is the Bakers 7 year and I am a JB fan.  For about the same money I can get a KB 12 year or a Russells SB which I find leaps and bounds better that the Bakers.  It is a good bourbon but not at that price range. 

[Kepler]

3 hours ago, Dean E said:

Actually I'm a fan of the HH 7 year.  It is a solid well rounded bourbon that I can pick up at Sams for $40.  The one that disappoints me is the Bakers 7 year and I am a JB fan.  For about the same money I can get a KB 12 year or a Russells SB which I find leaps and bounds better that the Bakers.  It is a good bourbon but not at that price range. 

True about Baker's.  But you can just buy Knob Creek 9 year ... 29 bucks where I live.

[Jazz June]

This morning, I got an email offering pre-order on the new Old Fitzgerald BiB 7yr for $50. This may be a bit of a premium to its MSRP, to take advantage of those first wave/have to have it customers. But then again, maybe not, as it is consistent with the Heaven Hill BiB 7yr pricing and, if anything, the Old Fitzgerald might be expected to carry a higher price given the demand for the brand.

 

To Kepler's point about older age stated bonded whiskeys, the one that jumps to mind is Henry McKenna 10yr BiB, which is now $65 MSRP. Even at a "lower" proof point of 100 (versus "more premium" higher proof offerings), I think there is too much of a premium on well-aged liquid from the large legacy distillers to see a significant age statement below $40. At 90 proof, Eagle Rare 10 is $43 and Russell's Reserve 10 is $45. Standard Knob Creek is 9 years old and 100 proof at $43. I know outside of my silly control state some of these products see significant discounts from MSRP, but I think they are still instructive on the price point for older bonded whiskeys.

[Tim S.]

I wasn't paying enough attention to the details of Bourbon in 2017 to remember the previous offering, but I did pick up a bottle of this a couple of months ago and really enjoy it!  At $50 it's above my price point to buy often, but I will probably replace it when the current one runs dry.