Black Maple Hill, No Age?

[robbyvirus]

Today I found a bottle of Black Maple Hill bourbon which had no age listed on the label. Previously all the BMH I've seen had a spot on the label where its age is written in, but this BMH had a slightly different label with no age indication. It was $35, cheaper than the BMH I've seen in the past, so I picked it up. But having tasted it, I'm now bummed that I bought it. It tastes very young, with a rather dull flavor, a bit grassy and uncomplicated. I'm disappointed becuase previous BMH's I've tried have been quite nice. Anyway, has anyone else encountered this "mystery" BMH of a certain age? Anyone have any idea of how old it might be?

[cowdery]

I don't know about this particular expression, but Black Maple Hill is one of those independent bottler products that got started during the Bourbon Glut and is having trouble keeping especially its oldest expressions going in the present era, when old whiskey on the spot market is dear if it can be had at all.

My guess would be that they were forced to use younger whiskey, or combine old whiskey with young, and rather than list the age of the youngest whiskey on the label, they chose to rely on BMH's generally good reputation instead.

Your tasting notes would seem to support this theory.

No age statement at all tells you the whiskey is at least four years old.

[luv2hunt]

Aren't the BMH labels all different colors?

21 is Gold wax....gold printing

16 is Black wax....black printing

14 is Red wax....brown printing

11 is Blue wax...blue printing

That's all I have, so maybe someone else can fill in the blanks. Anyway, I'd bet you got one that missed being hand labeled.

Dawn

[Hedmans Brorsa]

I´m sorry that you had a negative tasting experience, Robby. At the same time, though, I have to ask myself why people persist in buying these whiskies.

The more that we ignore them, the sooner they will disappear from the shelves. Although, if Chuck is right, they are on their way out, anyway.

Is it the comparative dearth of bourbons, compared to scotch, that makes these fakes so attractive? If so, I still can´t understand it. It would be like having 30 different Balvenies at home, with only slight variations of taste. :confused:

[Joeluka]

I got this from an E-mail from Lenell's a while back:

BLACK MAPLE HILL SMALL BATCH BOURBON $40.00: Bit of a whiskey shortage for private labels like this one. No more 11 and 16. Got a few bottles left of 14. Instead of the 11, 14, and 16 single barrel bottlings, they are now bottling a "small batch" version with no age statement

I also heard thi from a different store I go to.

[luv2hunt]

So there ya go! I've not seen any bottles without the age statement around here.

Dawn

[OscarV]

Aren't the BMH labels all different colors?

21 is Gold wax....gold printing

16 is Black wax....black printing

14 is Red wax....brown printing

11 is Blue wax...blue printing

That's all I have, so maybe someone else can fill in the blanks. Anyway, I'd bet you got one that missed being hand labeled.

Dawn

[QUOTE][/QUOTE]

The 23yo has silver wax,....right?

[luv2hunt]

The 23yo has silver wax,....right?

I don't believe there is a 23. Evidently there's a 18 and 15 yr expression.....however, I've never seen those. (See VBT #31)

Dawn

[robbyvirus]

I got this from an E-mail from Lenell's a while back:

BLACK MAPLE HILL SMALL BATCH BOURBON $40.00: Bit of a whiskey shortage for private labels like this one. No more 11 and 16. Got a few bottles left of 14. Instead of the 11, 14, and 16 single barrel bottlings, they are now bottling a "small batch" version with no age statement

I also heard thi from a different store I go to.

Well, that would explain it.

This bottle had an orange-red printed label, and black wax.

[Brennan77]

Aren't the BMH labels all different colors?

21 is Gold wax....gold printing

16 is Black wax....black printing

14 is Red wax....brown printing

11 is Blue wax...blue printing

That's all I have, so maybe someone else can fill in the blanks. Anyway, I'd bet you got one that missed being hand labeled.

Dawn

I've seen 14 year old bottles with white wax.

[Virus_Of_Life]

I don't believe there is a 23. Evidently there's a 18 and 15 yr expression.....however, I've never seen those. (See VBT #31)

Dawn

There is a 23year Rye, 18 year Rye and the 15 year was the original Rye that Julian did. I have had 3 bottles, 1 left, of the cuurent 16 year all from the same barrel and it was great!

I wonder if this means all of the sudden the mid year BMH expressions are going to start disappearing from the shelves? Well come to think of it that is already happening around here! Sheesh! I don't make enough to buy all this bourbon that needs to be bunkered! :banghead:

[dgonano]

Julian's 15yr old bottling was a rye whiskey-green wax. His 16yr was a bourbon-black wax.

Drew's 18yr was a rye-green wax. I know of the 23 yr rye ...haven't seen it yet.

[Ubertaster]

The Wine and Liquor Depot lists Black Maple Hill Small Batch as 8 yr and 95 proof. http://www.wineandliquordepot.com/whiskey.htm

bj

[tritioch]

The Wine and Liquor Depot lists Black Maple Hill Small Batch as 8 yr and 95 proof.

bj

Spoke with a local wholesale rep and allegedly the small batch is a blend of 8 and 11yr old barrels. Sad to hear that the new small bacth isnt all that greta, but hey.... plenty of 21yr bourbon and 23yr rye from what I hear:grin:

[Virus_Of_Life]

I saw this Small Batch today on a shelf and it was so light in color there is no way I'd ever touch it! Not saying that color is a definitive determiner of quality, but this stuff was as light if not lighter than JB white.

[tritioch]

We just got some BMH in store today. Smal Batch, 21yr Bourbon, and 23 Rye... I'll crack some small batch and post some notes on it later today.

[tritioch]

BMH Small Batch

Age: Blend of 8yr and 11yr

Color: Gold, light amber in the tasting glass

Nose: Young rye grain manifestation; sesame butter, slightly grassy and vegetal. Some corn sweetness begins to balance the nose, however with time the corn turns to a rather glycerine-esque note. Overall rather mute, indicative of young whiskey from the cooler parts of a warehouse.

Palate: Now we have something interesting. Loaded with sweet candied orange citrus. The rye steps up somewhat with a little bit of spice, the vegetal notes of the nose recede greatly. Little oak presence bringing us back to the young age again. With time in the glass a honey/buttermilk note joins with the citrus forming a mellow easy sipping bourbon. The alchohol (95 proof), while present is minimally intrusive, providing just the slightest tingle on the tongue as it moves towards the finish.

Finish: Semi-warming mild tongue tingle with lingering corn sweetness, and light rye spice notes. on the late finish the oak finally makes a cameo apearance in the background.

Overall Impression: Upstate NYS this retails for $40, any less is a bargain, any more and the store is gouging you. This is not a bottle for those who enjoy the hazmat high octane bottlings of the world, or the bland as hell (read: Basil Haydens). Its a nice young whiskey, focussed on the grains. This is not an essay in oak. The overall flavor profile bears similarities to Jim Beam whiskey, however it has a lightness and finess that I have yet to find in any aged Beam product. On the other hand, it is VERY similar to many lighter Eagle Rare barrel samples I have tasted withing the past year as well, especially with the citrus notes. I'll keep the bottle around for my friends who want better than the basics, but cant stand the high octane stufff.

[Vange]

I saw this yesterday for $33.

[robbyvirus]

I've nursed a bottle of this over the course of the last four months, and I have to say, each time I try it I like it less and less. It's too young, and not very balanced. There are definitely other bourbons I would rather spend my money on. Too bad, too, because I really like the 14 and 16yo BMH's.

[mgilbertva]

Nice review, tritioch! I saw the non-age statement BMH as well, and skipped buying it because it was so pale and I think the BMH bourbons are overpriced for my taste. BMH Rye is another story...