Heaven Hill 9 Year old That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Heaven Hill

Founded in 1935 and known as the “Old Heavenhill Springs” distillery by 5 brothers from the Shapiro family and a group of investors shortly after Prohibition ended in Bardstown, Kentucky and in a time of depression and great hardship in the country it was seen by many as a bold move..

Barrel number 1 was filled December 13th and production continued until 1942 when due to the war the Government shut down the distillery in order to produce alcohol for the war effort.

On September 30th, 1955 the distillery filled cask number 500,000, 6 short years later on July 21st barrel number 1,000,000 was filled, March 24th 1976 sees barrel number 2,000,000 with barrel #2,500,000 filled June 18 1982.

Barrel #3,000,000 is filled February 18th 1988 with the milestone #3,500,000 being reached on September 7th 1993, Barrel #4000,000 was filled January 13th 1998  and 20 years later in 2018 the landmark had reached 8 million barrels filled..

Today Heaven Hill is now the biggest Independently, family owned and operated distilled spirits supplier in the country and is the 6th largest producer within the USA.

The company also boasts to be the second largest holder of maturing bourbon stocks in the world with a reported 1.5 million barrels held within its warehouses.

Today names such as Elijah Craig, Evan Williams and Rittenhouse all come under the Heaven Hill umbrella.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company

Im not sure what more I can tell you about this independent bottler and the brands they offer other than if you have not come across them yet then maybe you should venture outside and get back to the real world..

The company offers you “ Stunning whiskies from around the world, renowned brands, distilleries with fun and informative graphic, novel style labels containing humorous in jokes and shocking puns” there I think they summed it up rather well !!

Heaven Hill 9 year old Corn Whiskey Batch 1

Yes folks this is 100% corn whiskey or simply maize / sweet corn with no barley..

Distillery.. Heaven Hill

Region.. Kentucky, USA

Age.. 9 years

Abv.. 49.5%

Batch.. 1

Outturn.. 1,679 x 50cl bottles

RRP .. £44.95

Nose.. Straight into corn on the cob lavishly smothered in butter.  Popcorn, vanilla, cinnamon and caramel leaf into a soft dried fruit aroma with stewed fruits, oak tannins and a soft orange peel note.

Palate.. A gentle peppery prickle leads you into a sweeter vanilla note that is soon backed up with toffee, caramel popcorn and a subtle hint of chocolate. The oak dives in again towards the latter end with a slight bitterness that enhances the chocolate and fruits that are a little shy at first..

Finish.. Oaky with plenty of tannins..

Thoughts.. I found this rather interesting in a way that keeps me intrigued long enough to finish the sample and still find myself wondering if I loved it or just liked it..

The nose is so inviting and screams sweetness but the palate totally side swipes you with the tannins but don’t misunderstand me I like those oaky notes and find they can enhance the experience in certain circumstances but with this I had the feeling it was more a battle of supremacy within..

Im certainly no expert in anything and especially when it comes to Bourbon, I know what I like and my journey has only just begun and although I enjoyed this I felt I was left with more questions than answers and the knowledge  I have enjoyed others more..

The journey is all about those hit and miss drams and this currently sits on the fence..

With thanks to That Boutiquey Whisky Company for the sample as part of their Dram Good Club..