Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond
If you have been paying attention to our weekly posts on Instagram, you probably know that I love bottled-in-bond whiskey. When I peruse the liquor store, I often snag bonded selections over other whiskeys. In some cases, I’ve passed up other coveted bottles in favor of bottled-in-bond. That’s actually how I scored this scarcely allocated bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 7-Year Bourbon.
Our local liquor store runs a quarterly raffle to sell allocated bottles, often rare limited editions. Rather than have people line up at 6 am on a Tuesday to see which new bottles the store received, the store owner leaves the hard-to-find stuff in storage and raffles it off to his regular customers.
Although I’ve been going to the store for quite some time, it was only recently that I was offered an opportunity to participate in the raffle. In true beginners’ luck fashion, all three of my numbers were selected and I walked out with three bottles of whiskey I’d never seen in person. The first bottle I happily selected was Heaven Hill’s Bottled-in-Bond 7-Year Bourbon.
What is Allocated Bourbon?
Allocated bourbon is any bottle that is shipped to a vendor in a limited supply. When whiskey is produced in limited quantities, the distributor will deliver a limited number of cases, sometimes just a few bottles, to a liquor store. This allows the company to spread out its supply of a particular whiskey. The number of bottles a store receives depends on the volume of the store’s sales. Often, the limited supply also seems to justify the high prices typically associated with allocated bottles for whiskey enthusiasts.
As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews, Colorado doesn’t allow the sale of spirits in grocery stores. There is a limit to the number of liquor licenses an individual or company can hold. It is part of the reason that Colorado only has two Total Wine locations, and neither of them are particularly close to us in Colorado Springs. This impacts the number of allocated bottles that make their way to Colorado.
If a location does more sales, the distributor will send more bottles to that larger retailer. A small mom-and-pop shop, which is what we have here in Colorado, may only receive a single allocated bottle. However, even that isn’t guaranteed. The liquor store owner at Downtown Fine Wine and Spirits knows what he’s looking for, so with a knowledgeable eye, he brings in more of these exclusive bottles than normal.
During the same raffle where I secured this bottle of Heaven Hill, I also picked up a bottle of Willett Family Estate 8-Year Single Barrel Bourbon, aka “the purple top.” When I cashed out, I was informed that only 35 bottles made it to Colorado. It was the first one of its kind my liquor store received in several years. According to a 2020 Colorado Liquor Report, there are 1,608 licensed liquor stores in the state that this rare release was distributed among, and ours was one.
Basically, if you’re coming to Colorado on a ski trip and think you’re going to find a sought-after bottle of whiskey sitting on store shelves undiscovered, you might want to think again. Unless you are willing to pony up secondary prices to a price-gouging retailer in one of the ski towns, you’re probably out of luck.
Heaven Hill Distillery
Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is the namesake brand of Heaven Hill Distillery. The Heaven Hill Distillery has been in operation since 1935 and a 4-year bottled-in-bond whiskey was the first whiskey they brought to the market in 1939. Heaven Hill produces a number of other products we enjoy, including Elijah Craig Small Batch, and Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. Evan Williams BiB is still my favorite, affordable, daily drinking whiskey.
Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 7-year
Our bottle of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 7-year bourbon was distilled at the Heaven Hill Bernheim Distillery, located in Louisville, Kentucky. It was bottled at the Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. The whiskey unlike traditional bonded whiskeys is aged for 7 years. Heaven Hill also proclaims the barrels for Bottled-in-Bond are selected from their “prime rickhouse locations.”
Since Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is a bonded whiskey, it must meet the 1897 bottled-in-bond requirements: It must be bottled at 100 proof, distilled during a single season, and aged for a minimum of 4 years. The mash bill is rumored to be a standard Heaven Hill offering at 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley.
Over the years, Heaven Hill opted to extend the age of its namesake bottled-in-bond offering. The original Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond, released after prohibition, was a standard 4-year bonded whiskey. Heaven Hill offered a 6-year Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon until 2019, which was only available in Kentucky. The discontinuation of the 6-Year, while mourned by many, was quickly overshadowed by the release of the 7-Year Bottled-in-Bond, which is available for national distribution. That means the rest of us had a chance to get our hands on a bottle without having to make a stop in Kentucky.
Tasting Notes
We opened Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond on a Friday night for the first time and each enjoyed a pour. During our first tasting, we didn’t write down any official tasting notes. We returned to the bottle on Sunday evening, each sitting down with another 1.5-ounce pour. The difference between the freshly cracked bottle on Friday night and the pour we enjoyed on Sunday was tremendous.
I took a moment on Friday to savor the aroma and make mental notes about the taste. It had a very strong ethanol smell that washed out some of the sweetness, we picked up on Sunday. On top of that, there was a strong, intense burning finish that seemed to linger for days. After letting it rest in the bottle for a couple of days, we were able to pick out more delicate aromas and tastes. Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond turned out to be much smoother, with a more delicate intensity on the finish that I would describe as warming rather than a burn. Our notes below reflect our second impression.
I noticed the delicate aromas of apple and vanilla on the nose. Alie noted pome fruit too, but she picked out more of a pear scent than the apple I noticed. Where this whiskey hit for us was definitely in the taste.
When I took a sip, I immediately noticed the sweetness of vanilla and oak. It was followed by a touch of sweetness that reminded me of caramel. The tasting notes from Heaven Hill describe it as honey. However, honey has a richer taste than the sugary caramel sweetness I picked out.
Alie noted the whiskey was buttery to start, then it finished on the dry side. She noticed hints of sweetness that aligned with the pome fruit aromas she noticed on the nose.
After drinking about half the pour, I commented that Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is a more mature, smoother version of our favorite daily drinker, Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. At first, she looked at me like I was crazy. I tried pointing out the similarities. They are made by the same company, from the same mash bill, they are distilled at Bernheim and bottled in Bardstown. The biggest difference is the age. Evan Williams is a four-year bonded whiskey, while Heaven Hill is aged for seven years.
Quietly, Alie stood up, grabbed another snifter glass, and poured a little Evan Williams into the glass. She alternated tastes of Heaven Hill and Evan Williams. After some pondering, she landed on her conclusion.
Alie described it like this; Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is a more experienced version of Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond. It’s had more experiences. Heaven Hill has lived and sent its kids through college. It has grown and matured. It is wiser. Sometimes it reflects on its past life as Evan Williams, but is content, happy even, that it turned into Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond.
We both agreed that Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is a rich and smoother whiskey. It is incredibly flavorful. The mix of flavor and intensity lingers warmly. It wasn’t overpowering and it was pleasant in every aspect.
Our Ratings
Drinkability: 4.4
Intensity: 3.2
Personal Preference: 4.8
Beginner Friendly: 3
Availability: 1.5
Overall: 4.6
Final Thoughts
Given our love of Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond, it makes sense that the Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond 7-year Bourbon would become one of our favorite bourbons. Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is more mature, complex, and flavorful. We’ve said before that not all whiskey gets better with age, however, Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond benefits from the 7 years of aging.
If you see this bottle, you should grab it. I paid $59 for it, which seems to be the going rate in Colorado. You might see it a little cheaper depending upon where you live. Due to the allocated nature of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond, don’t pass it up if you see it.
I’ve never visited the Heaven Hill Distillery, but if I knew I could buy bottles of Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond at the gift shop, I’d book a trip today. At the next raffle, I guarantee I’m going to have a hard time passing on this bottle in favor of something I haven’t tried if I get the opportunity to purchase it again. It is THAT good.
Happy Exploring!
