Origin: Kentucky (USA)
Type: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Strength: 46%ABV
Ageing cask: Virgin American Oak
Chillfiltered: No
Additional coloring: No
Owner: Heaven Hill Distillery Inc.
Average price: € 50.00
Official website: heavenhilldistillery.com
Vote: 82/100
A label introduced in 2012 by Heaven Hill, one of the largest American distilleries and still family-owned (I talked about it in the piece dedicated to a single cask by Valinch & Mallet), it has its roots in another brand, Old Fitzgerald (acquired in 1999), taking up a particular recipe for bourbon, where wheat replaces rye as a secondary cereal (to be precise, 68% corn, 20% wheat and 12% malted barley).
Age not stated, but it is known that whiskeys between six and twelve years old are used in vatting,
The name takes its cue from a legend that has John E. Fitzgerald taking advantage of his position as an agent of the US Treasury to gain access to whiskey stores and steal samples, hence also the key patch on the label.
Tasting notes
The nose is immediately molasses, resin and brown sugar, fat and syrupy with notes of hazelnut, orange peel, peach, ripe banana, cinnamon and a barely noticeable vegetal and floral vein. Spice is more evident over time, without much evolution or depth.
In the mouth, the spices take their rightful place with the rediscovered cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of white pepper, resuming in a minor tone the soft fatness of the nose where caramel, peach, citrus marmalade and chestnut honey dominate the flavours. A woody background is evident, which associated with vegetal evocations dampens the roundness of the dram, which nonetheless maintains a good silkiness.
The finish is not very long and spicy, dominated by cinnamon and molasses with vegetable incursions.
Complexity is by no means its strong point, but it offers a bourbon that is different from the usual, soft and multifaceted enough to be drunk with pleasure, given the all in all popular price.