When Heaven Hill re-launched their beloved, namesake Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon back in 2019, they gave it a shiny new label, added another year to the age statement, and tripled the original price. In no time, it became something of a whipping boy for the steady increase in American whiskey prices that, we now know, was just getting started. By comparison to many other bottles on the shelf, Heaven Hill’s Bottled-in-Bond is a relative bargain today.
That shifting landscape may have been a factor in the recent, and somewhat unexpected, addition to Heaven Hill’s Bottled-in-Bond lineup, Double Mash. As the name suggests, this bourbon is a blend of two different mashbills; Heaven Hill’s classic low-rye recipe (78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley) found in the original Bottled-in-Bond (and pretty much every other rye bourbon in the portfolio) and their wheated mashbill (68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley) which features in Larceny and Old Fitzgerald. Both whiskeys were aged for at least nine years before blending, with the wheated portion comprising roughly one third of the final bourbon recipe. Thoughts follow.
Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Double Mash Bourbon 9 Years Old Review
The nose is a bit soft, even with time to open, which is somewhat unexpected given the proof and age. It’s still expressive though, bready and gently sweet with warm notes of apple muffins, cinnamon sugar, and seasoned oak. Time in the glass adds some texture with buttery toffee, Demerara syrup, and undertones of caramel apple. It takes a little patience and effort, but there’s plenty here to admire.
The palate is also impressively approachable, to the point of feeling thin at times, especially on the finish. Still, it delivers enough flavor to hold attention. Early notes of honey butter, corn bread, and orange creamsicle give way on the midpalate to stewed apple and pie spice. It’s silky and builds with brown sugar sweetness into the midpalate before eroding into a medium finish of orange blossom honey, caramel candies, old oak, and warm baking spice. Critics might say it isn’t full-flavored enough for the numbers on the bottle, but I find it just as enjoyable as the classic offering. And there’s something about the mellow profile and subtler flavors in Double Mash that is reminiscent of those legendary, pre-fire years when Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond was well-aged, a little funky, and still exceptionally easy drinking.
100 proof.
A- / $50 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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