Review #252 Malts of Scotland Heaven Hill KSBW Finished in a Sherry Butt 1999

Onward to part 22 of the finished whiskey series with a pretty unusual bottle of Heaven Hill bourbon finished in sherry casks by a German independent bottler who mainly deals in scotch. This is a unique bottle I first came across thanks to u/northernbourbonite and as a fan of both Heaven Hill and finished bourbon I had to have it. Unfortunately we don’t know how long this bottle was aged in the original casks vs the sherry butt or how long it spent in the States vs Europe.

 

Review #252 Malts of Scotland Heaven Hill KSBW Finished in a Sherry Butt 1999

Age: 19 years (Distilled in ‘99 and bottled in ‘19)

Abv: 110.4 proof

Price: ~$200

Neat

Nose: Vanilla, dark fruit, roasted nuts, caramel and hints of spice

Taste: A range of dark fruits, more roasted nuts, sweet caramel, vanilla, holiday spices, rich oak, faint smoke. Viscous mouthfeel.

Finish: Very long if simpler finish with slightly dry oak, caramel, vanilla, hints of fruit and a touch of bitterness.

Conclusion

That was great! The nose and taste on this are fantastic but the finish is just good which with that slight tannic bitter note held this back from the 10/10 rating. The quality bar set by this release is where the Master’s Keep Revival should have been. The sherry finish doesn’t overwhelm the bourbon at all and adds some great fruit notes that I find to be missing from most Heaven Hill offerings. This is sort of the equal and opposite version of when Remus Volstead brought nice nutty notes to MGP.

I am definitely going to try and import a few more of the Heaven Hill bourbons that Malts of Scotland has finished. I am a big fan of what other folks are doing finishing Heaven Hill bourbon and I very much hope Heaven Hill releases their own offering too. If you know of any other interesting Heaven Hill finished bourbons please let me know!

 

TL;DR:: Classic well aged Heaven Hill meets sherry, goodness ensues.

3 Stars - Excellent whiskey: I would be willing to hunt down a bottle