I haven’t had much experience with prefire Heaven Hill so when Single Cask Nation announced they were releasing a 24 year old pre fire Heaven Hill bourbon that had been aged in Scotland I knew I had to have one. I had really enjoyed another old, aged in Scotland Heaven Hill bottle and SCN has only rarely let me down (cough Pap’pi Nansens.. cough). Naturally I bought 2 just to be safe.
Single Cask Nation 24 Year Old Prefire Bourbon
Age: 24 years
Proof: 94.8
Price: $295
Neat
Nose: Surprisingly powerful for the proof with rich oak, buttery caramel and cola notes.
Taste: More oak, leather, brown sugar, lightly salted caramel and cola notes. Great mouthfeel for the proof with a nice texture but average viscosity..
Finish: Long finish with plenty of oak balanced by subtler salted caramel and faint spice notes.
Conclusion
That was fantastic. It’s everything something like Michter’s 10 wants to be. Tons of flavor, lots of oak without being bitter or astringent and somehow low proof. It’s rich and almost sticky with just enough spice at the end that I want the next sip. From the nose to finish it was a treat.
If I had to nit pick I’d say it’s really heavy on the oak and caramel compared to the other notes and that the mouthfeel was just good.
The elephant in the room is, of course, the price. When I compare this to another old, low proof release like Russell’s 2003 I’d gladly pay the extra ~$40 for the SCN or compared to shelfie ~300 bottles like Kentucky Owl this is the clear winner. Even compared with Heaven Hill’s own Elijah Craig 23 this is cheaper and has an edge. That said none of these bottles are a good value compared to some of the great workhorse 50-80 bottles we all love but to me this delicious and unique bottle was worth the price of admission. I’m very glad I got two because the first one isn’t going to last long.
TL;DR: Fantastic bottle, potentially the last of the prefire Heaven Hill, worth the price to me
4 Stars - Extraordinary whiskey: An all time favorite
Scale
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