Heaven Hill 6-Year Bottled-in-Bond Review
Age: 6 years
Barrel type: Standard bourbon (charred fresh oak)
Region: Kentucky
ABV: 50%
Price: $18
Sadly, Heaven Hill 6-Year Bottled-in-Bond was too good for this world. Farewell, sweet whiskey unicorn! This expression was a long-time Kentucky exclusive that nailed a rare trifecta for that lucky state's bourbon lovers: high quality, great value, and a clear age statement. In fact, it was such a good value that many people claimed that it was Heaven Hill Distillery's small "thank you" to the people of its home state.
As recently as a few years ago, this bourbon was available for $15 or under in Kentucky. We found a bottle for a slight markup of $18 when we visited in September 2018. There was none left, at least that we could find, in June 2019, so I'm going to mark this one down as extinct in my forthcoming Darwinian homage, On the Origins of Bourbons.
Appearance: The bottle may appear familiar to anyone who's looked on the bottom shelf of liquor stores. It bears a close family resemblance to Heaven Hill "white label," a bottom-shelf expression that weighs in at a category-minimum 40% ABV and does not bear any age statement. This Bottled-in-Bond edition definitely does not try to package itself like a premium bourbon, despite its many improvements upon that basic staple. It doesn't go with a cork stopper (not even an artificial or rubber cork) -- just a no-frills screw cap.
In the glass, Heaven Hill BIB is bright orange, and looks neither notably young nor old. It's a little "thin" in appearance for a 50% ABV bourbon.
Nose: Compared to other Heaven Hill expressions, this one is a little different. It combines what I think of as Jim Beam funk -- shelled, roasted peanuts and anise -- with Buffalo Trace fruitiness -- orange rinds, tangerines, and mandarins. Yes, it's almost every orange-colored fruit in the citrus family in a dense and heady mixture.
Palate: Light honey and those orange citrus fruits dominate the palate by far, along with some cereal grain and corn. The most notable absence in this bourbon is vanilla, one of the universal bourbon flavors and something that is almost unavoidable with oak barrel aging. The suppression of vanilla makes this taste more like a cocktail than a neat whiskey. If someone served this to me over an ice cube, I'd assume it was an Old Fashioned.
Finish: Again, this bourbon drinks under-proof, so it's a very accessible dram for newcomers to the hobby. It's not going to blow anyone's mind, but it is mellow corn (another Heaven Hill brand, oddly enough) all the way. That citrus-dominant character also carries through in a bit of orange soda and citrus rind aftertaste. That acidity makes it mildly drying.
Value for Money and Final Impressions: This bourbon packs -- I should say, it once packed -- in a lot of value for its price. For $15-20, you're getting a bourbon that they could have sold for $25-30 easily, especially given its respectable ABV. That being said, being a great value does not mean that it's a must-have bourbon. For just a few dollars more, Old Forester 100 Proof and Wild Turkey 101 are superior whiskies.
As an interesting coda to this story, and a telling sign of where this wild market is heading, Heaven Hill has announced a new release that will bear the Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond name. It's going to have an extra year of age behind it and will come in a fancier bottle, but it's also going to be $40. Time will tell whether it can live up to its predecessor!
Grade: B