Larceny Barrel Proof, A124

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Welcome to 2024, folks. Sure, I know that we already have a month and a half under our belt, but as far as I’m concerned, the new year starts when Heaven Hill drops the first of their three-times yearly batches of Larceny Barrel Proof and Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. I always look forward to these releases. And why might that be, you ask? Because they’re always delicious. And it is nice to look at things you know will be tasty. Since it is the first drop of the year, let’s review a little basic info about this.

Born as an offshoot of Heaven Hill’s Old Fitzgerald line of wheated bourbons, Larceny bourbon uses wheat instead of rye as the “flavoring” grain. In this case, Heaven Hill tells us that the recipe is 68% corn (remember to be bourbon, it needs over 51% corn in the mash bill), 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. This release being barrel-proof means there is no water added to the batch. They dump, blend, and bottle at whatever strength it comes out of the barrel. Now, of course, that sometimes leads to a very hot product. The first batch of this was so hot that I was worried about what they were trying to accomplish. It has calmed itself a bit here and there in the intervening years, though, as we will soon see, they are sometimes very hot.

Speaking of different batches, if you run across this in the store, how do you know which batch you have? Heaven Hill has nicely given us the key to knowing what is in our hands as we hold that bottle of the precious liquid. The batch code is made up of three parts. The first part is a letter, A, B, or C. This corresponds to if it is the first, second, or third batch of the year. The second part is a number. To this point, it has always been 1, 5, or 9. This is the month of the year the release came out. The final part of the code is made up of the final two digits, which indicate the year. So, in this case, A124 means it is the first batch of the year, and it was released in January of 2024. Simple.

But unless this is your first time learning about Heaven Hill's barrel-proof releases (in which case: welcome! The bar is in the corner. Pour yourself something nice), you probably just want to know how this one tastes. So, let’s dig in.

Larceny Barrel Proof, A124

Purchase Info: This sample was provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $64.99

Price per Drink (50 mL): $4.33

Details: 62.1% ABV. 6-8 years old, per the press release

Nose: Sweet almond, caramel, vanilla, mint, and oak.

Mouth: Cinnamon, almond, oak, mint.

Finish: Warm and long with cinnamon, mint, and oak notes.

Thoughts: This version is drier than recent versions, but it's still very good. It's as hot as, or hotter than, you'd expect 124° proof to be. Recommended if you like hot, dry bourbons. I like it, even if it is hotter and drier than I’d usually prefer. It does take a splash of water well.

Comparison to C923: C923 is much sweeter on the nose and mouth, showing much more caramel notes. Both are good, but I really like C923 a lot more. I have a bit of a sweet tooth, though. Your mileage may vary.


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Garrison Bros: Guadalupe 2024

I’d like to thank the folks at Garrison Brothers for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

It's a sad day in our house today, as yesterday we said goodbye to one of our favorite client pups. She’s been dealing with cancer for a while now, and though we all knew it was just a matter of time, you always hope for more time than you end up getting.

Ruby was a hell of a girl. She was a corgi mix that looked almost nothing like a corgi. Her hair was short and coarse, her legs were long, and, honestly, she looked a little weird. But she was the coolest pup. She was an old lady that had zero fucks to give anymore. If bigger dogs were playing where she wanted to sleep, she just jumped down, limped over to her preferred spot, and plopped down. If she wanted to be in your lap, she just pushed her way in, no matter who, or if anyone, was already there. But the younger pups gave her a ton of respect, so they’d moved their play somewhere else. In fact, over this past weekend, two of those playful, bouncy pups made sure she was doing ok by giving her face kisses during breaks in play.

I absolutely adore Ruby, as did everyone else who met her, and I will miss her terribly. I cried ugly tears for about a half hour after she left when her owner told me that it was probably going to be this week. She’s the type of pup you never want to see go, but when they do, you want to raise a glass of something good to their memory.

Garrison Brothers is a craft distillery located in the Texas Hill Country. They were the first legal distillery in Texas history and opened their doors in 2010, about a year before I started writing articles that would eventually become this blog. I’ve seen their work plenty of times in the liquor stores I visit, though I’ve only ever tried one of their bourbons. They sent me a sample of the monster of a drink, the 2023 Cowboy Bourbon release. It was very good but very hot. And pretty darn expensive.

The price is the main reason I haven’t tried much of their work. It’s hard to take a flyer on something that starts in price at $90 at my local Total Wine. But I happily accept samples they send. Not only does it help me decide if I want to spend money, but hopefully it helps you decide the same thing.

Tonight’s sample, the 2024 Guadalupe release was aged for four years in the hot Texas climate before being transfered to port barrels for an additional two years. The whiskey was made with a sweet mash of barley, soft red winter wheat, and number one food grade corn, all from Texas. This release is Texas all the way through. Even the water they proofed with was raiwater captured at the distillery.

So let’s see how it tastes.

Garrison Brothers Guadalupe 2024

Purchase Info: This sample was sent by the producer for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $149.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $10.00

Details: 53.5% ABV. Four-year-old bourbon finished for two years in tawny port barrels.

Nose: Maple, toffee, cinnamon, and dried fruits.

Mouth: Sweet and hot with notes of toffee, cinnamon, red fruits, and oak.

Finish: Long and warm with notes of maple, toffee, cornbread, dried fruit, and vanilla.

Thoughts: This is delicious. It has a thick, rich mouthfeel and is super sweet. And the flavor is great. I like the layers of sweetness paired with the spiciness. If you are looking for a “dessert” bourbon, this is a good choice. I really like this one.


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Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, Fall 2023 Edition

I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

Getting this done a little early today. I get to go out with my wife tonight as we revel in the mid-holiday lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas when fewer people need dog sitting. I love my job. I really do. But I do miss being able to leave the house. So tonight, my wife and I are headed over to the Mall of America (not for any real reason other than that it is basically the closest mall to our house that still has more than a couple of stores in it) to do a little Christmas shopping. I’d say more, but I know that some of the folks I buy presents for may be reading this, and I don’t want to give anything away.

So, let’s move over to the bourbon, shall we? Tonight’s bourbon is the most recent release in the Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond series. One of the few bottles that are over $100 that my wife would probably purchase just for the bottle. This is really weird to me as we have an empty bottle of the vintage design that these were based on. Of course, you don’t get really tasty whiskey with that vintage empty, either, so maybe that’s why.

Quoting from the press release now:

“As a leader of the Bottled-in-Bond category, Heaven Hill is proud to offer a premium product within this special class which showcases the authenticity and quality of the American Whiskey portfolio,” said Conor O’ Driscoll, Master Distiller at Heaven Hill Distillery. “The Fall 2023 8-year-old Old Fitzgerald Bottled-In-Bond has the best qualities of a classic Kentucky Bourbon with the unique sweetness and spice this beloved brand is known for.” 

These are usually really tasty but also often much older (and more expensive), so let’s see if this one stacks up.

Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, Fall 2023

Purchase Info: This 200 mL sample was provided at no cost for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $109.99 for a 750 mL bottle.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $7.33

Details: 50% ABV. 8 years old

Nose: Brown sugar, oak, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mint.

Mouth: Chocolate, mint, cinnamon, oak.

Finish: Warm and of medium length. Notes of cinnamon, mint, and nutmeg initially, with chocolate, caramel, and oak appearing after they fade a bit.

Thoughts: Well, this is delicious as usual. The chocolate notes build and intensify as you take more sips, and are delicious all the way through. The nutmeg note is quite prominent and carried through the entire tasting process, attaching itself to the oak notes in a way that initially made me think of a Christmas Wreath before resolving into its constituent parts. So yeah, it’s really good. If I saw this at retail, and it was close to its SRP, and I felt like splurging, I’d bring this home so my wife could have her bottle. But luckily for my wallet, at least two of those are unlikely to happen.


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Yellowstone Special Finishes Collection, Toasted

I’d like to thank ByrnePR and Yellowstone Distillery for providing this review sample with no strings attached.

I think that Yellowstone Bourbon is one of the coolest stories in the bourbon industry. The brand was initially launched right around the declaration of Yellowstone National Park. It was apparently good whiskey and the brand was extremely popular until it fell on hard times. When I first had a pour of a bourbon with the name Yellowstone on it, I was in Yellowstone National Park surrounded by family and drinking a very bad bourbon. This was 2015 at the tail end of the brand’s hard times. But this is where it gets cool.

The brand’s owner at the time was Luxco, now a part of the MGP family. Right about the time they were starting the Lux Row distillery, they also bought a stake in Limestone Branch distillery. Which, it just so happens, was owned by a pair of brothers who were decended from the family that initially launched the Yellowstone bourbon. At that point, the home of Yellowstone was moved to Limestone Branch and placed under the supervision of Steve Beam (the previously mentioned decendant) who has been doing wonderful things with the brand.

Someday, someone should do a short history of the rise, fall, and rehabilitation of Yellowstone Bourbon. It’s a cool story that I didn’t come close to doing justice to.

Tonight’s bourbon is a new extension of the Yellowstone Bourbon lineup. It starts with the standard Yellowstone Select. That is then “stave finished” with five different toasted staves they call high toast, American oak double-toast, vanilla, rick house and spice rack. Here’s what the press release has to say about the new bourbon.

“The Yellowstone Special Finishes Collection is a great way to honor more than 150 years of bourbon heritage while still keeping things fresh and exciting,” said Beam. “I began experimenting with toasted barrels in 2016, 2017, and 2018 with Yellowstone Limited Edition releases and again more recently with distillery-exclusive Yellowstone Toasted Single Barrel. My experience helped in crafting what stave flavors to use and at what percentage to get the right flavor profile for Yellowstone Toasted. I can’t wait for consumers to try this latest full-time member of the Yellowstone Bourbon family.”

So let’s see how it tastes, shall we?

Yellowstone Special Finishes Collection, Toasted

Purchase Info: This sample was sent to me at no charge for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $49.99.

Price per Drink (50 mL): $3.33

Details: 50% ABV

Nose: Caramel, vanilla, spearmint, Juicy Fruit gum, baking spices, and oak.

Mouth: A nice peppery spiciness on the first sip. Beyond that are notes of cinnamon, black pepper, vanilla, caramel, and oak.

Finish: Sweet and spicy and of medium length. Notes of honey, vanilla, black pepper, black tea, cinnamon, and oak.

Thoughts: This is really good. So good that when I went back to check the price, I was shocked that it was "only" $50. I think it is worth every penny. I'm really enjoying the sweet and spicy notes. I love honey, so the honey note on the finish is right up my alley. This is a lovely upgrade from the standard Yellowstone Select Bourbon.


Did you enjoy this post? If you want to support the work going on here at BourbonGuy.com, please consider a one-time donation at ko-fi.com/bourbonguy or paypal.me/BourbonGuy. Or you could buy some merch (tasting journals, stickers, pins, posters, and more) at BourbonGuyGifts.com.