I’d like to thank Heaven Hill for providing this review sample with no strings attached.
I am smoking a couple Waygu Ribeye steaks tonight so you better believe that I’m going to be making this quick. They are on the smoker right now and I am keeping one eye on the probe temp as I type this. I got them online, the company had sponsored a barbecue YouTube channel I enjoy watching and I wanted to support him and I wanted to try these crazy expensive steaks.
I’ve found over the last couple years, that while I don’t mind splurging on the occasional overpriced whiskey (because they are almost always overpriced compared to how they taste), i’d much rather splurge on a novel food experience.
This may have contributed to my expanding waistline…
But in any case, I’d much rather sit down to a nice meal than I would sit down to a nice bourbon these days. Some of that is because I’m a pretty good cook so even a nice meal is usually cheaper because I’m making it at home. But most of the switch is my growing disillusionment with high-priced Limited Edition bourbons. If I ever give up this site, I’ll probably be hard pressed to justify the expense. Especially when there are things like Maker’s Mark 101, Knob Creek 12-year-old, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, and Larceny Barrel Proof that are available in my market from $35-$65. Even Booker’s is pushing the price limit of what I’d like to spend on bourbon these days.
And good for the companies that can get that kind of cash for their products. I wish them the best. But eventually I’ll give this up and will be voting with my dollar like the rest of you and I won’t feel like I need to buy these overpriced bottles to help others decide whether they should pass or splurge on them. I’ll be splurging on the best sub-$60/$70 bottles I can find, with most purchases coming in the $20 to $40 range.
Luckily, I’ll still be happy to buy bottles of tonight’s whiskey. At a suggested retail price of about $50, it has a pretty good price on it if you can find it.
Larceny Barrel Proof, B521
Purchase info: This was graciously provided by Heaven Hill for review purposes. The suggested retail price is $49.99.
Price Per Drink (50 mL): $3.33
Details: 60.5%
Nose: Caramel, vanilla, mint/eucalyptus, and a dusty cocoa note.
Mouth: Thick and rich with caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg, and chocolate.
Finish: Warm and on the longer side of medium. Lingering notes of nutmeg, vanilla, and oak.
Comparison to A121: Very similar on the nose. These are both fairly spice forward, but A121 is a bit sweeter and hotter in the mouth. But, honestly, there are only minor differences between these two batches.
Thoughts: I really liked batch A121, so I'm pretty happy with this batch as well. There is a bit more caramel and a bit less chocolate, but I really like both of those flavor notes so I'd be hard-pressed to pick one over the other. In fact, when tasting notes were done, I just mixed them together. Spoiler alert: it was still really good.
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