Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Bourbon (2024 Release)

Color: Nice medium amber Nose: Somewhat tame nose. I get some "grain" and a bit of alcohol... but that might be the result of my present state of health (continue reading)... Palate: (Drank with an ice cube — and with a compromised nose and palate, due to a cold I caught a few days ago). Slightly syrupy mouth feel, which I was not expecting... something very "unique" about this stuff. I am really getting the "rye" in these initial sips (35% in the mash)... pretty spicy... slightly sweet. Yeah, folks — the rye is the star here — at least going on my cold-ridden senses. Had I been given this blind, I'd have thought it was a rye whiskey. Funny. I said the same thing about another recent bottle I reviewed (Baker's High Rye). Yes... the take-aways from this bottle's maiden voyage are "Rye" and "Spicy". Finish: Pretty short finish... Tongue-tingle. But I'm getting some "black licorice" on the back end (nice!), along with lingering rye. Final thoughts: This is good. Heaven Hill is one of my favorite distilleries — indeed, I count their 7 Year BiB among my all-time favorites. So when I saw this appear on the shelf (glass case) at my grocery store, I snatched it up. My only issue is the price. Not totally sure what goes into pricing, but I would say this should be about $20-$30 less than what I paid. I will say, as I did above, this is a bit unique from what I tend to expect from bourbon. I guess that counts for something. All in all, I am glad I pulled the trigger on it. But would I again? Probably not... not when the aforementioned 7 Year BiB is readily-available in my region for half the price. 4.0 stars, all things considered. Added on 2/16/25: Almost finished my bottle... wanted to add to the palate — this is definitely "grainy". I'm getting all sorts of "grain" tonight. Like a cracker made from sesame, caraway, and other seeds. As I originally stated... a very unique pour. I'm on the fence with it.

The first 2024 release Grain to Glass I tried was their Wheated bourbon and man... was I blown away. Although I'm not going to be seeking out the Rye ( I'm not a Rye man myself, and any Rye I purchase is put towards cocktails which would be blasphemy for ANY Grain to Glass offering ) I did immediately seek out a bottle of their Straight Bourbon to sample. Luckily I found it quite easily at one of my favorite liquor stores of all time and for a very reasonable price. First thing I notice here is some pretty hot ethanol that underlies the nose but if you take it in gently and smell past the ethanol there is a very sweet and tart fruity character. Caramel apple leads the charge with some tannic but fresh oak mid smell and some deep, darker pitted fruits ~ stewed plum along with just a kiss of baking spice. What a taste! There is a bright, tart and incredibly sweet candied apple quality about it. The taste ignites like a flare and then you notice just how wholly it coats the tongue. It really is lip smacking good. Toward mid / back of taste, cinnamon makes its appearance... surprising as it was barely present on the nose. That spice ushers in the finish which dries up quickly with tannic oak standing at the forefront but really bringing down the effervescence of the taste. At the back of your tongue, that bright apple flavor on the taste dims to a spiced apple cider. Your tongue is left a with a bit of a tingle as the spice dies down. The finish is medium length but not very viscous. Wow... I don't know which I like better the Wheated or this. Both are EXCELLENT bourbons and really, as they are quite readily available at the moment; I do strongly recommend you go out and buy both. Is $110/Bottle cheap? No, but damnit it is worth every hard earned penny.

Nose is both sweet and spicy with cinnamon bear candy, vanilla, caramel, cedar, ginger, nutmeg, green apple, fresh baked bread, and clove. Ethanol very high for a 107 proof product which I found to be distracting. Palate opens with toasted marshmallow, rye spice, nougat, caramel, and applesauce, followed by a usual suspects spice bloom of cinnamon, clove, allspice, and nutmeg. Decent richness and complexity. Medium length finish brings some nicely aged oak, cinnamon, black peppercorn, root beer, chili pepper, tobacco, barrel char, mint, and walnut. Mouthfeel is weighty to the point of being downright chewy, but also a bit of youthful graininess as well. A pretty darn good high rye bourbon but with some minor flaws and I can’t help but wonder what 2-4 more years in the barrel might have done here. As it stands, I paid a wild $104.99 for this and while I do like it; i just don’t like it for the price. Not a rebuy.

I didnt expect this to taste like anything else from Heaven Hill, and I was right. Thr nosedoes bring some sweet caramel, but largely brings rye spice notes, cardamom, clove, nutmeg and mint. Overall, very mild. Palate starts with new oak, spices following. A lot of pepper. Finish is mixed. Reads youbger than i thought it would. I wobder if another few years in the barrel would ease the tannins and bring more flavor depth. Over all, a good concept, abd interesting bottle, but i feel no urge to buy another.

Vanilla, brown sugar, baking spice, tobacco, and a hint of apricot in the aroma. Mild alcohol heat on a deep inhale but not an overwhelming burn. Lively on the palate with some tingling spice mixed with some alcohol burn. Brown sugar is dominant with some vanilla and apricot, not really getting much tobacco. Pretty smooth, maybe mildly astringent or tanic. Fairly long finish with the vanilla and apricot lingering the longest. @AboutBeverages

Nose: light oak, grain/bread, sweet rye, creme brulee or a creMed sugar note, caramel, and toffee. Palate: Rye spice, black pepper, vanilla. Overall: Enjoyed the nose much more than the palate and finish. The rye dominates the taste in my opinion. Drinks higher than 107 it feels like. I do really enjoy this whiskey, but would not call this a $100 bottle.