Heaven Hill BiB 7 Year Bourbon Review
- Nick Anderson
- Jul 5, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 21
I tasted this alongside an E.H. Taylor Small Batch as a bit of a bottled-in-bond battle. This was my first opening of the Heaven Hill BiB. I try not to review neck pours, but this is one of them where I did. Read the follow-up pour of E.H. Taylor Small Batch here.
Company on Label: Heaven Hill
Whiskey Type: Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey
Mash Bill Percentages: 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley
Proof: 100°
Age: 7 years
Further identification: I purchased this in early 2021 and reviewed it within the same year
Nose: Bright, sweet, dry vanilla. Something else attached to it that resembles the smell of a fresh stack of paper. Candied apple. White pepper. A tobacco that is very light and masked in a touch of ethanol. Dry, old oak. Definitely primarily driven by vanilla & white pepper. Some extra char here yields a marshmallow note I've thoroughly enjoyed out of some Elijah Craig offerings. Some light raisin notes round this nose out well. Late nose is most enjoyable; it turns all sweet.
Palate: Wow, unironically smooth. Incredibly balanced mouthfeel on first sip, with the pepper and a light zest forming in the center of the tongue. Vanilla is a permanent fixture around the rest of the mouth coating. This drinks just ridiculously silky smooth. The marshmallow bits of char here mix well with a rich plum. No matter how I chew this, I can't elicit any bite. The vanilla and paper I experienced on the nose crescendos very intensely on these chews, however. The linger is intensely long, driven by a recently acquired vanilla sweet lemon cake that breathes through my airways for the better part of a minute. The overall vibe is definitely explosive vanilla notes.
Rating: 4/5
This is a whiskey that has stood the test of time. With consistently great vanilla flavors, this is one of the best values in bourbon still today.
