I wish someone would have told me about this Everson Royce Single Barrel selection of Henry McKenna 10 BiB before it was all sold out. It’s obscenely good and now… I can’t get it. So why am I posting about the sample I got of this awesome bourbon that no one can get anymore? Because it beautifully illustrates a point.
I’ve said it time and time again that Single Barrels are so exciting because of how they vary. Even when I get a so-so bottle of one of my go-to single barrels like Four Roses or Blanton’s it’s still an awesome experience because it’s a new perspective on a whiskey I love. This is no different. I was able to taste this sample next to my bottle of the K&L Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled In Bond and the difference between the two was decisively noticeable.
If you’re able to do it sometime I highly recommend getting a hold of 2 different single barrel offerings of the same bourbon and do a side by side. It’s amazing how the same distillate made by the same folks and aged in the same kind of barrels in the same place can sometimes come out so different. It’s part of what makes whiskey so much fun.
Henry McKenna 10 year Bottled In Bond Review – Single Barrel selected for Everson Royce
Distiller: Heaven Hill Distillery
Age:10 years
ABV: 50%
Mashbill: 75% corn, 13% rye & 12% barley
Price: $30
Barrel: 6386 P-7th floor
EYE
Dark Caramel
NOSE
Dark fruit leather and a rich warm wood flood the olfactory. Notes of dark sweets, spiced citrus rind and vanilla get swept along by it’s passing and hints of red licorice and leather seem to get pulled pulled in by the sheer force of this heady aroma.
PALATE
Again dark red fruit and wood charge through like a two headed behemoth breaking down gates and allowing a horde of lighter notes to come rushing through in it’s wake. Notes like rye spice, nutmeg, caramel, citrus, toasted corn, toffee and vanilla to name a few.
FINISH
Long and amazing it’s oak driven and layered with caramel, dark fruit, spice and vanilla bean.
BALANCE, BODY & FEEL
Wood is incredibly prominent but it’s balanced by all the sweet and lightly savory spiced notes going on. Rich and round it sits heavy on the palate with a thick oily texture.
OVERALL
Holy sweet mother of bourbon this Everson Royce Henry McKenna 10 BiB Single Barrel is amazing! I seriously wish they weren’t out of it already because I would make the drive to Pasadena and get a bottle right now. This is the kind of big bold bourbon I want in my glass all the time. I thought the K&L barrel was fantastic (which it is… not putting it down btw), but tasting them side-by-side this is several steps above. They got a hold of one hell of a barrel for this one.
SCORE: 92/100
I picked up a bottle of this several days ago and I’m a few drams into it now. Really really underrated bourbon. You simply cannot beat the price point on this. It drinks like a much more expensive bourbon. I will be keeping a bottle of this in my bar at all times moving forward.
Cheers Jason!
I have TW bottle of this….each one is numbered.
Should I sell or keep !
Keep, it won’t go for a while lot more than you bought it for. MUCH better for drinking!
Just bought and opened my first bottle of Henry McKenna BiB. Barrel# 4405, barreled 12/20/07….first impressions after a few sips- incredible! Great, bold bourbon flavor. Heat seems to hit the back of my tongue and a nice, relatively long finish. Unfortunately I dont quite have the developed palate to better describe this but it is all I hoped for and at $26.99 locally – for a bonded, 10 year old single barrel no less- this just became a must have for me! And yes- let’s please keep this wonderful bourbon a secret amongst ourselves!
Cheers James, I’ll do my best ;)
Does anyone know if all of the 10 years of aging are spent in the bonded building. It is a fantastic bourbon.
If it’s bonded it has to yes. Cheers!
I’m drinking Barrel #3083 (barrel date, Pi Day 2006) and I still get a lot of the red fruit, definitely rye spice, candy corn and brown sugar…ye cats, this is my favorite bourbon under $30. They’ve jacked the price a bit at the Democratic People’s Republic of Virginia Alcohol Control but even so, I’ll still buy it faithfully, because it’s fantastic. Sláinte.
Josh
I’ve had quite a few high proof bourbons in my 35+ years of sipping and smiling, but McKenna 10 year BIB actually took my breath on first taste. I cannot write enough glowing words to express what you and other here have already said. In a word; WOW! Great, great stuff and at $21.50 for a 750ml I’m going to put up a case at a time.
Here’s to you! Salute!
George
Cheers George!
Henry McKenna is an ABSOLUTE world class bourbon. The first time I had it, I though, “how the hell can this bourbon be so relatively obscure.” It has everything! This stuff is so damn good it should easily be a household name bourbon. The nose on it alone is as complex as any fine bourbon out there, period.
I’m kinda glad it’s not a household name, that means we can find it for a relatively good price :)
I’m not sure it’s “obscure” . I have been drinking Henry McKenna for over 50 years. I live in the South a couple of hundred miles from where it used to be made. I think it may have changed somewhat , after Seagram’s sold it in the 1980’s to Heaven Hill. I drank it through college and afterwards. I really enjoyed those bottles with the name indented into the glass, then printed or painted with gold letters. I have some of those ceramic jugs they had for awhile. Today , it’s just an ordinary glass bottle with a cent and a half paper label slapped on it. Seems like all good things get cheapened over the years by some folks.
I just cracked the seal and am sampling a bottle from barrel No. 2157. It is very good, much better than the last I had, which was all oak.This is sweet at first sip, and the oak is present in the nose but not overwhelming. the last bottle improved as the bottle content diminished, so I hope this one holds it present deliciousness and even increases. The finish is a bit acidic, but that should improve as the level of liquid gradually diminishes in the bottle. It has rather a long finish, and the sweet prevails in spite of the acidic note.
I’ll check a new bottle from a different barrel tomorrow, then try to find the best number of the two, as it is on sale. I can’t judge it fairly just now, as the back of my throat is full of lingering caramel.
This is good bourbon. The fantastic bargain on price cannot last on this. Find a barrel that is good, and hoard the stuff. I will say that the other barrel has a fantastic nose, full of vanilla and no oak. It will have to be really good to taste better. I can’t drink “nose”.
Thanks for sharing, cheers!
How does this compare to stuff like Weller 12 year, Elmer T. Lee (my personal favorite), or Elijah Craig 12 year?
Weller 12 is a fantastic bourbon and I’d put it in the same league. ETL is also amazing and I’d rank it up with it though I’d say all 3 are better than EC12. EC12 is a good bourbon, but I’d put all 3 of the other above it.
Okay, you did it again! I’ve been leaning toward getting a bottle of Henry McKenna SB BiB and now this review has pushed me over the edge. I’m getting one next week, doggone it. :)
I’ve been hearing pretty good things about the Henry McKenna BiB for a while, now. Thanks for all the great reviews, Josh.
Haha happy to be a burden on your wallet ;) Thanks and hope you enjoy it!
Cheers.
You nailed it again, Josh. Henry McKenna 10 Year, Single Barrel, Bottled in Bond is excellent stuff. For the first couple of weeks after being open, I thought it was good, but not great. After three-four weeks plus of being open, this stuff is fantastic. And at less than $30 a bottle, it is a no-brainer.
Thanks for steering me in the right direction, yet again.
I do what I can Abe :)
Glad you like it and totally agree that this is a bourbon that gets better with some air. Cheers man!