Let it be known from the outset that I consider myself to be a complete bourbon novice; having not tasted that many, I don't have a huge amount to compare this dram to. However, what I can tell you is that, I thought it was absolutely delicious! This sample of Heaven Hill was kindly donated by Jo Lawson (@AlpacaJo on twitter; @jo.lawson3 on instagram), here are my tasting notes:
Cadenhead's Heaven Hill 19 years - 57.7% abv
Nose: instantly reminded me of the cinema - it must be all the Pick n Mix I eat when I go there; foam bananas; Butterkist popcorn; milk chocolate; butterscotch sauce; Carambars; after a short while, it reminded me of Bakewell tart; after about 10 minutes, there was a hint of liquorice and a slight menthol note; the oak then started to come to the fore - it was gentle but definitely there.
Palate: a blast of heat and spice with hints of vanilla and butterscotch; difficult to get over that heat and spice without a few drops of water...Nose: water brought out vanilla fudge; also a slight plasticky aroma that wasn't, strangely, unpleasant - maybe it was the vanilla fudge wrapper ;-)Palate: toffee popcorn; Carambars; rum and raisin ice cream; a hint of aniseed lingered from start to finish; chocolate covered brazils; even with a few drops of water, there was a big kick of spice at the start and, waiting for this to slowly subside, the other flavours gradually emerged.
