American Whiskey Review #90: Single Cask Nation Pre-Fire Kentucky Straight Bourbon 24 Year (1994)

Distillery: Likely Heaven Hill

Bottler: Jewish Whisky Company

Region: Kentucky

Age: 24 Year. Distilled in 1994, bottled in 2020. 12 years aging in Kentucky, 12 years aging in Scotland.

ABV: 47.40% Cask Strength

Color: 1.9, Brown Sherry.

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Nose: It’s quite deep and rich from the start. The first note I get is of caramelized onions in a balsamic reduction. Cinnamon candies comes along with a note of toasted marshmallows and old oak. The standard bourbon-y notes come through as well, it’s almost like smelling a bourbon infused food than bourbon itself.

Palate: It’s quite rich. It starts off with a nice, dripping oak note. That oak is soaked in “bourbon-y” flavors of caramel, cherry, cola, and a bit of sweet tobacco. There’s a toasted note, somewhere between a sweet wood smoke and slightly charred marshmallows. Towards the end is a bit of a dried herb mix.

Finish: Quite long. That sweet tobacco comes through again some more with slightly charred marshmallows. A bit of cinnamon and toasted oak round this out..

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Conclusion: I’m not sure there is a more obvious description for an “unknown” distillery than the words “fire” and “Kentucky”. This release of Heaven Hill from Single Cask Nation is a bit unique even among things from that era with half of the maturation occurring in Scotland rather than in America. And that mix of maturation has worked beautifully. There’s a lot of oak throughout this, a bit toasted and a bit soaking wet, but none of it ever overpowers everything else. There’s layers of delicious flavor, starting with caramelized onions then going to toasted/slightly charred marshmallows and ending with a hit of sweet tobacco. I was left wanting more though the chances of that are very slim. Well done to the guys at Single Cask Nation, well done.

Final Score: 90.

American Whiskey Review #90, Bourbon Review #68, Whisky Network Review #387

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Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.