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
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
