Larceny Small Batch Bourbon
Back in the early 1900s, after the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897, Treasury agents patrolled the rickhouses of Kentucky…or so the story goes. Heaven Hill is a brand built on stories - good stories, to be sure - one of them being the story of John E. Fitzgerald, one such Treasury agent assigned to monitor the federally bonded warehouses.
According to the story, Fitzgerald sampled more than his fair share of whiskey along the way and, since he held the keys to the rickhouse, did so without impunity. This led to the key symbolism, the keyhole-shaped bottle, and a mythos Heaven Hill spun into a solid product. I say this with admiration - many, many whiskies come out with some story of “my pappy owned this strain of yeast and saved it during the Civil War” or “our family’s been moonshining for 8 generations, we just decided to go straight”, and to be honest most of them are completely made up.
Is Heaven Hill’s story completely true? Probably not, but it would’ve been easy for them to take a very good story and put out a very bad whiskey. The fact they put out such a solid product speaks to how they do business. No one can fault them on that!
Larceny Small Batch is, in many ways, the Elijah Craig for wheated bourbons. It’s a solid entry point for the category - at a very low cost - and, unlike the Weller line, is readily available in both regular release and barrel picks. While this particular bottle was a single barrel pick and not the regular Larceny Small Batch, having gone back and tasted both side by side I can say it represents exactly what Larceny Bourbon is meant to achieve: a smooth, wheated bourbon - or “wheater” - that is enjoyable neat or on the rocks, makes a great cocktail, and for me makes a PERFECT bourbon to bake with.
Larceny Small Batch: Specs
Classification: American Bourbon
Origin: Heaven Hill Distillery
Mashbill: Heaven Hill Wheated Mashbill
Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
Age: NAS
Location: Barrel 6357497, Warehouse FF, 4th Floor
Larceny Small Batch Price: $19 (MSRP)
Pick Details: Breaking Bourbon barrel pick, Distilled on 3/13/2013, bottling date unknown
Larceny Small Batch Review: Tasting Notes
Eye: Light maple syrup. Thin rim holds with thin, slow legs.
Nose: Corn sweetness and some oak spice. Grape-ish notes. Wonderful, soft vanilla notes in the background like leaving a bakery for the train in the morning after picking up a pastry.
Palate: Sweet. Light heat, corn rounds out the palate leading to mild vanilla like a sugared corn pudding. Cinnamon and allspice dance around but the sweetness keeps things in check. Mouthfeel is oily, coating, and medium-bodied.
Finish: More corn, but a bit more savory like the caramelized edges of cornbread with baking spices.
Overall: The mouthfeel is tops on this one. Overall it’s a bit sweet, even by wheater standards, but it’s a pleasant sipper nonetheless and would make for a great entry bourbon.
Final Rating: 6.0
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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