Henry McKenna Single Barrel

A little background

Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond is a 10yr age stated single barrel bourbon that has been a longtime fan favorite release from Heaven Hill due to its age, price, and availability.  It recently made whiskey headlines by winning the San Francisco World Spirits Competition (where everyone seems to at least get a participation trophy nowadays) which created a scare that the bottle would become a ghost on shelves such as others like Weller 12.  Fortunately, I haven’t noticed a shortage myself.  I want to make everyone aware that since this is a single barrel product there will be higher variation than other bottles on the shelf.  In particular the variation in this label, from my experience, is even higher than most other single barrel expressions so your mileage may vary.  Retail price of around $30.

(Tasted neat from a Glencairn.)

Color in the Glass

Deep Amber

Nose

An absolute caramel bomb…strong caramel backed up by vanilla, golden delicious apple, clove, nutmeg (very inviting)

Palate

Not as rich as the nose suggests but many of the same notes are present with caramel at the forefront, apple peels, and baking spices. Then an interesting hoppy bitterness shows up on the tail end.

Finish

The hoppy bitterness merges with oak tannins to create a linger finish that unfortunately falls a bit flat.

In closing

Man oh man I thought I had hit the Henry McKenna Single Barrel Lottery when I first put my nose to the glass.  It was so rich and deep that I spent an obsessive amount of time breathing in the aromas, but from there the experience began to slide.  The palate and finish just couldn’t quite capture the magic from the nose.  Overall, I have had better and worse Henry McKenna Single Barrels and I believe they are worth a try for the price and the potential that the barrel on the shelf in front of you has a chance to far exceed anything else on the shelf.