Style: Wheated Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age: 6 to 8 years
Proof: 124.2 (62.1% ABV)
Region: Heaven Hill Distillery – Bardstown, Kentucky
A new year is upon us, which means it’s time to reset the clock with Heaven Hill’s Barrel Proof bourbons. The first up in 2024 is Larceny Barrel Proof batch A124. This high-octane whiskey is made from a wheat mash bill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley. We recently reviewed Heaven Hill’s Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C923 and found it to be one of our favorite American Whiskeys of 2023. Let’s see if Larceny Barrel Proof A124 (Elijah Craig’s younger, wheatier cousin) can continue the distillery’s winning streak.
Tasting notes
The nose on this batch of Larceny is extremely sweet and confectionary. There’s an abundance of brown sugar, caramel, and honey along with some bright lemon and orange notes. On the palate, the sweetness continues. This time there are notes of maraschino cherry, more brown sugar, sweet red apple, mango, and a burst of allspice and clove. The mouthfeel is particularly juicy and very pleasing. It leads to a satisfying and long finish with notes of baking spice, baked orchard fruit, and vanilla.
Final thoughts
I am admittedly not the biggest fan of the standard 92-proof Larceny Small Batch as I commonly find wheated bourbons at that proof point to be a bit too smooth and lacking in complexity. This batch of Larceny Barrel Proof is a winner, though. It’s packed with dessert-like flavors of baked fruit, cherry, brown sugar, and orange zest. It drinks well below its 124.2 proof, presenting as smooth, balanced, and without any pronounced ethanol burn. Best of all, it evolves as enjoyed, showing different layers with every sip. Batch 124’s rich, velvety sweetness makes it an ideal digestif pour—sipped as, or with, dessert.
