Black Maple Hill 'Red Label' Kentucky Straight Bourbon

There are a few bottles for me that don't really have a wow factor, but that just put a smile on my face, and this is one of them.

I love Black Maple Hill and I was really excited when I saw that they were back, I am aware it is a different group entirely, after the failed Oregon experiment. The original is what really got me on my way in whiskey and was one of my first bottles (or first 10 bottles) of really good juice. I still can't believe I paid 38 bucks a bottle. That history probably compelled me to write a thorough review of this, not only describing what I think this bottle is like, but also offering my perspective and biases to anchor my opinion. I think that sort of thing matters to people in helping them decide about a bottle, but it is rarely offered.

Speaking of the original, this is not that. It is, however, at least somewhat reminiscent. This is not from legendary sourcing. You also don't get the overt notes of maple that I seemed to get from the original, but maybe that was a trick of the mind anyway given the name. Besides, I don't really palate with specificity. Here, in general terms, there is a very nice sweetness that reads honey and is not cloying (to me). The mouthfeel does not coat, but if you roll it in your mouth for a bit, you get a little bit of spice and it is not as thin. It is one of the lowest proof bottles that I own, and yet it still drinks lower even than 95. It drinks to me in the profile of a poor man's Pappy 12 Lot B, which I call liquid gold. That is 90ish proof and drinks like it. To me, the complaints about Pappy 12, basically that it is not George T. etc., miss the point. It fills 'a' lane. To me there is no 'the lane', as in one and only. This is not as charismatic, and not the depth of Pappy 12. I am not sure I uncovered an age for the BMH small batch, but it's not 12 years, I can guarantee that. Again, at a 10th of the price, no complaints. It just fills a similar lane to me.

I'm a bit wishy washy on value as a general concept. This is not the original and not the extreme value of the original either. It's just a solid glass. A glass; like a tumbler, not a glencairn. Some enthusiasts think this could be more complex. I don't disagree. I also don't disagree that there are maybe some nice $40-$50 whiskeys out there that could fill the liquid gold bill as well. I don't know what they are. I don't drink that range anymore unless explicitly recommended because I find the QC is not good and frankly because I am willing to pay more, but not everyone can or will. Old Fitz 7 BIB is probably 'better' at a similar or even lower price and represents great value. I don't really drink my Old Fitz 7, however, because Old Fitz 10 is much more satisfying at about 2.5 times the price and I'm not that much concerned with value. And I have too many other good bottles in a similar profile. I'll spend $200 on a bottle that I think might be good and $300 - $400 on a bottle that I am pretty certain is great. Value here matters because I am getting something at a tenth that I think is good enough, even though I just said 2-2.5 times was not enough value to compel me. Like I said, wishy-washy.

My philosophy also is that there are some transcendent whiskeys that almost everyone agrees on. Recently for me Russell's 15 probably qualifies. I shared it with a range of people from novice to much more experienced than me and everyone loved it. Unicorns are what they are. Otherwise, I look for bottles that have a specific purpose because I am not a true believer or anything; there is no one truth about whiskey, or spirits in general. I like what I like. If I want Mexican food I don't go to Chipotle, and vice versa. If I want tequila, I don't drink whiskey and vice versa. On a side note, I also don't waste my time complaining that tequila is not whiskey. That said, this bottle isn't holding up in a tasting. If I want interesting/adventure, I will try something new or go back to something I think has evolved (last tasting, for example, Old Dragon Bones 20 Year, Hardin's Creek Warehouse series, the Mushroom one, presented themselves as candidates to revisit as interesting). If I want complex and rich, I am drinking something barrel proof off the top couple of shelves. I've got some purple tops but no wax. There is always something bigger and better out there, and even for me value has a role. In a vacuum, if I had to pick between this and a really good store pick for the same price, I'm taking the store pick. I don't live in that either/or world though.

If you just stack the same profile, it's probably not this profile, so don't buy this bottle. The proof alone probably already told you that. If you want a few glasses for yourself or others, not to ponder, but just to crush, hopefully with a smile on your face too, this is what I am grabbing.