Two superb bourbons

1. Parkers Heritage Collection 10yo wheated 63.9%

Annual special releases from Heaven Hill, this is a 10yo barrel strength version of their wheated bourbon, which is normally bottled under the Old Fitzgerald label.

Nose: Strong, solvent, dusty, warehouse. If you know the woody-sweet spirity smell you can experience in a warehouse you know what I mean.. This is just like standing next to a barrel.

Palate: Cream-Caramel, wood, soft vanilla, more wood. Again I get this feeling of being just next to barrel, which is not the worst association. I picture myself in a dark quiet rickhouse when drinking this

Finish : Long

An extreme bourbon, but also soft and friendly. It's the trademark of a wheater, which is a bourbon that has wheat as secondary grain, not rye which is more common. The wood is powerful, but it's not overpowering. It is well chosen barrels by Heaven Hill and this is a major move up from their regular wheated bottlings.

Rating 91/100

Now why doesn't HH bottle more stuff like this?. Rumours goes that stock has been sold to Buffalo Trace so they can keep up with supply for the van Winkle range. Maybe this is the reason ?

Thanks to Sku for the sample

2. Elijah Craig 12yo 134.2 proof

This is the barrel strength versions of Elijag Craig 12yo

As such I don't find a lot of commons between the regular and the barrel strength. The nose is dark licorise and spicy. This is one of those noses that has an anastetic effect on your mind.. I just want to dig deeper into it and almost try to drink this through my nose, Very nice. Normally the ethanol will refrain you from nosing a whisk(e)y to close to the liquid, but for this I just can't get near enough.

It's very spicy, with some sweet cinnamon like notes coming through.

Drinking this is powerful stuff. Now I can feel the ABV coming through. The whiskey is dark, powerful and oily, almost like engine oil in colour and texture. In fact this is so hot I need to add some water. This is one of the most oily whiskies I ever had. It is also so powerful in flavour I have to drink it drop by drop. If I had a bottle of this (I wish) it would last for years.

It's more intense than woody, it got licorise with a sweet edge. The finish is medium-long

Rating 89/100

Thanks to Michael for the sample