We have another guest taster, Aman. Aman is a big fan of Bourbon, scotch, wine and beer, but then again who isn’t? We are tasting Larceny from Heaven hill. The full name is actually John E Fitzgerald, Larceny, Very Special Small Batch, whew! We will just go with Larceny.
Larceny is a wheated Bourbon, meaning it uses wheat as the secondary grain as opposed to Rye. This usually creates a Bourbon that is a little sweeter than it’s Rye counterpart. Sells between $25 to $32 for a750 ML bottle, pretty available and is 92 proof. Comes in a corked bottle that is pinched in at the middle with a big key hole on the label.
NOSE
Aman: My first thought after taking a whiff was rich, and then deep. I know those aren’t really aromas but that was my initial reaction. After that I got a little oak as well as a sweetness.
Todd: Wow, deep and rich! Gonna make my description boring. I detected aromas of citrus and a touch of cinnamon along with the usually suspects of vanilla and caramel. Also a little bit of grain.
Ron: Yeah, glad I wasn’t following Aman. I also got the cinnamon and caramel as well as sweet alcohol aroma.
TASTE
Aman: Tasted nothing but heat when drank straight. A little ice/water cooled it down and refined the taste. found just plain sweetness to be the dominant taste. Also a little citrus and an herb I couldn’t identify.
Todd: I also found it to be a little hot neat, with ice I could taste the cinnamon that I smelled as well as some wood notes. I also found it to have a nice sweetness.
Ron: Tasted what I can only describe as sugary wood, along with caramel and vanilla.
Todd: Sugary wood?
Aman: Haha!
FINISH
Aman: I thought it had a nice, fruity, medium finish.
Todd: Medium finish with a little bit of a mustiness to it.
Ron: Smooth medium to long finish which really accented the caramel.
Todd: I want to change mine, I agree with Ron on the caramel finish.
OVERALL
Aman: What else can I say, I liked the stuff.
Todd: I’m with Aman, but I have a soft spot for wheated Bourbon.
Ron: Good, but not real complex.
Nose 4.5 out of 5
Taste 7.5 out of 10
Finish 4 out of 5
Total 16 out of 20 Barrels.
Not a huge score but not real low either. Pretty much right in line with the price. The nose raised the score while the lack of complexity on the taste and finish hurt it somewhat. Larceny would probably be a little sweet to use as a mixer, better on the rocks.
At the low end of the price range, Larceny is a really good buy. It has a sweetness and smoothness that also makes it a good Bourbon for newbies to try.