Hallowed be thy grain, part 3: Mellow Corn

Kentucky Straight Corn Whiskey (Heaven Hill Distillery), 50% ABV, bottled in bond

Today’s review covers a whiskey that has managed a bit of a cult status, for numerous reasons. It’s rather ‘loud’, presentation wise, for starters. You can’t really argue that it’s an aesthetically pleasing presentation, but the bright yellow label does stand out, making it instantly recognizable, as, and now we’re coming to reason number two, in its country of origin (the US of A), this is arguably the quintessential bottom shelf bottle of everything bottom shelf. And that’s quite a clever move from producers Heaven Hill, really: if you’re releasing a dirt cheap whiskey (somewhere between $15 and $20 – for a 4 yo, bottled in bond, 50% ABV whiskey, let that sink in for a bit) that’s going to end up at those bottom shelves on liquor stores all over the US, a ‘pretty’ looking bottle won’t do the trick, as it's sitting at ankle height. No, you want something loud, something that really jumps out from the other cheap whiskies and vodka’s and gins. So making sure it is bright yellow and looks more like a bottle of sunflower oil or peanut oil than anything, is sheer marketing brilliance.

Question is: for less than $20 (usually 20 – 30 euro or pound here on the old continent), do you get something that is even marginally better than paint thinner? To me this bottle just screams contradictions and paradoxes. On the one hand, it’s cheap and loud and a bit in your face even. On the other hand, there’s the whole bottled in bond, 50% ABV thing. Which, generally speaking, is considered a trait or mark associated with quality, as it’s telling us a lot about the production process: everything that goes into the bottle has to be distilled during one season (January-June or July-December), by one and the same distiller at one distillery, and then matured for at least 4 years before it gets bottled at 100 proof/50% ABV. Granted, the whole bottled-in-bond-act in the US dates back to the late 19th Century, when adulterated and tempered with whiskey was a downright plague, so it doesn’t have the same ‘impact’ on quality today as it once had. But never the less, even today quite a lot of US distilleries tend to release plenty of bottled in bond whiskey, and while still relevant when it comes to giving the customer some information, contemporary releases probably and hopefully are less about making sure you don’t turn blind after a few sips and more about the connection with history and celebrating this tradition. After all, when it comes to whisk(e)y, tradition and provenance go a long way when you’re looking to sell your product.

But in the case of this particular expression, there’s more to it than clever marketing, as this first came out in 1973, way before the mere idea of most of today’s well established single malts were even considered.

Made from a mash of a minimum of 80% corn, this is matured in a first fill bourbon cask (hence why they can’t call it bourbon) for at least 4 years. So again, for $20: do you get your money’s worth?

Nose

Sweetness a go go! Lots and lots of granulated sugar, vanilla cream and vanilla pudding, strawberry and raspberry candy, some light and sweet fudge/toffee and sugared almonds. Sweet, sweeter, sweetest! A drop of water brought out a sherbet note. It’s quite simple, yet quite pleasant.

Palate

The lemon sherbet is way more upfront and ‘immediate’ now. A bit prickly, distinctly grainy. Still quite some grainy and sugary sweetness going on, but nowhere near as much as the nose suggested. ‘Straightforward’ is also one way to describe this.

Finish

Medium long, dry and clingy.

Final thoughts

So, back to the $20 dollar question: do you get your money’s worth? Well, yes, I suppose so. Some say this is the king of the bottom shelf and value for money wise quite hard to beat. I feel that such praise might be a bit too optimistic, although I’ll happily admit that this is easy drinking and a nice step away from what I’d normally enjoy. But there’s no ignoring the fact that this is and remains very much a cheap grain whisky, particularly on the palate. It’s not harsh like some other dirt cheap whiskey (usually supermarket blends), but all in all very simple and one dimensional, and overall there’s not enough going on to be truly engaging. Then again, for the price there’s nothing to argue about here! Should I come across this in the US for less than $20, I’d probably buy more than just the one bottle and use it as an easy drinker or in a mixer, but seeing how over here it’s usually somewhere around €25-€30, I’d probably pass it by and go for something better for a fiver or so more. The one true guitar god already knew it : ‘My yellow in this case is not so mellow’, but then again, he was bold as love. 74/100

Join me again next week for the grand finale of the series where I’ll visit the other end of the spectrum and try some very expensive grain whiskies!