- BrandBlack Maple Hill
- CountryUSA
- RegionKentucky
- TypeBourbon
- Size750ml
- SKU 210000002385
Black Maple Hill Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon
This release marks the last bottling of the legendary Kentucky distilled Black Maple Hill whiskey. The whiskey is a small batch vatting of vintages from Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, owned by the Willett family. Black Maple Hill NAS carries no age statement, but was rumored to be eight years old at the time of bottling in 2013.
Black Maple Hill has a wonderful, trusting nose on it. The big orange citrus opening welcomes all. Hints of corn and honey develop as more air mixes with the bourbon. Traces of oak and spice hide in the background. Deliciously sweet aroma. And then, you taste it. The sweet nose completely disappears, and a very dry corn flavor takes over. It’s quite shocking how different the nose and palate are from each other. It was something I wasn’t expecting, and that’s not necessarily a good thing in this case. Some rye spice develops on the mid to heavy back end. The 95 proof makes Black Maple Hill an easy bourbon to sip. Very little heat allows the bourbon to make its mark without the burn. The flavor is not complex like a Pappy, making that common comparison between the two seem unfair. There aren’t a lot of fireworks with this one. The oak and rye dominate. The finish gets to the point quickly and doesn’t linger too long. Surprisingly, traces of alcohol flavor become more prominent as air mixes with the bourbon and overshadow much of what this bourbon had going for it.