Hillrock Solera Aged Bourbon

Disclaimer: Based on the official depiction, I suspect this is not the correct bottle, but I am uncertain. My bottle appears identical, and it indicates a sherry cask finish. However, the "barrel no:" is handwritten as "Sauternes-23". While I'm not a wine expert, I'm fairly certain Sauternes is not sherry. This bottle was presented to me as a Sauternes finish, and after sampling it a few times, I'm convinced it's influenced by Sauternes and not sherry. End disclaimer. Hillrock versus Boone County 1833. Sauternes Cask Finish Round. The winner will compete against Jefferson’s. Full competition summary: In the Sherry finish bracket, Wild Turkey Revival triumphed over Joseph Magnus, Noble Oak, and Rabbit Hole to reach the final 5. Port, Rum, and Red Wine brackets are still to be determined. I had to dim the lights considerably to conduct this blind tasting. There's a significant difference in color between Boone County and Hillrock; Hillrock's color is more in line with other Sauternes cask finishes I've experienced. Flavor-wise, it was easy to distinguish Boone County. That is one delicious cask finish. Ultimately, Boone County provided more, and advanced to the next stage. Hillrock needs refinement, undoubtedly. The aroma of Hillrock does not reveal its cask finish. It's quite bland, and I mean that negatively. I wasn't expecting a bland bourbon. Where is the Sauternes? To lack better words, Hillrock smells like young whiskey. There's an industrial scent (I'll describe it as rubber gloves today) similar to the Journeyman line. I was unfamiliar with Solera aging, so I researched it. Now, the aroma makes sense. It's less harsh than many young whiskies because it's blended with sourced MGP. In my view, that's akin to adding your own urine to lemonade and then claiming credit for its sweetness. There's a subtle hint of raisin beneath the industrial scent, but it's nearly impossible to detect. The body is smooth initially, before the harshness appears. That first impression is the only place you'll find the Sauternes influence. You'll detect green grapes, sugar, raisin, and vanilla. It's a nice touch, unfortunately, that is far too brief. The finish arrives quickly with the harsh, acidic bite of a young whiskey. It's difficult to discern much flavor because I'm essentially in survival mode. If I had to identify anything, I'd say licorice and tea leaves. But then, something remarkable occurs. The harshness dissipates, and a pure sweetness returns to your molars and the sides of your mouth. I detect tangerine, lemon, cane sugar, and more grapes. So, the Sauternes was present after all, amidst the harshness introduced by the Solera "aging" process. I am not a fan of that method on principle, but I recognize its practical benefit. This offering wasn't enough to deter me from trying Hillrock again, and for a young whiskey, I believe they've achieved something considerably better than Journeymen, Cleveland, and many other young distilleries that charge triple the price of a WT101 for an inferior product. I will likely let Hillrock prove its worth elsewhere, and will revisit when they adopt traditional aging methods. I will not repurchase at this time.

Sampled at room temperature in a Denver & Liely Whisky glass, without any additions. The aroma presents pear, cherry, and vanilla, with a slight alcoholic presence. It's quite pleasing, and worth taking time to fully appreciate. The scents really stimulated my desire to taste. Interestingly, the first word that came to mind upon smelling it was "bourbon," evoking the flavor of bourbon as an ingredient in things like maple syrup, ice cream, or coffee. The taste is a bit more "young whiskey" than anticipated from the nose. It features orange, cinnamon, vanilla, and a subtle ginger-like sharpness, possibly from the rye. It's intriguing how this is very understated on the palate without being dull; in fact, it's somewhat intricate. The only other spirit I recall being this subtle yet clearly layered and complex was Elmer T. Lee. While their tastes differ, the layering is comparable. Despite all this, I can't say I adore the flavor. It's good. It's interesting. It's not great. The youthfulness is prominent. The finish is pleasant and floral, with good duration. I detect hints of vanilla and orange or orange zest in the finish, which was unexpected.

I've been curious about this one and its distinctive square bottle for some time and finally decided to purchase it, let's see how it turns out... The aroma is strong and complex, with notes of gingerbread, pear, cherry, toffee, cedar, leather, walnut, and clove. There's some mild ethanol, which is a slight flaw considering the proof. The palate shows the positive impact of the sherry cask finish, with flavors of pear, grape syrup, chocolate, molasses, tobacco, dark dried fruits, and almond. One can sense that the base bourbon is somewhat young, as there are some slightly rough edges and a bit of prickliness, but the overall flavor is quite well-balanced. The finish is long for its proof, with notes of date, fig, light caramel, grape, ginger, and cherrywood. After everything else fades, there's a distinct note that reminds me of fruit punch. Some youth is again evident in the form of alcohol heat. The mouthfeel is oily and medium-bodied, complementing the flavor profile perfectly. Overall, at $89.99, my initial thought was "decent bourbon, but overpriced," and as much as I've grown to like this, I have to stand by that initial impression. At $90, flaws shouldn't be present. It's a worthy effort and a tasty whiskey, but I'll say it just misses being a repurchase. It gets a non-existent rating of 3.95.

Smooth. Spicy. Vanilla. Caramel. This description is brief. I was out to dinner yesterday, and the manager suggested this Hillrock. I was immediately impressed. I'm uncertain if I'll buy a bottle at over $100, but if I did, the cost would be fully warranted. Added 12/25/23: Santa brought me a bottle! Enjoying a glass tonight in the comfort of my home... From aroma to taste, I'm detecting "cherries" (like cherry cough drops) and what I'll call "molasses". There's a slight burn going down. It's sweet, and I remember why I enjoyed it so much back in September.

I hadn't sampled anything from Hillrock before, so I decided to try a pour at a work event. The aroma presented a blend of vanilla, oak, honey, and rye spice. As I began tasting, I detected immediate rye spice and a slight warmth. Subsequent sips revealed some dried fruit and oak, likely from the sherry cask. The finish was dry and on the shorter side. Overall, quite satisfactory.

Medicinal and cherry notes are quite apparent. It begins sweet and pleasant, then transitions to some spice in the middle. It seems like it will become too hot, but it cools off just in time for a pleasant finish that returns to cherry. Very interesting, though not the flavor profile I favor. A second tasting was slightly improved, with more oak and traditional bourbon characteristics.