I keep harping on the Bernheim Barrel Proof A release from 2024, but it really did stand out to me in a short-lived series that, while consistently good, hasn’t produced many very memorable expressions. This latest release, however, is nipping at its heels.
This one definitely won’t be for everybody, so I highly recommend you test drive it at a well-stocked watering hole first.
While the new copper-accented packaging is still growing on me, the liquid inside the bottle has become something I genuinely look forward to every few months. And this one delivers like others before it with a big aroma of RedHots and candy apple.
I personally enjoyed the 2022 and 2023 Gatsby releases a little more than this one. It’s still a very solid bourbon that drinks well above its age statement (more on that below), but it’s also quite different from previous releases.
I’ve tasted better Booker’s releases for my palate, but there isn’t much to nitpick with this one, especially if you’re a fan of Beam’s drier and more peppery barrel-proof bourbons. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love Jimmy Russell?
The fall edition is a return to form for Old Fitz worthy of its MSRP and probably a reasonable markup, too.
Winter Whiskey is one of those bourbons you’ll want to share with friends and keep in the bar for those occasions when your palate craves something really good but also something different.
The finish ties it all together expertly with torched sugar, chocolate mint, and lingering notes of marmalade and chai tea. It’s perhaps not the stunner we were given at the end of 2023, but there’s certainly nothing to complain about here.
Pound for pound, there’s no better value in barrel-proof wheated bourbon right now. I’m not sure why the price hasn’t increased along with Heaven Hill’s other annual barrel-proof trio, Elijah Craig, but I’m not complaining.
Campari could have easily made this another three-figure limited edition like Generations, but they didn’t. I’m not sure who we thank for that, but I’d like to think Jimmy had some input.
