I had only had Henry McKenna’s 10 year bourbon one other time, at a bar in my hometown, and I fell in love immediately. I’d heard good things about the pour, but one try was all it took for me to rocket this into my top 10. I began to seek the bottle wherever and whenever I could, vowing to finally open it when I got another bottle. Then I wanted yet another bottle. And another. And Another. Now I have 5 bottles of HM10 and I was still afraid to open one because they are so hard to find.
Finally, in March, the month of the Irish, I got brave and made the decision to open one. I’ll admit to still having some hesitancy because there are horror stories about the “neck pour” from an unopened bottle, but I wanted to find that out for myself. I considered pouring the bottle into a decanter for a week or two because imbibing, but decided instead to have an experiment of my own, and experience a neck pour, then let the bottle sit, and try it again in a week.
This was my review:
On the nose, my first impressions it had some pretty sweet notes, most notably vanilla, butterscotch, honey, cinnamon, and a little black pepper. On the palette I got a slow alcohol bloom from the center of my tongue out to the sides. I sensed hazelnut and pecan, corn, black pepper, cinnamon, vanilla, butterscotch and maple syrup. It’s very smooth. Very nice. For the finish, the butterscotch, cinnamon and vanilla held on, while some of the other flavors dissipated as the legs faded. As they faded I caught a slight hint of anise.
~ KC Allen, March 04, 2021
It’s a totally delicious pour, and I’m glad I got brave enough to finally open one. I can’t wait to revisit the bottle in a week, and maybe in another week after that as well.
🥃
Cheers