Hillrock Estate Limited Edition Solera Aged Cabernet Finished Bourbon Whiskey (113.2 Proof)

David Pickerell’s latest & unfortunately his last project has finally come to fruition. Dave was all excited about this project when we were together blending a barrel of Whistle Pig about 10 years ago. He created the mash bill, set up the distillery & oversaw the planting of all the fields. He was so pumped that this was going to be a true “field to bottle” bourbon. I suspect he never loved buying the juice for WP.

The Boss Hog himself was a legend in Kentucky & is the reason for Maker’s Mark meteoric rise & his buying of the Whistle Pig juice was always a touchy subject. He was adamant about this not being the case at Hillrock. Dave passed away suddenly at the end of 2018 leaving a giant hole in the bourbon world. I have continued to watch the goings on at HR and I can finally say that I think the “Boss Hog” would be very proud of what they’ve done.

Last month I made a barrel pick for our own Nicholas Barrel Reserve (stay tuned for that one later this year). I grabbed a great one. I didn’t leave without asking if they had any high proof bottles to offer our bourbon buyers club. The 92 proof is excellent but what I loved was the 113.2 Cabernet Cask finish.

I scored only 30 bottles so I would suggest clicking “Buy Now” because our last offer sold out in 22 minutes.

The color is a copper/ amber with a reddish hue. The nose is caramel, vanilla & freshly made popcorn. On the palate it’s warm, but suggests a lower proof than it is, which I happen to love. The finish has undertones of vanilla, roasted pineapple & cherry. This is a beautiful Whiskey to enjoy slowly.