Review: Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch B524 (May 2024)
The 2024 halfway mark of Larceny Barrel Proof releases has arrived: B524 coming in at 62.7% abv, but otherwise refusing to mix up this well-worn equation. (Wheated bourbon, cask strength, no age statement.)
As a side note, Larceny recently changed up its standard edition, 92-proof label design (see photo, right). Here’s how the brand describes it:
Sometimes what’s not there is the key to what is. One of the biggest features of the new package is not visible to the naked eye. Printed with UV ink, the legend behind Larceny can barely be seen in natural light but hold the label under a blacklight and the story is revealed. This feature alludes to the fact that for many years the story of John E. Fitzgerald was lost to history. It was only in recent decades that Fitzgerald’s true identity as a Treasury Agent with a taste for stolen whiskey came to light. The new label resembles a page ripped from the history books – lost for many years, but rediscovered. On the back of Larceny bottles, Bourbon fans can scan the QR code taking them directly to the newly updated Larceny website.
The new label will also adapted for Barrel Proof bottles, starting this fall — as also seen in the above photo.
For this season, you’re getting a particularly well-rounded expression of Larceny, kicking off with a nose that’s thick with spices — much more so than we typically receive from the brand. Clove and allspice are backed up by a significant tobacco aroma, earthy with bursts of black pepper. Some fruit teases out with time in glass: dark, black berries evoking notes of cassis, edged with licorice.
The palate is built atop all of the above, again heavy with baking spices. It never comes across as a wheated bourbon, moving quickly into notes of red pepper, rhubarb, and a touch of licorice. Hearty and with an edge of peppered beef brisket, this challenges any notions that a wheated bourbon will always be fruit-forward and light on its feet. You won’t find dessert-like caramel sauce and banana pudding here but instead a dense fruitcake that’s been well-doused in high-test booze and all soaked up. Dark chocolate and some prune notes creep out on the finish, again ringed with anise and pepper.
With the last installment of Larceny Barrel Proof I said this was one of the most consistent limited releases you’d find in the bourbon business (in contrast to Elijah Craig or Booker’s). I take that all back. This is the Larceny we didn’t know we needed, but which we’re getting all the same.
125.4 proof.
A- / $65 / heavenhill.com [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR] [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]
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