The Hillsboro Society is a fan group created by the Lieper’s Fork Distillery. The society allows paid members to get special bottles of their whiskey and experience members-only events. Membership comes with a nice box with two Glencairn glasses, a diary to keep your tasting notes, an ink pen, a membership card and the chance to get these bottles. This bottle is a Bottled-in-Bond 50/50 blend of their Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys. I was honored to be made a member when I did my Bourbon Country Institute for the employees of the distillery a while back and received this bottle from Lee Kennedy, the owner and distiller. It is excellent whiskey that Matt and I thought could have been the whiskey of the month, but decided that since it is such a limited release, we did not think it appropriate. Here are our tasting notes.
The Hillsboro Society Tennessee Bourbon
Proof: 100
Age: Four Years Old
Nose:
- Mike: Rich caramel, plums, apricots, baking spices and oak wood.
- Matt: Rich, butter caramel, peaches, apricots, ginger, and oak wood.
Taste:
- Mike: Caramel, plums, apricots, cinnamon and oak wood. Tasted with a dried cranberry and ginger spice comes out to join the party. Tasted with a pecan and chocolate comes forward to join the caramel, fruit and spice.
- Matt: Butter caramel, apricots, ginger and oak wood. The dried cranberry added cinnamon to the mix. The pecan brought out notes of dark chocolate.
Finish:
- Mike: Long with oak, cinnamon and lingering fruit sweetness. The dried cranberry made it spicier with ginger and cinnamon. The pecan made the finish long and dry with oak, ginger and lingering chocolate.
- Matt: Long with oak, leather and citrus. The dried cranberry added some cinnamon spice. The pecan made it long and spicy with oak, spice and lingering chocolate.
I would pair this fine whiskey with a My Father The Judge cigar. The rich vanilla and chocolate in the smoke would pair well with the caramel and spice of the whiskey.
Photos courtesy of Rosemary Miller