Cool Hunting

Aged for an average of eight years, Black Maple Hill Small Batch Bourbon is bottled in small batches straight from Heaven Hill Distillery oak casks in Bardston, Kentucky. The technique and the fact that Heaven Hill is the largest, independent family-owned distillery in the state makes for an especially rare find of superior quality and taste.

In spite of its affordable price, Black Maple Hill is a nicely smooth bourbon. A 95-proof liquor, it expectedly has a bit of heat but it's met with a surprisingly mellow and dry finish with hints of butterscotch and oak.

Be careful when purchasing as Black Maple Hill also bottles a Small Batch Bourbon that comes out of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky but it's not a Heaven Hill product. Recently bottled in time for the inevitable colder weather, you'd be smart to snatch this up while you can. Available in limited quantities at your local liquor shop and online at K&L for $33.

Black Maple Hill also bottles a few older bourbons and ryes including an 18 and 21 year-old but those are quite a bit more expensive, albeit most likely worth it.