The Story

All the way back in 2019, Devon and I found ourselves at the Liquor Barn down in Lexington, KY. It’s not that we weren’t expecting to be there, necessarily; the goal was to grab some really great bottles on our way through the state as we were passing through. This wasn’t the first time we had gone to Liquor Barn, but this was the first time we had gone to this particular Liquor Barn. The building was a bit unique in its construction; almost as if it had been converted from a car dealership to a liquor store. But I digress.

We did the obvious, meticulous study of the bourbon aisle to see if we could find anything of interest, and then meandered on over to their glass case where they keep the more expensive, uncommon or allocated bottles. A worker was behind the counter as we scanned through. To our surprise, there sat a Larceny Barrel Proof. Why the surprise? Well, it was anticipated as a future release at that time, and we were blown away that it was there in front of our eyes. We struck up a conversation with the lady at the counter.

“Hello”, we began. “We see you have a bottle of Larceny BP there. Didn’t know it was being distributed yet! How much is it?”

“$150” she said dryly, with no tone of humor.

“Oh”, we replied, as we looked at one another, knowing full well that was much too steep of an ask for our pocketbook. This must’ve been clear as day, as she continued “Well, you can always try it at the tasting bar on the other side of the store.”

That sounded like an excellent idea to us! We thanked her and walked the 100 or so feet to another area of the store that looked a bit like a deli, but with liquor behind the deli counter. Bottles lined up, and also small foodstuffs available. There was a handful of tables and chairs too. We picked two bottles to taste: Larceny Barrel Proof and a newly released (at that time) Peerless Bourbon. We retreated with our samples and took a seat at the table.

I tasted that first Larceny Barrel Proof and I definitely enjoyed the pour. In fact, we revisited the same A120 batch when we reviewed the C922 in the video portion of this review. And yes; it definitely was a decent pour. Not to take us too far on a tangent but that day we got to taste two completely new (to us) whiskeys that we ended up loving. In fact, you can read the review we did on Peerless Bourbon as well. But again, I digress.

Today we’re focusing on the latest batch from Heaven Hill’s Larceny BP: Batch C922. This one is definitely on the more powerful side as it clocks in at 126.6 proof, which is the highest proof that a Larceny batch has boasted. Ever. Also we would be remiss not to mention that this was Breaking Bourbon’s Whiskey of the Year for 2022. If you don’t know about Breaking Bourbon, they review whiskeys just like we do and they are very, very popular. They also taste numerous whiskeys throughout the year and they listed this as their favorite of this year. That’s a huge statement.

So naturally we were curious ourselves. We wanted to grab this one and eventually had enough luck to find one at the state minimum pricing here – which wasn’t easy. The retailers ‘in the know’ jacked up the price an extra $10-$15 simply because this was Breaking Bourbon’s bottle of the year. Never miss a chance, do they?

Alright, enough chat – let’s dive into this one and see what we can find out!

Nose

There’s plenty of caramel on the nose, along with baking spice and brown sugar. Very sweet, and typical bourbon notes.

Palate

The palate stays true to the nose but adds some interesting stuff. We felt like the palate showcased dry roasted peanuts with an overwhelmingly nutty flavor on the front palate that gave way to some serious caramel notes, as well as those brown sugar notes we got on the nose. The nice thing about this batch was the excellent mouthfeel; it was nice and oily which is a nice trait for any bottle.

Finish

The dry roasted peanuts carry through to the finish, supported by the foundation of caramel which then dissipates to leave mostly baking spice on the palate. The very, very tail end of the finish leaves a touch of black tea.

Verdict

We knew it would be tough to allow another batch to reign supreme over the sentimental factor we associate with A120. But our job here is to be impartial realists, and we have to say that this is a better batch than our A120.

As a regular bottle, this is excellent. It definitely brings all of the notes you are hoping for in a Barrel Proof Larceny batch. It has those really great bourbon notes, it has a luxurious mouthfeel and leaves you wanting to take another sip. Yes, it’s powerful and a bit hot, but not so much to be off-putting in the least.

Now, is it good enough to be our bottle of the year? I don’t think so. We had so many great bottles in 2022. Therefore we will let the rating tell that story.

We’ve decided to give Larceny Barrel Proof – Batch C922 an 8.1 out of 10. It definitely stands up to the hype in general. If you can find this one at retail, grab it – it’s definitely worth it.

Do you own this bottle? Then surely you’ll want to add it to your inventory using our web app! It’s free to use. Sign up here to get a handle on that unruly home bar.

Cheers friends!