Cocoa powder | Cinnamon stick | Barrel Char | Toasted walnut | Touch of smoke

Chocolate | Roasted coffee beans | Oak | Caramel | Light clove

Cinnamon | Mexican chocolate | Nutmeg | Rye spice | Black pepper | Slight smoke

It has been an interesting year for Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon. The year opened with Batch A124, which was a misfire due to its overbearing spice. The follow-up, Batch B524 course-corrected, dialing its spice with much more finesse and precision. Batch C924 comes with a new label design, but also a few interesting quirks of its own.

The bourbon opens with strong cocoa powder notes that immediately lean into cinnamon stick, barrel char, toasted walnut, and a touch of smoke. This collection of scents provides a nice variation from previous batches without reinventing the wheel. The palate layers in chocolate upfront, but is careful not to be overly sweet like milk chocolate or overly bitter either. Roasted coffee beans come next, but the coffee note is tempered leaving behind a clean roasted note. This is compounded by a light clove note at the palate’s end, leading to a slight smoky note in the bourbon’s finish. Much like with Batch B524, cinnamon, Mexican chocolate, and nutmeg make up the conclusion of the sip, but this time are tempered to a bigger degree.

Batch C924 is possibly the culmination of what Heaven Hill was trying to accomplish with their 2024 batches. Each batch is a subsequent refinement of those that came before it. Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon releases have often been drenched in molasses, barrel char, and maple in the past, and Batch C924, in particular, tempers it to the point that they are now on equal footing. With so many releases featuring this boldness, it's a welcomed change of pace. Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbon Batch C924 is still a great buy at its MSRP, and while this batch doesn’t reach greater heights, it might be one of the most balanced barrel proof Larceny bourbons yet.