Brown sugar | Baked apples | Reduced maple syrup | Nutmeg | Oak tannins

Raspberry | Rich vanilla | Maple | Nutmeg | Fig | Nutella

Black cherry | Plum | Cinnamon | Barrel char | Musty oak | Peppery spice

Milam & Greene says that “The Castle Hill Vintage Series celebrates the art and skill of blending old casks to create a refined and beautiful whiskey.” The series was named after the Texas Military Institute, known as “The Castle,” in Austin, Texas, which is now Milam & Greene’s blending lab. Milam & Greene The Castle Hill Series Batch 3 is the final batch in the series.

The aroma opens with a strong brown sugar scent with a touch of nutmeg. It stays away from the stewed apple scent many whiskeys with apple notes succumb to and instead offers freshly baked apples helping to add a degree of lightness to the nose. A thick, reduced maple syrup scent comes next before oak tannins take over. The palate screams George Dickel, but you’ll immediately notice a much richer mouthfeel and flavor with it. Having tasted many older Cascade Hollow distilled bourbons at this point, I’d have to say this sticks out as being one of the richest. The musty oak note that is typically found in Tennessee whiskeys of this age is present but much more tempered. The combination of maple, nutmeg, and fig on the palate begins to taste like Nutella as it transitions into the finish. Black cherry and plum are replaced by cinnamon and peppery spice by the bourbon’s end.

At $200, it seems like a tall ask, given where this whiskey is likely from. With a good deal of aged Tennessee bourbon on the market at any given time, it makes the price difficult to fully get behind. Going into the sip thinking I knew what to expect, I was shocked by how rich The Castle Hill Series Batch 3 turned out to be. If you’re not someone turned off by a certain Tennessee whiskey flavor profile, this is an easy recommendation.