Bubblegum | Cherry fruit snacks | Black currant | Fruit-forward and quite sweet | Fantastic

Baking spice | Raisin | Orange | Fruit punch | Mid-palate cinnamon | Straightforward

Cherry | Light cinnamon | Minor lingering anise aftertaste | More sweet than spicy | Warming

Often leaning heavily on spice and heat, this year’s release finds a way to balance its spice by countering it with a perfect amount of fruity sweetness. At the same time, it forgoes its standard jetfuel-like temperament and is warming instead of hot. Despite the sip being straightforward and not overly complex, the highlight of this whiskey is that it is amazingly balanced. Those are two words I thought I’d never use to describe Thomas H. Handy, but it absolutely nails its intensity of its fruity sweet flavors against its typical cinnamon-forward profile. There is no doubt in my mind, this is the best Thomas H. Handy in a long, long time - possibly ever.