Hirsch 7.5 Year Old Cask Strength 127 Proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Hine Cognac Barrel Finish (2025) 75cl
1 of 4146 bottles
The Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon, created in collaboration with the revered HINE Cognac house. This year’s Cask Strength continues the acclaimed series that began in 2022. The 2025 bottling was aged 5 years, 8 months, before finishing in 30-Year-Old HINE Cognac XO barrels for an additional 1 year, 10 months, in Bardstown, KY.
Hirsch The Cask Strength is currently the brand’s only barrel finished expression. The bourbon consists of 54 new charred oak barrels that were aged for 6 years before being finished for an extended 18 months in 30-year-old Hine Cognac XO barrels. Founded in 1763, Hine Cognac is a 259-year-old cognac house that is headquartered in Jarnac, France.
The extended time spent finishing in the Hine Cognac XO barrels is quite evident throughout Hirsch The Cask Strength’s sip. It kicks off with rich bold baking spices and ripe plums that are hard to miss, yet never too overpowering, and is a fantastic way to start. The palate delivers drier notes focusing on oak, leather, and cinnamon stick but also delivers just enough variation of dark fruit notes and chocolatey malt to never go overboard. Rounding out on familiar notes of cinnamon, rye spice, and aged oak, the finish delivers a very nice balance to cap things off. Taken as a whole, the sip is very well composed and does a great job of utilizing the finishing barrel choice to enhance the base bourbon. It’s also easy to forget that proof of this whiskey, as it tends to drink a lot lower than its 127 proof point.
In a new twist for 2025, HIRSCH bottled this release as 10 single barrels, resulting in four unique proofs: 116, 115, 114, and 112. In total, 345 nine-liter cases (4,146 bottles.)
Mashbill: 72% CORN | 13% RYE | 15% BARLEY
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Plum, rich baking spice; complex
Palate: Caramel cherry, soft vanilla, mild cinnamon, muscat grape; rich mouthfeel
Finish: Peach rings, cedar, fig; gentle tannin structure
About Willett
Willett Distillery is a family-owned Kentucky distillery near Bardstown, established in 1936 and known for its small-batch bourbon and rye whiskies, including the iconic Willett Pot Still Reserve. The distillery was resurrected in 2012 after operating as an independent bottler for a period, and now distills its own whiskey using unique pot stills. Willett is celebrated for producing high-quality, rich, and complex spirits and is considered a significant part of Kentucky's bourbon heritage
63.5% ABV
75cl
