New from Milam & Greene, The Castle Hill Series Batch 1 is a vintage batch of 13-year-old, hand-selected bourbons bottled at barrel proof. Only 20 barrels were blended to create this whiskey, making it the most limited of the Texas-located company’s boutique whiskeys, which raked in top awards at the recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Milam & Greene is a rapidly expanding craft whiskey maker under the direction of CEO, master blender, and whiskey expert, Heather Greene.
Milam & Greene’s The Castle Hill Series celebrates the art and skill of blending vintage whiskey to create bourbon that highlights complex flavors from several single casks.
Greene honed her whiskey blending skills while evaluating Scotch whisky for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Scotland, as well as while working with numerous distilleries around the globe before bringing her talent to Milam & Greene in 2018. She is also a New York Times shortlisted author about whiskey and whiskey flavor development.
Greene said in a prepared statement, “I approach blending with express intent and purpose. I think of various barrels the way I think about spices in a cabinet. Each barrel brings its own unique character, and the end result should be balanced, flavorful, and elegant.”
She said she created this first batch of The Castle Hill Series to please whiskey drinkers looking for traditional lush notes of cherry, vanilla, and almonds juxtaposed with tannins and tobacco. “And it finishes a bit drier than might be expected. I find these kinds of complexities exciting.”
The Castle Hill series is named for the historic Texas Military Institute, also known as “The Castle,” which overlooks the Capitol Building in Austin, Texas. Greene spent hours inside the Castle in isolation during 2020 helping to create this first batch of this limited edition, while growing Milam & Greene into a national brand.
The Castle, which is now home to Greene’s blending lab, will soon have a private whiskey tasting room to showcase the art of whiskey blending. Milam & Greene operations, warehousing, and distilling remain in Blanco, Texas under the helm of master distiller, Marlene Holmes.
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Milam & Greene Castle Hill Series, Batch 1 taster’s notes show that it declares its age with a deep amber color. Its complexity shows with scents of vanilla, almond, citrus, chocolate, oak, and tobacco. Bottled at barrel proof, 108.5, the whiskey is bourbon forward with a backbone of spice and tannins. It finishes with a lingering rush of warm spice.
The Castle Hill Series Batch 1 is available for a suggested retail price of $119.99 at select retailers.
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