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In the world of affordable ($300 or less), obtainable dusty bourbon bottles, there are a few that I see enthusiasts latch onto the most: Bourbon de Luxe, IW Harper and Anderson Club. But it’s the Anderson Club brand I’ll be focusing on for this review. Read on!
Anderson Club Sour Mash Kentucky Bourbon History
Anderson Club was first introduced in 1954 by Heaven Hill. Throughout the course of history up to the early 2000s, it saw 6, 10 and 15-year-old age-stated releases. If you didn’t see a number on the front, the three of them could be identified based on label color – Hunter Green, Kelly Green and Black respectively.
The 15-year-old age stated Anderson Club version came out around 1993 and was primarily exported to Japan. I can’t find exact proof of this, but I believe the 15-year version was sold at the distillery. I say this because previous versions of Anderson Club had been. Regardless, unless you find a bottle in your grandparent’s home, chances are high that the ones you find on secondary sites have been repatriated from Japan to the USA.
If you look at the tops of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products and their subsidiary brands, they will have a unique shape that lets your mind intuitively know you’re looking at one of their products. Heaven Hill products were famous for doing that, too. Just look at the pleated neck compared to the likes of Heaven Hill, Virgin Bourbon or even Ezra Brooks 101 bottles and notice the similarities. Anderson Club also sports the phrase “Charcoal Filtered” on the label just like most Heaven Hill products. Let’s talk about that for a moment…
“Charcoal Filtered and Sour Mash”
Most reviews and reviewers have incorrectly drawn correlations between Heaven Hill’s use of charcoal filtering and Jack Daniel’s. In reality, these are two different processes. Jack Daniel’s takes distillate from the still and passes it through 10 feet of Sugar Maple charcoal before it goes into the barrel. This effectively strips out a lot of oils and some congeners leaving a lighter-bodied whiskey.
Heaven Hill’s process is more like a form of chill filtration whereby the fully-matured whiskey is cooled down before being dumped through a layer of charcoal (I’ve heard this filter described as looking like a metal bucket with an open bottom and with maybe 12 inches of charcoal inside. This light filtration will trap some impurities like barrel char and maybe strip the liquid of some fatty acid chains so that the liquid won’t haze if the bottle gets really cold.
It should go without saying that the liquid in the bottle was made prior to the 1996 fire that wiped out the Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery (DSP-KY-31). Judging purely by math alone, the liquid was distilled in 1981 although older barrels were frequently added into batches of every kind of bourbon around this time.
The mash bill was not the 78/10/12 one that we identify Heaven Hill bourbon as today; instead it was 75/13/12 prior to the distillery fire. The recipe was changed only after Parker Beam couldn’t get the stills at the New Bernheim Distillery to make bourbon that reminded him of the old style. The yeast, however, remains the same.
The end of an era
Heaven Hill killed off the Anderson Club label in 2005. I don’t think anyone talks about this, but the reason was likely the result of Heaven Hill execs worrying about the possibility of shortages as a result of the toll the fire took on their inventory. If you’ve read my review of old label Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon, you’d remember that Heaven Hill went through a period of time from 2010 to 2020 where they were removing as many age statements as they could. The cancellation of Anderson Club may have been a sort of bellwether to it all.
So how does this bourbon taste? It’s light coming in at 86 proof, but I’ve been impressed by dusties coming in at that proof before. A special thanks to Andrew for the opportunity to taste this. Let’s take a look. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: The nose is full of delicate sweet notes like Honey Nut Cheerios, rum raisin cake and a bit of molasses. The antique oak note is obvious, but is lighter than most other dusties around this age. Occasionally I get notes of flowers and a slight rancio scent. Fruit is hard to find (aside from the aforementioned raisins) but if you smell really hard, you’ll find some sweetened stone fruit. It’s a beautiful presentation that needs like 10 more proof points to be absolutely bananas.
Palate: I don’t know why I wouldn’t have expected this, but I’m shocked with the amount of oxidized notes everywhere. This impacts the cherries, root beer, drying tobacco and the oak in a major way and makes them taste almost like a sherry wine. Weird! Sweetness comes from scorched caramel and a light bodied chocolate. The nuttiness is subtle and reminds me of toasted almonds. The whole mouthfeel has a light-to-medium body that cloaks everything in velvet. Once again, give me 10 more proof points here and this would be world class.
Finish: I was going to lie and say that the finish is moderate in length, but the longer I drank this the faster it would disappear. The finish is disappointingly short. What fleeting moments I do get to enjoy see lingering flavors of ground cinnamon, sweet oak and cherry bitters giving way to a bit of chocolate and clove. Absolutely zero burn going down.
Score: 7.6/10
Modern bourbon trends tend to prioritize bold, “in your face” flavors over subtle nuance. But back when bourbon was fighting for its life against the light spirits drinkers of the world, it had to be a more delicate and elegant version of itself. That’s why there isn’t a whole lot to compare with these older versions to their modern-day counterparts.
I’m writing this review almost 30 years after this bottle was produced. The industry has seen tons of change with productions methods, barrel finishes and high proofed bruisers all altering the landscape in their own way. Yet superbly polished examples of bourbon are hard to come by and often taste watered down. Not so with this bottle of Anderson Club.
Sure, it’s still a hard sell to the people who want to find something more aggressive, but there still is something magical underneath its velvety, light texture. It’s something we can’t (or won’t) be able to replicate today. So rather than snub your nose at its proof, embrace it for what it is: a time capsule back to a time when bourbon was close to death and where every bottle sold kept the distilleries alive just long enough to see the resurgence we are living in today. If you want to dip your toe into the world of dusties, you could do a lot worse in terms of value than a bottle of Anderson Club 15.