The Gold Foil is the final original bottling of A. H. Hirsch Reserve 16 Year, distilled in spring 1974 in Pennsylvania and bottled in 2003. Hirsch is a much-discussed old American whiskey, and the Gold Foil is the release most collectors know by sight.
About This Bourbon
Earlier 16 year old lots carried blue or gold wax. When Preiss Imports took on the last of the stock, Buffalo Trace bottled it in 2003 under Julian Van Winkle's eye and sealed it with a gold foil capsule instead of wax. At some 2,500 to 3,000 cases, depending on the account, it was the largest Hirsch release. It is bottled at 45.8% ABV (91.6 proof) and matured in new charred oak.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Honey, toffee and old oak, with dried orange, leather and a little mint.
- Palate: Round and gentle, with caramel, dried fruit, tobacco leaf and soft spice.
- Finish: Long and quietly drying, with nutty oak, cocoa and lingering sweetness.
Serving & Food
Pour a measured dram at room temperature into a small tulip glass and let it sit before tasting; it needs no water. Once open, try to finish it within a year. Keep food simple: roasted walnuts, a mild aged Comté or a square of dark chocolate.
How to Enjoy
Collectors of old American whiskey, and occasions where the story of the bottle matters as much as the pour.
Product Details
Brand: A. H. Hirsch Reserve
Distillery: Pennco Distillery (later Michter's), Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania
Bottled by: Buffalo Trace for Preiss Imports, 2003
Origin: Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania, USA
Vintage: Distilled spring 1974
Age: 16 Year Old
Style: Straight bourbon whiskey
ABV: 45.8% (91.6 proof)
Closure: Gold foil capsule
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
A. H. Hirsch Reserve comes from a single run of about 400 barrels commissioned by Adolf H. Hirsch, a former Schenley executive, and distilled in spring 1974 at the Pennco Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Soon after, the plant was sold in foreclosure and renamed Michter's; that distillery has since closed.
Hirsch later sold the barrels to Gordon Hue of Cork 'n' Bottle in Covington, Kentucky. Hue moved most of the whiskey into stainless steel tanks at 16 years old to stop the ageing, and asked Julian Van Winkle III to bottle it in small lots through the 1990s. The remaining stock later passed to Henry Preiss of Preiss Imports, who had the final 16 year old bottled at Buffalo Trace in 2003. With the distillery long gone, no more of this whiskey can ever be made.