A. H. Hirsch Reserve 20 Year Red Wax 1974 750mL

The 20 year old red wax is the oldest A. H. Hirsch Reserve, drawn from barrels left to age after the rest of the 1974 stock was tanked at 16 years. It is widely regarded as the high point of the Hirsch line.

About This Bourbon

When most of the Hirsch whiskey went into steel tanks at 16 years, a few barrels stayed in wood. Julian Van Winkle III bottled them at 20 years old around late 1994 to early 1995, in the green glass bottles he used at the time, sealed with red wax. It was his last Hirsch bottling for Gordon Hue. Bottled at 45.8% ABV (91.6 proof).

Tasting Profile

• Nose: Deep caramel, old leather, tobacco and polished oak, with dried orange and clove.
• Palate: Rich and mature, with toffee, vanilla, dried cherry and a firm but even oak structure.
• Finish: Long and dry, with antique oak, spice and a faint cocoa sweetness.

Serving & Food

Let a small pour rest for ten minutes in a tulip glass at room temperature. Water and ice would only flatten it. A few roasted almonds or a sliver of bitter chocolate are all it needs.

How to Enjoy

Rare tastings where a twenty year old pre-1980s bourbon is the main event.

Product Details

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.