I.W. Harper Review | Whiskey Raiders
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83
Bourbon

I.W. Harper

  • Distiller:

    Heaven Hill

  • Bottler:

    Luxco

  • ABV:

    41%

  • Age:

    NAS

  • Price:
    $$$$$
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Aggregated Reviews
  • Raided Score: 78
  • Publication: whiskyfun
  • Excerpt: some very soft bourbon. I think it’s good, and of course it hasn’t got any flaws (which, in itself, could be seen as a flaw in this context).
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  • Raided Score: 94
  • Publication: Distiller
  • Excerpt: Strawberry, corn cereal, allspice, clove, nutmeg and black pepper round out the long, lingering finish. Welcome back to the U.S. of A., I.W. Harper!
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  • Raided Score: 77
  • Publication: Breaking Bourbon
  • Excerpt: I wouldn’t recommend shelling out $35 just to make a simple Manhattan with this bourbon. However, if you end up with a bottle and find yourself slightly disappointed, do try using it in cocktails to help ease the pain of spending $35 on this.
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  • Raided Score: 82
  • Publication: The Whiskey Jug
  • Excerpt: I can say this about the new I.W. Harper… It’s better than any of the 3 bottles of I.W. Harper of the 70’s & early 80’s I’ve had.
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  • Raided Score: 85
  • Publication: Drinkhacker
  • Excerpt: The finish offers almonds, with a touch of astringency. Capable, but it doesn’t add a lot to the world of bourbon at this price range.
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  • Raided Score: 80
  • Publication: Whiskey Raiders
  • Excerpt: Leaves behind some pear and then moves on to haunt its next victim with very little delay.
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  • Raided Score: 83
  • Publication: Whiskey Advocate
  • Excerpt: A fairly simple and somewhat thin mouth as well: sweet, with hints of ripe melon and apple, and an edge of oak dryness.
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Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.

House Review
  • Intro:

    IW Harper is a brand reboot managed by Heaven Hill. IW Harper was one of the producers of old. You can still sometimes see their 15yr age stated expression sitting on a store counter in its cologne style bottle, but thats priced about $70 above this release. For the record, this is the no age statement, $20 edition.

  • Nose:

    Sugar, pears, fruit, kind of like a shitty fruit rollup.

  • Taste:

    Honestly, better than I was expecting. Its pretty sweet and tastes fairly young, lots of sugar and fruit. Very thin and watery though with more heat that it should be displaying, given the proof.

  • Finish:

    Short and dissipates very quickly. Leaves behind some pear and then moves on to haunt its next victim with very little delay.

  • Overall:

    Overall, this is a very flawed product. Its young, thin, hot, weirdly sweet and grainy. I went ahead and purchased it, so you dont have to.

  • Score:

    3

  • By t8ke
  • Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
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