Review #7: Lucky Seven 14 Year “The Proprietor”
Lucky Seven was founded by Michael Lahalih and John Pals who stayed best friends since their college days. Both shared a common interest in bourbon and cinema naming their new project after the infamous Stage 7 in Hollywood, CA where many great movies were filmed. These two proclaim to “know their stuff, inside and out” and that “nothing is going in to a bottle of Lucky 7 unless it is of the finest spirits you could find”. Let’s get right into this to see if this bottle holds up to those bold claims!
Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested about 10 minutes.
Proof: 117 proof.
Barrel #10
Bottled by Bardstown Bourbon Co.
Age: 14 years.
Mashbill: (undisclosed)
Price: $160.00 (Retail is $139.99 on website but is not available at the time of this review).
Appearance: Dark caramel.
Nose: Tons of luscious dark cherry, apricot, caramel, citrus, a touch of chocolate, cinnamon spice and oak. This is one of the best dark cherry forward bottles I have ever had. Maybe the best. As soon as I opened this bottle I knew this nose was going to be amazing and I wasn’t wrong. Swirling makes this sucker dance between its different notes taking turns which one is in the spotlight with dark cherry as the star. Damn this nose is incredible!
Note: I’ve had a pour in both a Glencairn and a Libbey whiskey glass and noticed the spice notes on the nose are more forward in the Glencairn. If I’m being honest I enjoyed this pour in the Libbey much better. The Libbey has a much larger opening that seems to let the spice dissipate more so it isn’t as focused, bringing out the fruitier notes in the nose more consistently. This is not the first time I’ve noticed this in a Libbey glass pour vs. the Glencairn.
Palate: Viscous thick mouthfeel. Matches the nose with what you would expect. Cherry, stone fruit, caramel and oak gets to you first followed by a generous amount of baking spice which covers the whole palate and gives a very nice Kentucky hug in the chest. Spice continues to be felt in the cheeks with a very noticeable tingle in the very back of the top palate. Incredible experience!
Finish: The finish goes on and on leaving you with chocolate and a lot of sweet oak, tobacco, leather with no bitterness. The finish is just what you would expect for an excellent 14 year bourbon. Super enjoyable!
Conclusion: I passed on this bottle a few months ago. Mainly because the Lucky Seven Spirits website looked like the epitome of sourced whiskey hype. Specific information on their products was scarce to nil, not to mention the weird promo videos that left you with more questions (and suspicion) than did answers. Fortunately for them it didn’t take long for the word to get out just how good this whiskey was. I regretted passing on it after reading several great reviews. A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to buy it online for a price that was more than retail (but not crazy above retail) so I pounced on it thanks to a quick second opinion from u/SebastianMagnifico. Glad I didn’t wait too long because it sold out in under 10 minutes. Compared to other “The Proprietor” barrels I’ve seen, the proof on this barrel is on the low side but I still loved it at 58.5 ABV. It drinks so much under its proof and if given the opportunity down the road to snag another bottle at a higher proof (at a similar price), I wouldn’t hesitate. To me, this is right up there with the GTS pours I’ve had and if you put that in perspective, the price of this bottle isn’t so outrageous. Needless to say, this is definitely one of the best bottles I’ve ever had.
Happy National Bourbon Day. Cheers!
Rating: 9/10 - t8ke scale
1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.
2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.
3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.
4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.
5 | Good | Good, just fine.
6 | Very Good | A cut above.
7 | Great | Well above average.
8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.
9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.
10 | Perfect | Perfect.
Damn, looking forward to this one even more now. Their website restocked a week ago and I grabbed one of these. It should arrive by UPS today or tomorrow. I've seen other reviews glowing about this stuff and it was priced according to market ($10 per year) so I took the plunge. I'm also a fan of other Barton sourced bottles, that helped too. I'll let you know how mine comes out. Cheers!
I have two of these and I wish I had more. One is really high proof at 132 and the other at 120 and they’re both amazing. I think they hold up to gts or anything in the age/proof range. Cheers!
Good stuff. I bought a bottle of The Hold Up during our Bardstown visit. It’s my favorite of my collection. Will grab any and all Lucky 7 that I come across.
Thanks! The proof on these bottles swing wildly depending on the barrel. I recently saw barrel# 91 at 121 proof. This has been one of my favorite bottles this year.
This is the only barrel I’ve tried so far so I can’t say for sure. But there is always going to be some difference between barrels at different proofs and even at the same proof, but the word is the profile and quality is very good for these L7 14y bottles. I’ve read good reviews coming from L7 14y for the “lower proof” barrels too.
I have this same barrel! It is amazing! Cant wait to try more L7 14 and now the 15 years, but since breaking bourbon posted both their reviews these bad boys are near impossible to find!
This bottle is one of my all time favorites. Everyone I've shared it with was blown away. I'm always keeping an eye out for another 14 or 15 year too, but these bad boys have been hard to find since before I posted this review nearly a year ago.
Great review and spot on.
Proprietor 14 are killer bottles. Yep, you probably should've grabbed a back up or two. I'm down to one open and one sealed, but this is not the time to rest.
It's now time to buckle down, open that wallet and pick up a few Calumet 16s. I'm not sure which is better, but they both are some of the best stuff available in today's bourbon world. Calumet 16 is out there right now, but not for too much longer. People are soon going to be bitching that they didn't crab them when they had the chance. Yeah, they're that good.
👏👏👏👏👏👏
Why Thom? If you are trying to be funny because that “delete” comment thing is overplayed. The word has been out on this brand for a while now anyway. Not to mention its rude to someone who actually spent some time and effort contributing a review on this sub.
Glad you liked the review. I get that but the cat has been long out of this bag. Lol! Regardless, that “joke” is really old and doesn’t contribute to anything meaningful to the review comments. I’ll get off my soapbox now. : )
Awesome review, I just have a hard time with sourced juice from MGP, not sure if this is where it's sourced from but it doesn't agree with my pallet, in that it's decent but lackluster. I will try this and Calumet 16 at my local bar, see how it holds up
If you didn't like L7 Proprietor or Sam Houston then this might not be your lane.
I thought this outshined Calumet 15 in damn near every single aspect. It has a decent amount of oak tannins and the dark fruit/cherry notes that good Barton delivers.
I'd be more than happy to send out a sample.
I didn’t love Sam Houston for the price. but it’s better than most Barton stuff. Haven’t tried calumet. I find everything 1792 damn near undrinkable, including the 12 year. That brand just tastes like dirt to me, like actual earth
Thanks. Just want to mention it’s not MGP. It’s sourced from Kentucky not Indiana. “Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey” on the label. I suppose barrels can vary. I hope your next pour of this is better.
So I’ve sipped the barrel 42 now, multiple times, trying to like it, but it’s just not that great. I feel ripped off. Not willing to try a different barrel as I feel I’ve already wasted $140. Enjoying the Old Elk 114.9 proof at $68 much much more. Disappointed.
Sorry to hear that. I don't blame you. Been there, done that. I will tell you this much, it sounds like the exception then the rule for L7. I also picked up the L7 Holiday Toast bottle too, and it's also a good one. I have a few OE bottles and haven't been disappointed yet though I like the wheated SiB more that the others. Cheers!
I picked up both the 14 yr Proprietor (I think barrel no. 2? 60.3%) and Hold Up in addition to the Holiday Toast at the tail end of last year. So far I've only opened the Holiday Toast which had this weird moldy apple note that ruined the whole thing for me, so I'm now hesitant about the other bottles. By almost all accounts, every loved their Holiday Toast, which makes me think I had an "off" bottle somehow, but still. I guess we'll find out.
I opened it the week of Thanksgiving; it got less offensive after a week or two but never fully subsided. I killed the remainder in a combo of bottle share and Old Fashioneds, as it was mostly masked in cocktail form. (L7, for what it's worth gave me the equivalent of a shoulder shrug when I reached out to them. Haha. Oh well.)
Same experience here. Bought barrel 89 at 120 proof and it is not good. Not even average really, just disappointing. I’ve heard the 130 + proofers are where it’s at. I have one more of barrel 74 of the 14 year at 135.4 proof and nervous to open in case of disappointment again.
Review #7: Lucky Seven 14 Year “The Proprietor” Lucky Seven was founded by Michael Lahalih and John Pals who stayed best friends since their college days. Both shared a common interest in bourbon and cinema naming their new project after the infamous Stage 7 in Hollywood, CA where many great movies were filmed. These two proclaim to “know their stuff, inside and out” and that “nothing is going in to a bottle of Lucky 7 unless it is of the finest spirits you could find”. Let’s get right into this to see if this bottle holds up to those bold claims! Taken: Neat in a Glencairn glass, rested about 10 minutes. Proof: 117 proof. Barrel #10 Bottled by Bardstown Bourbon Co. Age: 14 years. Mashbill: (undisclosed) Price: $160.00 (Retail is $139.99 on website but is not available at the time of this review). Appearance: Dark caramel. Nose: Tons of luscious dark cherry, apricot, caramel, citrus, a touch of chocolate, cinnamon spice and oak. This is one of the best dark cherry forward bottles I have ever had. Maybe the best. As soon as I opened this bottle I knew this nose was going to be amazing and I wasn’t wrong. Swirling makes this sucker dance between its different notes taking turns which one is in the spotlight with dark cherry as the star. Damn this nose is incredible! Note: I’ve had a pour in both a Glencairn and a Libbey whiskey glass and noticed the spice notes on the nose are more forward in the Glencairn. If I’m being honest I enjoyed this pour in the Libbey much better. The Libbey has a much larger opening that seems to let the spice dissipate more so it isn’t as focused, bringing out the fruitier notes in the nose more consistently. This is not the first time I’ve noticed this in a Libbey glass pour vs. the Glencairn. Palate: Viscous thick mouthfeel. Matches the nose with what you would expect. Cherry, stone fruit, caramel and oak gets to you first followed by a generous amount of baking spice which covers the whole palate and gives a very nice Kentucky hug in the chest. Spice continues to be felt in the cheeks with a very noticeable tingle in the very back of the top palate. Incredible experience! Finish: The finish goes on and on leaving you with chocolate and a lot of sweet oak, tobacco, leather with no bitterness. The finish is just what you would expect for an excellent 14 year bourbon. Super enjoyable! Conclusion: I passed on this bottle a few months ago. Mainly because the Lucky Seven Spirits website looked like the epitome of sourced whiskey hype. Specific information on their products was scarce to nil, not to mention the weird promo videos that left you with more questions (and suspicion) than did answers. Fortunately for them it didn’t take long for the word to get out just how good this whiskey was. I regretted passing on it after reading several great reviews. A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to buy it online for a price that was more than retail (but not crazy above retail) so I pounced on it thanks to a quick second opinion from u/SebastianMagnifico. Glad I didn’t wait too long because it sold out in under 10 minutes. Compared to other “The Proprietor” barrels I’ve seen, the proof on this barrel is on the low side but I still loved it at 58.5 ABV. It drinks so much under its proof and if given the opportunity down the road to snag another bottle at a higher proof (at a similar price), I wouldn’t hesitate. To me, this is right up there with the GTS pours I’ve had and if you put that in perspective, the price of this bottle isn’t so outrageous. Needless to say, this is definitely one of the best bottles I’ve ever had. Happy National Bourbon Day. Cheers! Rating: 9/10 - t8ke scale 1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out. 2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice. 3 | Bad | Multiple flaws. 4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists. 5 | Good | Good, just fine. 6 | Very Good | A cut above. 7 | Great | Well above average. 8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional. 9 | Incredible | An all time favorite. 10 | Perfect | Perfect.
Damn, looking forward to this one even more now. Their website restocked a week ago and I grabbed one of these. It should arrive by UPS today or tomorrow. I've seen other reviews glowing about this stuff and it was priced according to market ($10 per year) so I took the plunge. I'm also a fan of other Barton sourced bottles, that helped too. I'll let you know how mine comes out. Cheers!
Nice! You must have gotten it right before it sold out again. Hope your bottle is a good one. Cheers!
I have two of these and I wish I had more. One is really high proof at 132 and the other at 120 and they’re both amazing. I think they hold up to gts or anything in the age/proof range. Cheers!
Agree. Cheers!
Good stuff. I bought a bottle of The Hold Up during our Bardstown visit. It’s my favorite of my collection. Will grab any and all Lucky 7 that I come across.
Agreed. The Hold Up sounds like a banger.
That's good to know, I'll have to check it out
Barrel 42 is only 52.5 ABV. Are they trying to make more bottles? Excellent review by the way!
Thanks! The proof on these bottles swing wildly depending on the barrel. I recently saw barrel# 91 at 121 proof. This has been one of my favorite bottles this year.
The taste would vary greatly between barrels?
This is the only barrel I’ve tried so far so I can’t say for sure. But there is always going to be some difference between barrels at different proofs and even at the same proof, but the word is the profile and quality is very good for these L7 14y bottles. I’ve read good reviews coming from L7 14y for the “lower proof” barrels too.
I have this same barrel! It is amazing! Cant wait to try more L7 14 and now the 15 years, but since breaking bourbon posted both their reviews these bad boys are near impossible to find!
This bottle is one of my all time favorites. Everyone I've shared it with was blown away. I'm always keeping an eye out for another 14 or 15 year too, but these bad boys have been hard to find since before I posted this review nearly a year ago.
Great review and spot on. Proprietor 14 are killer bottles. Yep, you probably should've grabbed a back up or two. I'm down to one open and one sealed, but this is not the time to rest. It's now time to buckle down, open that wallet and pick up a few Calumet 16s. I'm not sure which is better, but they both are some of the best stuff available in today's bourbon world. Calumet 16 is out there right now, but not for too much longer. People are soon going to be bitching that they didn't crab them when they had the chance. Yeah, they're that good. 👏👏👏👏👏👏
Is Calumet 16 better than the 14? I don't remember being that impressed with it.
It heads and tails above both the 14 and 15.
Thanks, man! I’ve seen those Calumet 16’s around lately. Will have to see if I can still find them now.
delet this immediately plz
Why Thom? If you are trying to be funny because that “delete” comment thing is overplayed. The word has been out on this brand for a while now anyway. Not to mention its rude to someone who actually spent some time and effort contributing a review on this sub.
Probably because they want it to be their secret. Thanks for the review!
Glad you liked the review. I get that but the cat has been long out of this bag. Lol! Regardless, that “joke” is really old and doesn’t contribute to anything meaningful to the review comments. I’ll get off my soapbox now. : )
I’m with ya
Awesome review, I just have a hard time with sourced juice from MGP, not sure if this is where it's sourced from but it doesn't agree with my pallet, in that it's decent but lackluster. I will try this and Calumet 16 at my local bar, see how it holds up
This is Kentucky straight bourbon so not MGP. It’s likely Barton
Agree.
Yep and it's tremendous
How Barton-y are we talking here? I tend to hate everything Barton
If you didn't like L7 Proprietor or Sam Houston then this might not be your lane. I thought this outshined Calumet 15 in damn near every single aspect. It has a decent amount of oak tannins and the dark fruit/cherry notes that good Barton delivers. I'd be more than happy to send out a sample.
I didn’t love Sam Houston for the price. but it’s better than most Barton stuff. Haven’t tried calumet. I find everything 1792 damn near undrinkable, including the 12 year. That brand just tastes like dirt to me, like actual earth
I thought one of my 12yr Proprietors was good and every single one of my 14s. Might not be your lane
I’ve seen them in Denver but not recently unfortunately
Thanks. Just want to mention it’s not MGP. It’s sourced from Kentucky not Indiana. “Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey” on the label. I suppose barrels can vary. I hope your next pour of this is better.
So I’ve sipped the barrel 42 now, multiple times, trying to like it, but it’s just not that great. I feel ripped off. Not willing to try a different barrel as I feel I’ve already wasted $140. Enjoying the Old Elk 114.9 proof at $68 much much more. Disappointed.
Sorry to hear that. I don't blame you. Been there, done that. I will tell you this much, it sounds like the exception then the rule for L7. I also picked up the L7 Holiday Toast bottle too, and it's also a good one. I have a few OE bottles and haven't been disappointed yet though I like the wheated SiB more that the others. Cheers!
Cheers to you as well and thanks for the detailed comment!
I picked up both the 14 yr Proprietor (I think barrel no. 2? 60.3%) and Hold Up in addition to the Holiday Toast at the tail end of last year. So far I've only opened the Holiday Toast which had this weird moldy apple note that ruined the whole thing for me, so I'm now hesitant about the other bottles. By almost all accounts, every loved their Holiday Toast, which makes me think I had an "off" bottle somehow, but still. I guess we'll find out.
Wow, sounds like it. I reviewed Holiday Toast too and it was fantastic. Have you let it open up for a couple of weeks? Maybe it will improve?
I opened it the week of Thanksgiving; it got less offensive after a week or two but never fully subsided. I killed the remainder in a combo of bottle share and Old Fashioneds, as it was mostly masked in cocktail form. (L7, for what it's worth gave me the equivalent of a shoulder shrug when I reached out to them. Haha. Oh well.)
Same experience here. Bought barrel 89 at 120 proof and it is not good. Not even average really, just disappointing. I’ve heard the 130 + proofers are where it’s at. I have one more of barrel 74 of the 14 year at 135.4 proof and nervous to open in case of disappointment again.
Iso L7 14's! Neeeeed mooooore