Heaven Hill has no shortage of brands under its umbrella, from Evan Williams to Elijah Craig to Old Fitzgerald . But out of all of them, it's the distillery’s own name that rolls out many of its most exciting bottlings. Case in point, the newly launched Heaven Hill Grain to Glass collection.
Launched with a trio of whiskeys featuring three new mash bills, the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass collection includes a bourbon, wheated bourbon, and rye.
Bottled at 107 proof, the Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey features a mash bill of 52 percent corn, 35 percent rye, and 13 percent malted barley.
The Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, meanwhile, features the same mash bill as the straight bourbon, but is bottled at 121 proof.
Despite the rather high ABVs of the bourbons, the Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey is the only barrel-proof expression in the bunch at a fiery 123.2 proof. It also features a higher rye content than Heaven Hill’s traditional rye whiskey, consisting of 63 percent rye, 24 percent corn, and 13 percent malted barley.
All three expressions have been aged at least six years at Heaven Hill’s Cox’s Creek rickhouse site and are non-chill filtered.
The idea was eight years in the making. To start, the Kentucky whisky makers partnered with seed company Beck’s Hybrids. Each year, the master distiller works with the Indiana-based operation to hand select a unique corn seed varietal that’s ideal for the Grain to Glass collection. From there, the chosen seed type is grown by Peterson Farms on two sites in Nelson County, one of which is directly across the street from Heaven Hill’s Bardstown, KY, facility. Peterson Farms then unleashes healthy grains that go into the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass mash bills.
“Over the course of the nearly 90 years since the founding of Heaven Hill by my dad and his brothers, we have always been cognizant of viewing our business from the long term, developing products that fit into this broad vision,” says Heaven Hill executive chairman Max Shapira. “Heaven Hill Grain to Glass incorporates everything our long history and heritage brings to our producing what we believe is the most unique, transparent offering that we have brought to market in our entire history. And that is saying a lot.”
Master distiller Conor O’Driscoll says, “Working with Beck’s and Peterson Farms to create Grain to Glass has been an incredible experience. We’re proud to have crafted an innovative product—taking it from seed to aged liquid—while still remaining true to the values and legacy of Heaven Hill Distillery.”
The labels feature details of the specific corn seed varietal, mash bill, as well as distillation and release years. Additionally, label illustrations include a blueprint of Bernheim Distillery, where the whiskeys are distilled.
Related: Best Bourbons for an Old Fashioned, Tasted and Reviewed
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