Okay, all you Pappy Van Winkle snobs, listen up. Heaven Hill competes in the very old/premium/wheat whiskey world too. While it’s not bourbon, it sounds like a real wheated winner.
I’m talking about the forthcoming release of the 2025 Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 19-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey. This will be the oldest wheat whiskey that Heaven Hill has ever released.
Heaven Hill said this about the annual Heritage Collection release: “Each spring, this annual, highly limited release features some of the distillery’s oldest inventory of aging whiskey, continuing the standard of excellence Heaven Hill has practiced since 1935.”
I haven’t tasted this expression myself, but a review from Bill Varnell, Whiskey Network Publisher, is in the works. Watch this (wheated) space.
2025 Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 19-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey.
Age: 19 years
Mash bill: 51% wheat, 37% corn, 12% malted barley.
Tasting Notes (from the distillery): “A subtle nose of seasoned oak and honey sweetness followed by elements of clove and nutmeg. The initial notes on the palate include aged oak and baking spices particularly cloves. These elements are followed by rich and sweet notes of cinnamon graham crackers. The finish is warm, but medium in length dominated by maple syrup and caramel sweetness along with tannic elements adding a peppery tingle.”
ABV: 50%
SRP: $300
(Source: Heaven Hill Distillery)
“This 19-year-old Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey is especially unique, as a product with this mash bill at this age offers an exceptional depth and complexity that is rarely seen. It truly represents the high standard that Heaven Hill is known for and is a great example of how craftsmanship and patience can pay off when you’re willing to wait for the highest-quality product to come from the Whiskey-making process.”
ABOUT HEAVEN HILL DISTILLERY:
Founded in Kentucky by the Shapira family in 1935, Heaven Hill Distillery continues its legacy as one of the foremost American Whiskey producers. Heaven Hill has cultivated the traditions and history of America’s Native Spirit with its fierce independence, passionate family ownership, dedication to quality, and thoughtful innovation. Today, Heaven Hill Distillery maintains over 2 million barrels aging in nearly 70 warehouses throughout Nelson and Jefferson Counties. It is home to an award-winning collection of American Whiskeys including Elijah Craig Bourbon, Larceny Bourbon, Evan Williams Bourbon, Pikesville Rye Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye Whisky, Parker’s Heritage Collection, and Old Fitzgerald along with its extensive Bottled-in-Bond label collection. Heaven Hill Distillery currently holds the title of 2024 and 2023 Whisky Magazine Distillery of the Year and 2023 World’s Best Small Batch Bourbon from the Icons of Whisky, as well as the 2022 Large Spirits Producer of the Year from the Ascot Awards. Heaven Hill Distillery held the title of 2020 Whisky Advocate Whisky of the Year, the second Whisky of the Year for Heaven Hill Distillery in the past four years. In 2019 Heaven Hill Distillery was named San Francisco World Spirits Competition Distillery of the Year, Best in Show Whisky, and previously held the titles of 2018 San Francisco Spirits Word Spirits Competition Best Bourbon, 2016 Whisky Magazine Distillery of the Year. For more information, please visit www.heavenhilldistillery.com.
