Heaven Hill Launches New Grain To Glass Line
Last week Heaven Hill Distillery announced the launch of Heaven Hill Grain to Glass. This new line is a collection of Kentucky whiskeys features three new mashbills: a high rye bourbon whiskey, a wheated bourbon and a rye whiskey that departs from the Kentucky rye style.
The farm-driven nature of this unique line of whiskeys started at the very beginning – the seed. The idea for the line began over 8 years ago as the brainchild of Heaven Hill Executive Chairman Max Shapira. His passion for quality and transparency in whiskey-making lead to a partnership with seed company Beck’s Hybrids – like Heaven Hill, a family-owned company, based in Indiana since 1937. Each year, our Master Distiller works with Beck’s Hybrids to hand select a unique corn seed varietal that has specific attributes desirable for Heaven Hill Grain to Glass, one of which is choosing seed which is best suited for growth in Central Kentucky. The chosen corn seed varietal is then grown by Peterson Farms on one of two sites in Nelson County, one of which is directly across the street from Heaven Hill’s Bardstown facility. Peterson Farms, a multi-generational family farming company, has been entrusted to take the corn seed varietal and cultivate it into healthy grain that goes into the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass mashbills.
“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,” said 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.”
The high rye bourbon and wheated bourbon feature mashbills with higher secondary grain content than Heaven Hill’s regular Bourbon mashbill and wheated bourbon mashbill. Bottled at 107 proof, the Kentucky bourbon expression is comprised of 52% corn, 35% rye and 13% malted barley. Bottled at 121 proof, the Kentucky wheated bourbon expression is made with 52% corn, 35% wheat and 13% malted barley. The Kentucky rye whiskey expression is bottled at 123.2, the only barrel proof expression of the series. It also features a higher rye content than Heaven Hill’s traditional Rye Whiskey mashbill consisting of 63% rye, 24% corn and 13% malted barley. That is much more rye and less corn than the Kentucky rye style, which usually sticks very close to the 51% minimum rye content mandated by Federal law. The distillates have been aged over six years at Heaven Hill’s Cox’s Creek rickhouse site. Each product is non-chill filtered and bottled at the ideal proof to allow the characteristics of each unique mashbill to shine.
“Working with Beck’s and Peterson Farms to create Grain to Glass has been an incredible experience,” said Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll. “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 focus on transparency in the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass line extends beyond its local ingredients. The label on each bottle features details of the specific corn seed varietal utilized from Beck’s Hybrids, the unique mashbill, as well as the distillation and released years. The illustrations include a blueprint of Bernheim Distillery, along with custom designs depicting the importance of farming tradition and innovation. The bottles are 700ml which perfectly poises the line for international expansion in the future.
