This Autumn, Heaven Hill Dropped A Cartload Of Whiskey

By Richard Thomas

Autumn is the hottest season of the year for annualized, limited edition whiskeys in the United States, the time when most of the releases passionately sought by enthusiasts and collectors come out. For Heaven Hill, the second largest distiller in Kentucky bourbon, their main entry to Fall releases has been Parker’s Heritage. This year, they added to that with the release of a trio of whiskeys in the 2025 Grain to Glass Specialty Barrel Series. Alongside those four bottles–not truly part of the autumnal release season, but nonetheless dropped alongside it–are the September batches of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof and Larceny Barrel Proof (both C925). Collectively, that is a lot of fine whiskey.

Parker’s Heritage 11 Year Old Cask Strength American Whiskey (2025)
I did not get to try Parker’s Heritage 2025, but can still summarize the series and describe the place this particular release holds in that series.

Parker’s Heritage is now in its 19th installment. The series is always released at cask strength, and generally serves as a showcase for the various types of whiskey made by Heaven Hill. Past releases have embraced more than bourbon, but rye, wheat and malt whiskeys as well. Although often merely very mature, Parker’s Heritage releases are sometimes middle aged or ultra aged. For many years, a portion of the proceeds has been donated to ALS research and patient care in memory of namesake Parker Beam, Heaven Hill’s late Master Distiller Emeritus.

The 2025 Parker’s Heritage is a first in that it is a hybrid whiskey and labeled as an American Whiskey. 160 barrels were chosen from among three distinct mash bills/categories and several different warehouses: a 15 year old wheated bourbon from Rickhouse A; an 11 year old corn whiskey (think Mellow Corn stock) from Rickhouses DD, GG, and BB; and an American Whiskey made with just rye and malt, but with neither grain crossing the 51% threshold to call it either rye or malt whiskey, so it must be a 50-50 even split. No current expression in Heaven Hill’s regular line-up corresponds to that. That stuff was aged in Rickhouse Y.

The resulting American whiskey was bottled at 122.5 proof, not chill-filtered, and comes priced at $179.99, but many retailers are asking for $400 and some as much as $800.

Elijah Craig and Larceny Barrel Proof Bourbons (C925)
Following Elijah Craig Small Batch becoming a no age statement (NAS) bourbon, for many years Elijah Craig Barrel Proof was the way to get at the original 12 year old version. While the age statement was not front and center on the label, ECBP remained a 12 year old bourbon. That changed in 2023, and ECBP C925 is the youngest take yet and by a wide margin, coming in at 9 years, 1 month. Against that, the proof is pretty high at 129. Although pleasant enough, it really does drink like a stronger version of Elijah Craig Small Batch, sitting as it does squarely in the middle of that expressions stated age range of eight to ten years.

Larceny Barrel Proof brings us Heaven Hill wheated bourbon in a cask strength package, aged 6 to 8 years. This one came out at 119.6 proof, a little light in comparison to the expression’s six-year track record. The oddest thing about Larceny BP C925 is how faint the nose is. Even before adding water, it required serious nosing to pin down; after a splash of water, the scent was more of a suggestion than a statement. The flavor and finish were good, but without a solid nose its an incomplete experience. So, a good sipper, but not an all-around sipping whiskey.

Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Specialty Barrel Series 2025
The Heaven Hill Grain to Glass releases starts with the selection of a corn varietal from Beck’s Hybrids, an Indiana seed company. In this instance, that Becks 6225, grown on Peterson Farms in Nelson County, across the road from Heaven HIll’s original distillery property outside Bardstown. Normal Grain to Glass releases are aged in Heaven Hill’s staple barrel: a new white oak American Standard Barrel with a #3 char. The trio of whiskeys in the Specialty Barrel series were aged in chinquapin oak instead, which is noted for its higher vanillin content.

In addition to relying on an unorthodox oak choice and highly specialized, single estate corn, the three whiskeys in this series also have mash bills unlike anything in Heaven Hill’s core range. They were also entered into the barrels at 107 proof, far below the standard entry proof used for most Heaven Hill products. The three whiskeys are:

• Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (blue label): 52% corn, 35% rye and 13% malt. Bottled at 105 proof.
• Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey (red label): 52% corn, 35% wheat and 13% malt. Also bottled at 105 proof.
• Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (green label): 63% rye, 24% corn and 13% malt. So, it’s more of a Maryland style rye, rather than the Kentucky style used for Heaven Hill’s usual rye expressions. Bottled at 107 proof.

The three expressions are B+ whiskeys across the board, but represent a surprising mix of qualities. Flipping the script, the wheated bourbon (which is a high wheater at that!) was not at all soft or floral, but came across peppery and woody, with its sole sweet aspect coming from a current of butterscotch. The high rye bourbon, on the other hand, was honeyed, sweetened by red berries and citrus zest, and rounded out with nuts and vanilla. The contrast between expectation and result is so crossed that I really am left wondering if there wasn’t a tank transfer accident or some odd use of yeast in fermentation. The rye, on the other hand, was exactly what I expect from a Maryland-style rye: boldly spicy, but not so much that the sweetness from the corn and new oak maturation is lost.