Heavenhill

BARDSTOWN, Ky. – Blackheart Premium Spiced Rum is now available from Heaven Hill Distilleries.  Blackheart is a high-proof spiced rum that embodies an edgy, hip lifestyle with a unique brand story.

Blackheart Rum is named for the sultry seductress of the high seas.  Blackheart is bold and bawdy, cunning and cutthroat, sexy and seductive and left a trail of broken hearts wherever she traveled – that is how she came to be known as Blackheart. This is her rum. 

“With the strength of the rum category, we recognized a great opportunity to deliver a product with a really engaging story,” said Brittany Blevins, Blackheart Brand Manager.  “The core target for this rum embodies the rebellious nature of the Blackheart Rum.  As the high-proof segment of the category grows, we believe Blackheart will be ideally positioned.”

Blackheart Premium Spiced Rum is available in 750ml and 50ml sizes and bottled at 46.5 percent alcohol by volume (93 proof).  The depiction of the infamous Blackheart character is reminiscent of historic pin-up girl artwork.  Her seductive pirate attire is a reflection of the rum’s sassy attitude.  Collectively, the bottle, label art and marketing appeal to a new generation of rum drinkers.  

Available nationally, brand support consists of a comprehensive marketing plan that includes on-and off-premise point-of-sale materials, website (www.blackheartrum.com), and social media activities that embody the brand tagline “Seduction in a Bottle.”

Founded in 1934, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. (www.heavenhill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes The Christian Brothers Brandies; Evan Williams and Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskeys; Burnett’s Vodkas and Gin; Hpnotiq Liqueur; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Lunazul and Two Fingers Tequilas, and Dubonnet Aperitif.

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CONTACT:
Josh Hafer
Corporate Communications Manager
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.
502-413-0220
jhafer@heavenhill.com

Five-time “Whiskey of the Year” winner to launch milestone latest edition with updated labeling

BARDSTOWN, KY—Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, the world’s only vintage-dated single barrel Bourbon and one of the most critically-acclaimed American Whiskeys available, announces the release of the newest milestone 2000 Vintage—packaged with a striking new label.  Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc., the second-largest holders of aging American Whiskey in the world and producer of the Evan Williams range of Bourbons, has updated the packaging for the Single Barrel Vintage bottling to better align the look with the flagship Evan Williams Black Label, the world’s second-leading selling Kentucky Bourbon. 

Every year, typically beginning in January, Heaven Hill releases a new and highly anticipated vintage of Evan Williams Single Barrel.  The world-renowned Bourbon has garnered many prestigious awards, including “Spirit of the Year – American Whiskey” from Food & Wine; “Domestic Whiskey of the Year” from Malt Advocate; and “Whiskey of the Year” from The Spirit Journal, the first Bourbon upon which the publication has bestowed this prestigious title.  As with the previous 14 vintages, all of which are now highly sought after collector’s items, each bottle of Evan Williams Single Barrel 2000 Vintage Bourbon is marked with the exact date that it was placed in oak and bottled, in addition to the exact serial number of the single barrel from which it was drawn.

The 86.6 proof Bourbon is matured in natural open-rick warehouses under the careful supervision of Heaven Hill’s father and son Master Distillers, Parker and Craig Beam, who monitor the progress of each year’s vintage to ensure it maintains its intended flavor profile and superb quality.  The 2000 Vintage will be available nationally beginning in November 2009 at an average retail price of $25.99 for a 750 ml bottle, leading one noted spirits publication to confess, “Evan Williams Single Barrel Bourbon may be the best value of any whiskey, anywhere.” 

The 2000 Vintage is shipping earlier than any of the previous 14 new vintages, due to strong consumer demand and the stringent quality standards for the super-premium Bourbon.  “We have dumped and individually bottled over 700 ‘honey barrels’ for the 1999 vintage, more than any other prior year, and we feel like we need to switch over to the next vintage a bit earlier than in the past to account for the growing demand,” explained 6th generation Master Distiller Parker Beam.

The new 2000 vintage will also have a distinctive new look.  The labeling, which has remained the same over the prior 14 vintages, is being updated to refresh the package and to graphically tie more strongly into the equity of the Evan Williams family logo, which adorns the second largest selling Bourbon in the United States and the world.  The new packaging utilizes the same elegant bulb-neck bottle as in the past, but the familiar deckled-edge parchment label carrying the “Single Barrel Vintage” branding and “Put in Oak” date seal now has a bold black Evan Williams logotype transecting it.   The back label, which carries hand-written designation of the barrel number, barreling date and bottling date, will remain largely the same, as will the familiar cork and black wax closure. 

The new Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage bottling is traditionally debuted at a stylish “Vintage Unveiling” event for several hundred members of Heaven Hill’s Bardstown Whiskey Society and a select group of whiskey writers, and this year that tradition continued.  On October 24, at the historic Henry Clay Building in Louisville, Society members and select whiskey writers got the opportunity to taste Barrel #1 of the new release straight from the oak cask, brought up from Rickhouse X in Bardstown where it has quietly matured on the top floor since March of 2000.  They also had the opportunity to sample the fine Bourbon reduced to bottling strength of 86.6 proof.  

Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. (www.heavenhill.com) has a diversified portfolio of brands that includes The Christian Brothers Brandies; Evan Williams and Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskeys; Hpnotiq Liqueur; Whaler’s Rum; Burnett’s Gin and Vodkas; Dubonnet Aperitif; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Água Luca Brazilian Rum Cachaça and Lunazul Tequila.

Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely. Drink Wisely.”

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CONTACT: 
Larry Kass
Director of Corporate Communications
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.
(502) 413-0220
lkass@heavenhill.com

New 25-year-old version follows the critically-acclaimed 21 and 23-year-old expressions released in prior years

BARDSTOWN, KY—Can the third time possibly be more charming than the first two?  That is the question for American Whiskey enthusiasts as Heaven Hill Distilleries announces the release of the third and final bottling of Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel Rye.  Following the release of the 21-year-old bottling in 2006 and the 23-year-old  in late 2007, the new 25-year-old expression—drawn from the final barrels of the same lot as the first two Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel releases—will have big shoes to fill.

The 21-year-old bottling captured a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and in November of 2007 the second-edition 23-year-old was released, and it captured the “Best Rye Whiskey” award, and a double gold medal, from the San Francisco Spirits Competition.  And at the San Francisco event the year before, another Rittenhouse version, the Bottled-in-Bond, was named “North American Whiskey of the Year”.  So how can the new 25-year-old release, shipping this November, surpass the accolades of its predecessors?  Time will tell, but Heaven Hill father and son Master Distillers Parker and Craig Beam see no discernable drop off in quality in the newest release.

“This whiskey, at 25 years old, pushes the limits of barrel aging like the two releases before it,” observed legendary 6th generation distiller Parker Beam. “But like those earlier releases, these barrels have aged on the very first floor of Rickhouse OO.  The more moderate aging conditions on that low level kept the whiskey from getting too woody and tannic.  And by releasing this as a non-chill filtered product—also like the first two—all the flavorful esters and taste components really come through.  It’s a real marvel of nature!”

With straight rye whiskey enjoying a huge renaissance among both whiskey aficionados and mixologists, the few suppliers that still make and age rye are hard pressed to maintain stocks for their current labels.  Heaven Hill’s Rittenhouse Bottled-in Bond rye is on strict allocation and stocks are extremely limited for the second year in a row.  So when a new bottling of rye whiskey comes out, it is greeted with eager anticipation by the nation’s whiskey-loving populace.   The first two editions of Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel Rye were quickly depleted from Heaven Hill’s warehouse, and with the continuing resurgence of rye there is every reason to believe the third and final edition will sell out just as quickly. 

“A huge and relatively rapid upsurge in demand has made any barrel of rye a highly prized commodity in today’s market,” noted Heaven Hill brand manager Susan Wahl.  “If a 4 year old barrel of rye whiskey is worth its weight in gold, so to speak, then superb barrels of extraordinarily aged rye are priceless.  And American Whiskey connoisseurs, who already consider the first two Rittenhouse Very Rare Single Barrel bottlings to be prized possessions, are in for a real treat with this last edition.”

Rittenhouse Very Rare 25-year-old Single Barrel Rye, which will be available in major metro markets throughout the country for the holiday season at an average retail price of $190 for a 750ml bottle, is a very limited release—only one thousand 3-bottle cases, or a total of 3,000 bottles, will be shipped within the US, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.  The 100 proof  whiskey is very rare, indeed, for a number of reasons—its single barrel designation, its remarkable age, its pedigree as a Heaven Hill straight rye, its lack of chill filtering.  When all combined into one outstanding, impressively dressed package, it will represent a new “holy grail” for American Whiskey and Rye Whiskey lovers.

Rye whiskey has undergone a major resurgence as consumers, energized by the array of specialty Bourbons introduced in the 1990’s and this decade, have reached out to discover other styles of American straight whiskey.  Heaven Hill Distilleries, the country’s second largest producer of Bourbon, also takes great pride in the fact that they are the only one of the nation’s major distillers who make all the recognized styles of American straight whiskey—Bourbon, rye whiskey, corn whiskey, even their Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey.  Rye, which was the first straight whiskey produced in the thirteen colonies and was until the late 20th century the preeminent style of American Straight Whiskey, is prized among whiskey lovers for its sharp, fruity taste and spicy finish.  Heaven Hill was one of three distilleries that kept the rye category alive during the 1970’s and 1980’s, despite stagnant or declining sales.   

Founded in 1934, Bardstown, KY-based Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. (www.heaven-hill.com) is the nation’s largest independent, family-owned and operated spirits producer and marketer and the world’s second-largest holder of Kentucky Bourbon. Heaven Hill’s diversified portfolio of brands includes The Christian Brothers Brandies; Evan Williams Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey; Hpnotiq Liqueur; Whaler’s Rum; Burnett’s Gin and Vodkas; Dubonnet Aperitif; PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur; Água Luca Brazilian Rum Cachaça, and Lunazul Tequila.

Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely. Drink Wisely.”

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CONTACT:
Larry Kass
Director of Corporate Communications
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.
(502) 413-0220
lkass@heaven-hill.com