Celebrating 15 Years of Parker’s Heritage Collection and Remembering Parker Beam, Master Distiller Emeritus
In 2007, Heaven Hill launched Parker’s Heritage Collection to honor the legacy of Parker Beam, our sixth generation Master Distiller. In 2010, Parker was diagnosed with ALS (also called Lou Gehrig’s disease) and waged a very courageous and public battle with the dreaded disease before passing away on January 9, 2017. During his fight he was dedicated to raising awareness by fundraising for the ALS Association of Kentucky through his Parker Beam Promise of Hope Fund (The Promise), established by Beam and his wife Linda.
Since 2013, Heaven Hill has contributed a portion of proceeds from each Parker’s Heritage Collection bottle sold to the ALS Association. This has culminated in over $1 million raised for The Kentucky Chapter in honor of Master Distiller Emeritus Parker Beam.
As we celebrate the release of the 15th edition of the Parker’s Heritage Collection, an 11-Year-Old Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey, we reflect on each edition of this beloved product and remember Parker Beam’s legacy together.
1st Edition: 11YO Cask Strength Bourbon
Released in 2007, the inaugural edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection was a barrel proof Bourbon aged 11 years and dumped in three different batches of varying proofs including 122.6, 127.4 and 129.6. The release quickly sold out and was named as the 21st top spirit in the world by renowned expert F. Paul Pacult in his 2008 book Kindred Spirits 2.
2nd Edition: 27YO Extra-Aged Bourbon
Released in 2008, this second edition was comprised of 100 barrels aged for 27 years and bottled at 96 proof. Parker intentionally selected barrels that matured on the lower floors of the rickhouse (the third floor of seven), where high temperatures can run 6 to 10 degrees below those on the sixth and seventh floors, in order to help mitigate the potential effects of overaging.
3rd Edition: Golden Anniversary
Released in 2009, the third edition, bottled at 100 proof, celebrated Parker’s 50 years as a distiller by marrying Bourbons from his five decades of craftsmanship. Aged in traditional open rickhouses in Nelson County, the Bourbons used to make the Golden Anniversary edition were personally selected and married together by Parker, with the majority of the whiskey aged 10 to 20 years, combined with much lesser amounts of older whiskey. This is considered by some one of the rarest editions to date of the entire Parker’s Heritage Collection series.
4th Edition: 10YO Wheated Bourbon
Released in 2010, the fourth edition release was a 10-year-old, cask-strength, non-chill filtered wheated Bourbon had two separate batches bottled at 127.8 and 131.2 proof. This release marked the first in the Parker’s Heritage Collection to depart from the traditional Heaven Hill rye-based Bourbon mashbill, using wheat as its secondary grain rather than rye to produce a less spicy, rounder flavor. This recipe was first used at Heaven Hill in the spring of 1999, after we acquired the Old Fitzgerald line of Bourbons. This product marked the first release of Heaven Hill made, extra-aged wheated Bourbon.
5th Edition: 10YO Bourbon Finished in Cognac Barrels
Released in 2011, the fifth edition, was a 10-and-a-half-year-old Bourbon bottled at 100 proof, that represented a bold new direction for the series and for the company as the first “wood-finished” Bourbon produced by Heaven Hill. Wood-finished means a mature whiskey is dumped out of its original barrel and transferred into another barrel that had previously contained a different type of spirit. The release represented a collaboration between two industry giants including our very own Master Distiller Parker Beam, as well as Alain Royer, 6th Generation Cognac Master Blender and founder of A. de Fussigny Cognac, who is part of the Renaud Cointreau group.
6th Edition: Blend of Mashbills: Rye & Wheated Bourbon
Released in 2012, the sixth edition was bottled at 132 proof, which was the highest of any of the editions released up to this point and featured select barrels of 11-year-old Heaven Hill rye-based Bourbons, used for such renown brands as Elijah Craig and Evan Williams, mingled with select barrels of the wheated mashbill used for the both the Larceny and Old Fitzgerald brands, also aged for 11 years. Bottled at cask strength, much like the highly acclaimed “Golden Anniversary” bottling of 2009, this edition showcased not only the individual whiskeys, but also the skill of the Master Distiller in selecting and marrying them together in the right proportions.
7th Edition: Promise of Hope: Single Barrel Bourbon
Released in 2013 and bottled at 96 poof, Parker Beam selected special barrels of Bourbon for this edition that mirrored his own personal preference for age, proof and warehouse location – it was also the first single barrel American Whiskey offered in the collection. Called the “Promise of Hope” bottling, this seventh edition in the acclaimed series marked the beginning of Heaven Hill’s promise to support Parker Beam and the ALS Association through the establishment of the Parker Beam Promise of Hope Fund, a fund that has now raised over $1 million dollars in the fight against ALS.
8th Edition: Original Batch: Wheat Whiskey
Released in 2014 and bottled in two batches at 127.4 and 136.2 proof, the 8th edition was the first of the Parker’s Heritage Collection to use an American Whiskey style other than Bourbon. Featuring 13-year-old straight wheat whiskey, this edition was bottled at cask strength and non-chill filtered. The barrels used for this offering were from the very first run of what later would become Bernheim Original Straight Wheat Whiskey.
9th Edition: Malt Whiskey
Released in 2015, the 8-year-old Kentucky Straight Malt Whiskey was bottled at 108 proof and non-chill filtered with a smoky, sweet flavor and long, lingering finish. The barrels used for this offering were part of an experimental run of a 65% malted barley/35% corn straight whiskey mashbill created by Craig Beam in 2006. These rare barrels were put up into the 5th and 7th floors of Rickhouse Y in Bardstown, where the ideal aging conditions mellowed the whiskey and lent it great complexity.
10th Edition: Bottled-in-Bond
Released in 2016 and bottled at 100 proof, the 24-year-old edition featured two separate versions of the Bottled-in-Bond product, which at the time was the oldest Bottled-in-Bond in the world. The two releases were produced in Fall 1990 and Spring 1991 at Heaven Hill’s distillery in Bardstown, KY, which was later destroyed in the 1996 fire along with seven rickhouses and over 90,000 barrels. Therefore, this Parker’s Heritage Collection edition featured the original distillery designation, or DSP, on the back label.
11th Edition: Single Barrel Bourbon
Released in 2017, this 11-year-old edition paid homage to the late Master Distiller Emeritus Parker Beam who passed away in early 2017, by showcasing what Parker felt was one of his greatest achievements throughout his more than 50 years of distilling experience – the introduction of Heaven Hill’s single barrel Bourbons. Aged in Parker’s favorite rickhouse location, Deatsville, he would have described these bottles as “just good Bourbon.” Bottled at 122 proof and non-chill filtered, the Bourbon tasted of heavy spice and oak, with a hint of smoke and raisin, followed by a long and dry finish.
12th Edition: Bourbon Finished in Orange Curacao Barrels
Released in 2018, bottled at 110 proof, and non-chill filtered, this edition showcased the versatility that Heaven Hill’s then 1.4 million aging barrels provided for an ultra-premium, innovative Bourbon in partnership with Master Blender Alain Royer. Aged for seven to eight years in the upper floors of Rickhouse Q, the Bourbon was then aged for four months in barrels that previously held French orange curaçao liqueur. The orange curaçao finished offering was the second barrel-finished Bourbon in twelve years of the series – Royer also partnered on the fifth edition of the series, which was Bourbon finished in Cognac barrels.
13th Edition: 8YO Heavy Char Rye Whiskey
Released in 2019, bottled at 105 proof, and non-chill filtered, the 13th edition is the first Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey of the series, showcasing our traditional Rye Whiskey mashbill. This edition differentiates itself through its aging process. Instead of aging in Level 3 charred barrels, as is customary for most Heaven Hill products, this Rye Whiskey was aged in Level 5 charred barrels for eight years and nine months on the seventh floor of Rickhouse Y. Level 5 charred barrels are charred 50 seconds longer than the Level 3 barrels. This more intense char allowed the liquid to penetrate deeper into each barrel stave, interacting further with the oak and extracting deep notes of spice and wood on the resulting flavor.
14th Edition: 10YO Heavy Char Bourbon
Released last year, the 14th edition continued the interaction of barrel char across varying mashbills, this time with Heaven Hill’s traditional Bourbon mashbill of 78% corn, 12% malted barley and 10% rye. Aged in heavy char (Level 5) barrels, as opposed to the customary Level 3, the resulting flavors carry intensified notes of the traditional Bourbon. Consisting of 102 barrels aged on the sixth floor of rickhouse Y for 10 years, the heavy char brings forth a caramel and maple sweetness, as well as slight smokiness developed after 40 Kentucky seasons in the barrel. This second heavy char edition of the series advanced the study of how a more intense char allows the liquid to penetrate deeper into each barrel stave and the effects on the resulting flavor. Bottled at 120 proof and non-chill filtered to preserve all the flavor compounds, this Bourbon showcased the broad range of Heaven Hill Distillery’s then 1.8 million barrels of aging inventory.
15th Edition: 11YO Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey
Finally, shipping nationally this month, Parker’s Heritage Collection 11-Year-Old Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey continues the award-winning series of heavy char releases, exploring how a more intense char allows the liquid to penetrate deeper into each barrel stave and the effects on the resulting flavor. Comprised of 75 barrels charred for one minute and 30 seconds (Level 5), the Wheat Whiskey reached peak maturation after 11 years on the sixth floor of Rickhouse Y. The heavy char allowed our traditional Wheat Whiskey mashbill of 51% wheat, 37% corn, and 12% malted barley to interact more with the oak, extracting a mix of sweetness, filled with hints of molasses and butterscotch. This release is only the second time the Wheat Whiskey mashbill has been featured in the Parker’s Heritage Collection, with the first released in 2014 as an Original Batch Cask Strength. It also further advances the study of premium innovation through the Parker’s Heritage Collection. Bottled at 122 proof and non-chill filtered to preserve all the flavor compounds, this Whiskey showcases the broad range of Heaven Hill Distillery’s 1.9 million barrels of aging inventory.
