Every few years, something truly innovative comes along. This year, it’s been nearly seven years in the making - Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Bourbon
Crafted Bourbon
The industry has seen a meteoric rise in craft distillers, not unlike the rise a couple decades ago of the craft beer industry, as small, local brewers took on “the big boys”. Every once in a while, though, distillers take this to a new level with a true crafted bourbon.
In June 2024, Heaven Hill, one of the nation’s largest distillers (and still family-owned), announced the launch of a grain to glass collaboration with Beck’s Hybrids (also family owned) - a producer of grain seeds. Three whiskeys were produced for this inaugural release - a straight wheated bourbon, a straight rye whiskey, and this straight bourbon whiskey - each with a unique mash bill that is distinct from Heaven Hill’s traditional mash bills.
Great bourbon starts with great corn. Beginning in 2017, a carefully selected corn variety - Beck’s 6158 - was selected to be grown, mashed, fermented, distilled, barreled, and bottled. Most corn used in bourbon production is selected for higher-yields and low-starch content. This particular hybrid was selected for its higher starch content (which also results in lower yields) and was grown in fields across the street from the Heaven Hill rickhouses in Bardstown. The result is a bourbon that is very intentionally crafted from the onset.
The Tasting
The mash bill is 52% corn, 35% rye, and 13% malted barley. As mentioned earlier, this grain blend is not part of the typical Heaven Hill lineup, which includes such heavyweights like Evan Williams and Elijah Craig. The finished product was aged for 6 years in rickhouse W3 on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors, and is bottled without chill filtration at 107 proof. The presentation is in a tall, slightly shouldered 700ml bottle with navy and sepia-toned labeling sharing in full transparency its production.
Color: A host of deep amber legs grace the inside of my Glencairn glass.
Nose: Warm and inviting with vanilla, brown sugar, marshmallow and graham cracker. Further nosings bring out a hint of mint, cocoa, and tobacco leaf. This smells of sweetness.
Palate: Slippery with vanilla, candied orange slice, and minty-spice on the back end. The sweetness I picked up on the nose is nicely balanced with the spice on the palate. I appreciate the additional complexity offered by non-chill filtration.
Finish: Slightly minty with vanilla and pepper spice on the tip of my tongue, followed by a very long Kentucky hug.
Overall: This crafted bourbon drinks incredibly smooth. You’d never know this is 107 proof - it drinks more like a 90 proof bourbon. The mash bill also makes this a unique offering. For comparison, the traditional Evan Williams and Elijah Craig share a mash bill of 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. So, this clearly places this bourbon in a high (or even very high) rye bourbon. The transparency offered through the collaboration with Beck’s also makes for a nice touch, and even down to the floors of the warehouse where the bourbon aged.
There is the question of value. The age statement is a nice touch, as is the full disclosure of the rickhouse, floors, and percentages that comprised the particular blend. MSRP on this limited release is $99, though I paid a little more than that. Overall, this was a really nice pour and I was glad to find this bottle. I’ve heard good things about the wheated bourbon version, which carries a similar mash bill, replacing the rye grain with wheat. Cheers to two family-owned businesses showing what can be accomplished when great minds meet and collaborate together.
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