Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 17y.o. (2022) Review

Today the modern iteration of the company, Heaven Hill Brands, has become a diversified supplier of whiskeys, liqueurs, vodkas, rums and other spirits. They own 57 rickhouses in Central KY and distribute over 48 brands including 17 bourbon labels such as Henry McKenna, Elijah Craig, Evan William, Larceny, Old Fitzgerald, and Rittenhouse rye to name a few. The distillery also has the largest number of Bottled in Bond whiskies on the market and is the only heritage distiller that features every major category of American whiskey in their 5 distinct mashbills producing traditional bourbon, wheated bourbon, rye whiskey, corn whiskey, and wheat whiskey. Under 7th Master Distiller (and fellow countryman) Conor O’Driscoll the distillery was on course to fill almost 400,000 barrels last year and with continued investment production capacity is growing every year to meet rising demand.

Announced in March of this year, the Heaven Hill Heritage Collection is the latest ultra-premium release from its namesake distillery. According to the distillery, “This annual, highly limited release will feature some of the distillery’s oldest inventory of aging whiskey, heralding the exacting standards Heaven Hill Distillery has practiced since 1935.” The Collection will feature one of Heaven Hill’s six traditional mashbills and joins its more experimental counterpart, the Parker’s Heritage Collection, to form the “Heritage Collection.” This new release will be released in spring, while Parker’s will continue to be released in fall.

For the first edition, Heaven Hill have bottled their 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley bourbon mashbill at 118.2 proof which is the natural barrel proof. With an age statement of 17 years, this release is made up of 28% 20-year-old barrels, 44% 19-year-old barrels, and 28% 17-year-old barrels pulled from Deatsville, Glencoe, Schenley, and Heaven Hill main campus warehouse locations. Each bottle comes in a premium box in signature Heaven Hill blue with the double-H insignia stamped in gold as well as information such as the warehouse site locations, production dates, mashbill percentage, and other designations prominently displayed on the packaging.

Today I’ll be taking a look at this premium release which interestingly rings in at the same age as the final release of Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond. As such, I’ll also be tasting both side-by-side to see how they hold up against each other.

Vital Stats:

Name: Heaven Hill Heritage Collection
Age: 17 y.o. (28% 20y.o., 44% 19y.o., and 28% 17y.o.)
Proof: 118.2 proof (59.1% ABV)
Type: Bonded Kentucky straight bourbon
Mashbill: 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley
Producer: Heaven Hill Distillery, Louisville, KY
Website: https://heavenhilldistillery.com/old-fitzgerald.php
Glassware: Glencairn

Review

Nose: The nose opens with thick dark caramels bordering on butterscotch, mixed with dried red and black fruit, faintly herbaceous baking spices, black pepper, leather, and dark charred oak. As you nose deeper dark chocolate notes continue to emerge alongside a touch of ethanol and tannic oak.

Palate: The palate opens thick with deep dark chocolate notes, near-burnt caramel, old herbaceous oak, bitter cocoa, big dried fruit notes, and tannic oak spice. As you keep chewing, notes of fire-roasted almond and more fruit notes also come through.

Finish: The finish opens with lingering bitter herbaceous oak, baking spices, charred tannic oak, and an aftertaste of earthy ground nuts and flavours of charred oak that linger on the palate long after you’re finished.

Overall

It’s not every day you get to experience something like this, and I’m happy to say that it does not disappoint! It’s robust, complex, and filled with intricately layered flavours, giving you everything you’d expect from this calibre of bourbon. Unsurprisingly, you have to be ready for a certain amount of spice in the first few sips which is consistent with bourbons of this age and is thanks to a combination of the proof, the rye, and the impact of the oak. Once this fades around sip #3, however, it’s plain sailing with the heat that has built on the palate driving the mix of complex flavours like dried red and black fruit, maple syrup notes, vanilla, and herbaceous charred oak. In fact, I’d almost argue the spice plays a very important role in the enjoyment of this bourbon overall as initially, it clears the palate of any contaminating flavours, it encourages a slow and meaningful approach to tasting the whiskey, and it warms up the palate so it’s ready to experience the full profile. What I also found interesting is that with a bit of air in the bottle the heat isn’t as much an issue on subsequent tastings with even more flavours coming through as the bourbon unpacks in the bottle with the help of some faint oxidation. Once given the opportunity to breathe the layers of flavour and nuances in the glass are near endless and constantly shifting, giving a true ultra-aged bourbon sipping experience that’s hard to beat!

In comparison to the 17y.o. release of Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, I found that far more mellow with the focus being on the thick stewed fruit notes and with none of the tannic oak influence this has. I also found that the Old Fitz brought a lot more distinct grain notes whereas this had more heat, a wider variety of mature flavours, and more viscosity. Given the blend of ages that went into this release, this is no surprise and goes to show how ultra-ageing can impact different styles of bourbon. This was also bottled at barrel proof, whereas the Old Fitz is a much milder 100 proof and I can see those who prefer a milder bourbon choosing the Old Fitz 17 and those who like barrel proof bourbon choosing this.

With the announcement that there would be no George T. Stagg release this year, there was no better time than 2022 for this to be released. Sure, Heaven Hill had been ageing these stocks for years and were no doubt biding their time for the perfect moment to launch, but now if bourbon drinkers want to scratch their itch for ultra-aged barrel-proof bourbon they suddenly have to explore alternative options and in steps this release at the perfect moment! Ageing bourbon to this age is also a delicate skill in itself and the difference between a drinkable whiskey and one that’s bitter and over-oaked comes down to the knowledge and competence of your maturation team. Therefore, when distilleries like Heaven Hill show us that they’re willing to take that risk and release something of this quality it ultimately benefits both the distillery and the consumer. With this release, they picked the best moment to pull these stocks because although the oak doesn’t overwhelm the profile yet, I’d argue that the component stocks had reached their peak and ageing them any longer may have resulted in the oak completely overwhelming the tasting experience.

Try or Buy?

With a suggested retail price of $274.99 this is definintely a try before you buy. However, if you’re a fan of Heaven Hill’s bourbons or feeling flush all I’ll say is that for a 17-year-old bourbon it comes in at a great proof, does not disappoint, and may not come around again anytime soon!