Next up in the distillery profile series is the amazing Heaven Hill Distillery. Home to more Heritage brands than any other distillery on the planet and the source for more whiskey brands than we’ll ever know; they’re a powerhouse in the modern whiskey scene.
Heaven Hill makes a variety of whiskeys from the widest array of mash bills this side of major contract distillers like Bardstown and MGP. Though Heaven Hill is definitely no stranger to that side of the business either. Or the bulk selling side for that matter.
Since the 1940s Heaven Hill has been selling bulk whiskey to the market for producers/NDPs to bottle as their own. There’s a tendency to think of this as a, fairly, new occurrence, but it’s been a part of whiskey pretty much since the beginning; we’re just hyper-aware of it today as consumers. Which means you’ve probably had more Heaven Hill than you realize.
I know you’re as anxious as I am to dig into the Heaven Hill Distillery so I’m going to keep this intro short.
Table of Contents
- Heaven Hill Distillery Details
- Heaven Hill Distillery History and Timeline
- Heaven Hill Whiskey Release Dates and Label Changes
- Heaven Hill Master Distillers
- Heaven Hill Distillery Trivia
- Heaven Hill Mash Bills and Whiskeys
- Heaven Hill Distillery Research Resources
Heaven Hill Distillery Details
Established: 1935
Website: www.heavenhilldistillery.com
Corporate Headquarters Address: 1311 Gilkey Run Road, Bardstown, Nelson County, 40004 KY
Phone: +1.502.337.1000
Owner: Family owned
DSP: DSP-KY-1 (Bernheim facility in Louisville, bought in 1999), DSP-KY-31 (Bardstown distillery burnt down in 1996; bottling plant still operational)
Other Names: Old Heavenhill Springs, Heaven Hill Distillery Bernheim Facility, Elijah Craig Distillery, Old Evan Williams Distillery
Master Distiller: Conor O’Driscoll
Core Brands: Bernheim, Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Fighting Cock, Heaven Hill, Henry McKenna, Larceny, Mellow Corn, Old Fitzgerald, Parker’s Heritage Collection, Pikesville Rye, Rittenhouse Rye
Whiskey Styles: Bourbon, Wheated Bourbon, Rye Whiskey, Wheat Whiskey, Malt Whiskey and Corn Whiskey
Heaven Hill Mash Bills
Bourbon Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Wheated Bourbon Mash Bill: 68% Corn, 20% Wheat, 12% Malted Barley
Rye Whiskey Mash Bill: 51% Rye, 35 % Corn, 14% Malted Barley
Corn Whiskey Mash Bill: 80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barley
Wheat Whiskey Mash Bill: 51% Wheat, 37% Corn, 12% Malted Barley
Malt Whiskey Mash Bill: 65% Malted Barley, 35% Corn
Distillery Setup
Column still fed into a doubler for a second run
Max Capacity: 1,300 Barrel per day (3.5MM gallons / year)
Number of Warehouses: 59
Warehouse Style: Multistory, metal-clad, unheated at Heaven Hill Bardstown location. Some Brick rick houses which are heated at the Bernheim site.
Barrels On Hand: 1.6MM+
Fermenters: 17 fermenters, stainless steel, atmospheric, closed top
Fermentation Time: Four to six days
Distiller’s Beer Proof: 18-20
Still Proof: 140
Barrel Entry Proof: 125
Barrel Char: #3 for all products except for some special Parker’s Heritage Collection Projects that use the “Heavy Char” which is a #5
Pre-Fire Distillery Setup
Column still fed into a doubler for a second run
Water Source: 2 near-by spring-fed lakes
Mash: Pressure cooked and 25% is sour mash/backset
Fermenters: 4 Cypress and 27 Stainless
Still Proof: 125-130 (low wines) 138 (doubler)
Barrel Entry Proof: 125
Barrel Char: #3
Heaven Hill Distillery History and Timeline
Distilleries weren’t always the hotbeds of popularity they are now so quite often records weren’t kept in a way that’s easy to access. I’ve done my best to put together a historical timeline of the Heaven Hill Distillery below. If you have something that should be added let me know!
1935 – Founded as Old Heavenhill Springs by the Shapira brothers, David, Ed, Gary, George and Mose, and an investment group. The company is still owned by the Shapira family today.
1937 – First whiskey, Bourbon Falls, released
1942 – Distillery shut down for WW2 and mandated to make industrial alcohol
1943 – Shapira brothers buy out their other investors making them the sole owners
1940s – Park Beam brought in to help manage distilling operations
1946 – Park’s son Earl Beam Joins Heaven Hill as Master Distiller
1955 – 500,000th barrel filled
1960 – Parker Beam (Earl Beam’s son) joins Heaven Hill
1961 – 1,000,000th barrel filled
1971 – Max Shapira (Edward Shapira’s son) joins the company
1973 – Harry Shapira (David’s son) joins
1975 – Parker Beam is named Master Distiller
1976 – 2,000,0000th barrel filled
1977 – Acquired the Old 1889 brand
1983 – Craig Beam joins Heaven Hill. He was hired by Parker to prep the newly acquired Deastville Rickhouses for renovation by Buzick Construction.
– Evan Williams is the fastest growing bourbon in the USA, growing over 12% YoY for 5 straight years
1988 – 3,000,0000th barrel filled
1989 – Heaven Hill purchases multiple brands from Seagrams: Harwood Canadian Whisky, Wilson Blend, Paul Jones Blended Whiskey, Mattingly & Moore Bourbon, Henry McKenna Bourbon, Vandermint Liquor, Burnett’s Gin, 100 Pipers, Queen Anne and Something Special Scotch, Tom Sims
1993 – Acquire Cabin Still, J. W. Dant, and Philadelphia Blended Whiskey from United Distillers
– Also Copa De Oro Coffee Liqueur, Dubonnet Aperitif, Coronet VSQ Brandy, DuBouchett Cordials and Liqueurs.
1995 – Acquired Two Fingers Tequila and launches O’Mara’s Irish Country Cream
1996 – Fire destroyed the distillery and over 90,000 barrels of whiskey
– George Shapira, last living original founder, passes
– Max Shapira becomes president
– Rye Whiskey Production moved to Brown-Forman
1999 – Bought Bernheim Distillery from Diageo
– Purchased John E. Fitzgerald brands and Christian Brothers Brandy
1998 – 4,000,0000th barrel filled
2000 – Production started at the Bernheim distillery in the fall
– Bourbon mash bill changed from 75% Corn and, 13% Rye to 78% Corn and 10% Rye
2001 – Kate Shapira Letts and Allan Letts join HH – first of the 3rd generation
2003 – Acquired HPNOTIQ Liqueur.
2004 – New Bourbon Heritage center opened at the location of the old distillery
2005 – Introduces PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur.
2006 – 5,000,0000th barrel filled2004 – Heaven Hill Distilleries Bourbon Heritage Center opened at Old Heavenhill Springs location
2010 – 6,000,0000th barrel filled
– Rye Whiskey Production moved back to Heaven Hill from Brown-Forman
2011 – Acquired Admiral Nelson’s Rum.
2013 – Evan Williams Bourbon Experience (also operating under DSP-KY-1) opens to the public: the first new distillery on Louisville’s old Distillery Row
2014 – 7,000,0000th barrel filled
– Acquired Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur.
– Changes corporate name to Heaven Hill Brands, gets a new logo
2015 – Acquired Deep Eddy Vodka.
2017 – Craig Beam resigns as Master Distiller to care for his father, Parker Beam, who subsequently passes from ALS
– Denny Potter becomes first non-Beam Master Distiller in Heaven Hill’s history
– Acquires Carolan’s Irish Cream Liqueur and Irish Mist Whiskey Liqueur
2018 – 8,000,000th barrel filled
2019 – Conor O’Driscoll named the Seventh Master Distiller
– Acquired Black Velvet, MacNaughton, McMasters, Golden Wedding and OFC
Heaven Hill Whiskey Release Dates and Label Changes
Even harder to track down are the label changes and release dates. I know I missed a couple that I’m still researching, but I’ll add them to this mega Heaven Hill Distillery post as I get them. I’ll also keep adding them as new things come out.
1937 – Bourbon Falls (2 yo whiskey) released to bring cash into the young distillery
1939 – Heaven Hill Bottled-In-Bond
1940 – Heaven Hill bourbon released as a 4 yo
1957 – Evan Williams launches as a 7 yo whiskey
1970s – Fighting Cock and Pennypacker (export) launched
1980s (early) – Henry McKenna Bourbon
1982 – Acquires Pikesville Rye (whiskey sourced from Brown Forman)
1986 – Elijah Craig released as a 12 yo small batch whiskey – 100 barrels per batch
1989 – Harwood Canadian Whisky, Wilson Blend, Paul Jones Blended Whiskey, Mattingly & Moore Bourbon, Henry McKenna Bourbon and Tom Sims brands purchased and released under HH.
1992 – Old Fitzgerald purchased from Diageo
1993 – Acquires, and releases, Cabin Still, J. W. Dant, and Philadelphia Blended Whiskey brands
1994 – Henry McKenna Bottled-in-Bond 10 yo Single Barrel
1995 – Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage
– Elijah Craig 18 first release
– Elijah Craig Single Barrel 23-year-old
1999 – Purchased Old Fitzgerald Bourbon and Rittenhouse Rye brands
2005 – Evan Williams loses 7 yo age statement
2003 – Evan Williams black label loses 7-yo age statement
2004 – Evan Williams drops from 90 proof to 86 proof
2005 – Bernheim Wheat Whiskey (also seeing 2000)
2006 – Rittenhouse Very Rare 21-Year-Old Single Barrel Straight Rye (3,000 bottles, 50%, NCF, $150)
2007 – Parker’s Heritage 1st Edition (cask strength)- Evan Williams 1783 loses 10 yo age statement
– Rittenhouse Very Rare 23-Year-Old Single Barrel Straight Rye (2,300 bottles, 50%, NCF, $170)
– Acquires Mohawk Distilled Products Spirits Portfolio
2008 – Parker’s Heritage 2nd Edition (27-year-old)
– William Heavenhill Signature 225th birthday LE
2009 – Parker’s Heritage 3rd Edition (Golden Anniversary)
– Rittenhouse Very Rare 25-Year-Old Single Barrel Straight Rye (3,000 bottles, 50%, NCF, $200)
2010 – Parker’s Heritage 4th Edition (10 yo Wheated Bourbon)
2011 – Pikesville Supreme (white label) discontinued
– Parker’s Heritage 5th Edition (10 yo Cognac Finish)
– Elijah Craig 20 yo released exclusively for the 20th anniversary of the Kentucky bourbon fest
2012 – Elijah Craig 18 canceled and Elijah Craig 20 released wider (1,300 bottles)
– red state blue state bourbon for the elections
– Parker’s Heritage 6th Edition (Blend of Mashbills)
– Larceny
– Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond (white label)
2013 – Elijah Craig 21 replaces the EC 20
– Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (134.2, 137, 133.2)
– Parker’s Heritage 7th Edition (Promise of Hope single barrel)
– Henry McKenna line gets new labels (current ones) and distribution expands out of the Mid-Atlantic
2014 – Elijah Craig 23 replaces the EC 21
– Bernheim Wheat Whiskey 7 years
– Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (132.4, 134.8,140.2)
– Parker’s Heritage 8th Edition (Original Batch Wheat Whiskey)
– Evan Williams Red Label (12 yo 101 proof) – gift shop only, previously export only
– VSOF moved to gift shop only
– Old Fitz 1849 Discontinued
2015 – Elijah Craig loses 12 on the front and moves it to the back
– Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (128, 139.8,135.6)
– Elijah Craig 18 brought back to the market
– Parker’s Heritage 9th Edition (8 yo Malted Whiskey)
– Fighting Cock loses 6 yo Age Statement
– Pikesville Rye debuts
2016 – Switched to a NAS whiskey blended using 8-12 yo bourbon
– Elijah Craig bottle changed to the new tall bottle and batch size increased to 200 barrels
– Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (138.8, 139.4,136)
– Parker’s Heritage 10th Edition (24 yo Bottled-in-Bond)
– Evan Williams American Hero edition launched for Memorial Day
2017 – ECBP starts carrying batch numbers when it moves to the new taller bottles
– Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (A117, B517, C917)
– Parker’s Heritage 11th Edition (11 yo Single Barrel)
– Old Fitzgerald Prime discontinued
2018 – Old Fitzgerald BiB re-released as 2x yearly (spring and fall) limited editions
– Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (A118, B518, C918)
– Parker’s Heritage 12th Edition (Orange Curaçao Finish)
– Heaven Hill 6-Year Bottled-in-Bond Discontinued
– Heaven Hill 27-Year-Old Barrel Proof Small Batch
2019 – Parker’s Heritage 12th Edition (Heavy Char Rye Whiskey)
– Larceny Barrel Proof (announced)
– Elijah Craig Barrel Proof (A119, B519, C919)
– Elijah Craig Rye (announced)
– Evan Williams Apple
– Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond (Spring 2019, Fall 2019)
– Heaven Hill 7-Year Bottled-In-Bond
– Acquired Black Velvet, MacNaughton, McMasters, Golden Wedding and OFC
2020 – Elijah Craig Rye (launched)
Heaven Hill Master Distillers
Like everything else to do with distilleries, the records of who was the Master Distiller and when are a bit fuzzy. The whole phenomenon of distillers being celebrities in the whiskey community is a very recent thing. Because of this no one really kept records of who did what and when but I did my best to get as complete of a picture as possible.
Like every other section in this, if you have a source for the missing dates let me know!
- Joeseph L. Beam (Jim Beam’s cousin) 1935 – XXXX
- Harry Beam XXXX – 1940s
- Park Beam 1940s – 1946
- Earl Beam 1946 – XXXX
- Parker Beam (50+ Years) 1960 – 2013
- Craig Beam 1983 – 2017Denny Potter 2014 – 2018
- Conor O’ Driscoll 2019 – Present
Heaven Hill Distillery Trivia
This section started as a “so much info no place to put it” section on the Wild Turkey Distillery post. I got some good feedback on it so I’m going to keep it going on future posts.
- Every master distiller at Heaven Hill has been a member of the Beam family except the most recent two.
- Old bottles of Heaven Hill whiskey are highly sought after and collected (pre-fire HH). These are noted as being from DSP-KY-31, the current distillery is DSP-KY-1.
- Evan Williams 1783 is made from less than 200 barrels.
- They use hops in their yeast propagation, so a hopped yeast mash is added to each fermentation batch.
- Fred Minnick attributes Heaven Hill and Bernie Lubbers as one of the main, if not THE, reason Bottled-In-Bond Bourbons stayed around long enough to enjoy a resurgence.
- Before the 1996 fire, Heaven Hill was filling over 400 barrels per day.
- HH uses 25-30% backset in their sour mash.
- Yeast is the Beam family yeast.
- Midleton (Jameson) uses a lot of Heaven Hill casks in their whiskey production.
- Elijah Craig is named after a whiskey-making Kentucky minister.
- Evan Williams is named after a prominent distiller in the late 1700s who was the first licensed distiller in Kentucky.
- Henry McKenna is named after a prominent distiller in the late 1840s.
- Evan Williams, the second largest selling brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in the U.S. and the world (Jim Beam is #1).
- Heaven Hill is “the largest, independent, family-owned and operated producer and marketer of distilled spirits in the United States and the only large family-owned distillery company headquartered in Kentucky”.
- Heaven Hill produces over 75 different liquor brands. The majority (60+) are whiskey or whiskey-related.
- In total, the Shapira family’s investment into starting, and owning, Heavenhill was $37,500 ($17,500 to start and $20,000 to buy out the other investors).
- Heaven Hill’s original name was Old Heavenhill Springs, named after a Farmer-Distiller who owned the land in the 1800s. It was switched to Heaven Hill due to a printing error in the paperwork. They couldn’t afford to change it so they just went with it.
- Mid 80s – early 90s you could find Evan Williams Black in ages ranging from 5-8 years and 86-90 proof.
- Heaven Hill is the largest owner of “Heritage Brands” of whiskey.
- The HH Bourbon mash bill has changed only once in its history. After the fire, when they moved to Bernheim, the mash bill changed from 75% Corn, 13% Rye, 12% Malted Barley to 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley as they adjusted to the new equipment in the new distillery.
Heaven Hill Distillery Distillery Tour
TWJ hasn’t visited the Heaven Hill Distillery yet, but once I do I’ll update this section.
Heaven Hill Mash Bills, Whiskeys and Reviews
Heaven Hill has a wide range of products and while many of them come from the same mash and same warehouses they taste quite different. This is all due to where they were aged in the warehouses, how long they aged and the barrel profiles selected for the final blend that gives each label its signature taste.
All whiskeys from Heaven Hill are chill-filtered unless it says otherwise on the bottles
- Current Heaven Hill Distillery Core Brands
- Non-Core / Heritage Brands Heaven Hill Makes
- NDP / IB Bottles of Heaven Hill Whiskey
Current Heaven Hill Distillery Core Brands and Mash Bills
Bourbons (Mash Bill: 78% Corn, 10% Rye, 12% Malted Barley)
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof – Aged 12 years, and released 3x a year, this is a high proofed bourbon that changes from release to release
Elijah Craig Single Barrels – Often picked by liquor stores and bars and often quite good
Elijah Craig Small Batch – This used to be the Elijah Craig 12, but since removing the age statement it’s now just called Small Batch and a blend of barrels aged 8-12 years
Elijah Craig 18 – Never had a bad one of these yearly limited releases
Evan Williams 23 Years (blue wax) – Gift shop exclusive
Evan Williams 1783 – A small batch whiskey aged about 4 years
Evan Williams Black – Aged for about 4 years this is a tasty bargain whiskey
Evan Williams Green – Younger than the Black and bottled at 40% instead of 43%
Evan Williams Red Label – 101 proof and Gift shop only
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage – Aged for roughly 7-8 Years, these yearly releases of single barrels come from a single vintage/year of distillation
Evan Williams White Bottled In Bond – Follows all of the bottled in bond whiskey rules and is only a couple bucks more than the Black
Fighting Cock Bourbon – Originally launched as an 8 year, became a 6 year old a few years later and age statement was completely pulled in 2015. Now it’s around 4 Years but still 103 proof
Heaven Hill Bourbon (White Label) – The standard Heaven Hill
Heaven Hill Bottled-In-Bond – Aged for 6+ years, this is a tasty whiskey
Henry McKenna Single Barrel Bottled-In-Bond 10 years – A fantastic value in the bourbon world… when you can find it
Henry McKenna Sour Mash Bourbon Whiskey – Aged 4 years, it’s the ultra value younger brother of the BiB above
William Heavenhill – Annually Released Distillery Exclusive
Wheated Bourbons (Mash Bill: 68% Corn, 20% Wheat, 12% Malted Barley)
Larceny Barrel Proof – The full proof version of the Larcen below
Larceny Small Batch – A great value in the world of wheated whiskey
Old Fitzgerald Bottled-In-Bond– Released 2x a year, this special release changes in age, but never in proof, with each release
Old Fitzgerald Bottled-In-Bond Very Very Special – Visitor Center only
Rye Whiskey (Mash Bill: 51% Rye, 35 % Corn, 14% Malted Barley)
Elijah Craig Rye – Another value rye release from Heaven Hill Distillery
Pikesville Rye – Aged at least 6 Years, and delivered at a high proof, this is one of my favorite ryes on the market
Rittenhouse Bottled-In-Bond – It’s hard to find a better value in the rye world today
Corn Whiskey (Mash Bill: 80% Corn, 8% Rye, 12% Malted Barley)
Mellow Corn – A bonded corn whiskey that’s remarkably drinkable and mixable
Wheat Whiskey (Mash Bill: 51% Wheat, 37% Corn, 12% Malted Barley)
Bernheim 7 Years Small Batch Wheat Whiskey – A great example of how delicious a wheat whiskey can be
Parker’s Wheat Whiskey – A divisive whiskey, but one I love
Malt Whiskey (Mash Bill: 65% Malted Barley, 35% Corn)
Parker’s Malt Whiskey – I loved this one, wish they’d do more
Parker’s Heritage Collection
Limited edition annual releases that change each year. The releases, by year, are further up under the releases section.
Other Heaven Hill Distillery Releases Reviewed by The Whiskey Jug
Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey – A fun vertical I did was this, the Bernheim 7 and the Parker’s Wheat
Elijah Craig 12 – The old guard
Tasting the first 8 Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Releases – This was a fun tasting
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A118 Review – Another decent ECBP
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch C918 – My least favorite ECBP ever
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch 8 – Another decent ECBP
Evan Williams 200th Anniversary Decanter – It pours its own shot
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2004 – Another decent EWSBV
Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2003 – The best EWSBV I’ve had
John E. Fitzgerald Very Special Reserve – It had a beautiful box
Old Fitzgerald Vertical Tasting – Even had some SW in there for comparison
Non-Core / Heritage Brands Heaven Hill Makes
Sometimes known as “cats and dogs”.
- 1492 Bourbon
- Aristocrat Blended Whiskey
- Anderson Club Bourbon
- Blue State Bourbon (for 2012 election)
- Bourbon Center
- Bourbon Falls
- Bourbon Hill Bourbon
- Bourbon Valley
- Cabin Still Blended Whiskey
- Chapin & Gore Bourbon
- Clementine – Export Only
- Colonel’s Choice Bourbon
- Colonel’s Pride Bourbon
- Colonel Tyson Bourbon
- Daniel Stewart Bourbon (Export Only)
- Dixie Dew
- Dowling Bourbon – OD: Dowling Distillery
- Echo Spring – OD: Murphy-Barber distillery
- Five Brothers Bourbon
- Georgia Moon Corn Whiskey
- Gukenheimer Blended Whiskey – OD: A. Guckenheimer & Bros. Company
- Haller’s Reserve – OD: Continental Distilling
- J.T.S. Brown Bourbon – OD: J.T.S. Brown and SonsJ. W. Corn
- J.W. Dant Bourbon – OD: J.W. Dant Distiller
- Jim Porter – OD T.W. Samuels Distillery
- Jo Blackburn
- John Hamilton Bourbon
- Kentucky Beau
- Kentucky Deluxe Blended Whiskey
- Kentucky Gold
- Kentucky Mild Bourbon
- Kentucky National Bourbon
- Kentucky Nobleman Bourbon
- Kentucky Premium Bourbon
- Kentucky Supreme Bourbon
- Kentucky Vintage
- Lux Row Double Barrel Bourbon 12 Years – Almost everything from LuxRow/LuxCo comes from Heaven Hill until the Lux Row distillery stuff hits the market ~ 2023
- Mark Twain Bourbon
- Martin Mills – Was export only
- Mattingly & Moore Bourbon – OD: Mattingly & Moore Distillery
- Meadow Springs
- Old 1889 – OD: Meadowlawn Distillery
- Old Heaven Hill Bourbon
- Old Joe Bourbon – OD: Old Joe Distillery
- Old Jordan Bourbon – OD: T.W Samuels
- Old Kentucky Rifle – Export Only
- Old Whiskey River
- Paul Jones Blended Whiskey
- Philadelphia Blended Whiskey – OD: Glenmore
- Red State Bourbon (for 2012 election)
- Sam Clay – OD: Ashland
- Sam Sykes Black Bourbon – Export Only
- Seven Hills Bourbon
- Sir Sidney Bourbon
- Spring River Bourbon
- Stephen Foster Bourbon
- Sunny Glenn Bourbon
- T.W. Samuels Blended Whiskey – OD T.W. Samuels Distillery
- Samuels 1844 Bourbon – OD T.W. Samuels Distillery
- Stephen Foster Rye
- Tom Hannah Bourbon
- Trybox (white whiskey)
- Virgin Bourbon – Export Only
- W. W. Beam Bourbon
- Wilson Blended Whiskey
- Yellow Rose of Texas
NDP / IB Bottles of Heaven Hill Whiskey
When it comes to NDP whiskey the source is rarely revealed but can often be figured out, or rumors surface about, where it’s actually from. So outside of things like the Cadenheads release, where it says it directly on the bottle, the whiskeys listed below are all “heavily suspected, but not directly confirmed” to be Heaven Hill.
- Bardstown Bourbon – Their releases with older KY bourbon are thought to be from Heaven Hill
- Barrell Bourbon – KY portion is suspected Heaven Hill for now. They contract distill with Bardstown, but it’ll be a couple of years till that’s mature.
- Black Maple Hills – (old releases)
- Blade & Bow
- Blood Oath – It’s aLuxCo/LuxRow product and they have longstanding contracts with HH
- Brook Hill
- Cadenhead’s single Barrel Heaven Hill aged 17 years
- Champion
- Colonel Lee
- Collector’s Item Bourbon
- Corner Creek Reserve
- Country Aged
- Country Gentleman – Previously made at the Old Taylor Distillery (now owned by Constellation)
- County Fair
- Crown Derby
- Cyrus Noble
- David Nicholson
- Dierberg’s
- Distiller’s Pride
- Ezra Brooks – Bourbon only, the rye is from MGP
- Fistful of Bourbon – Some, but not all of the whiskeys used in it
- Free Spirit Bourbon
- Fowler’s Bourbon
- Heritage Black Bourbon
- I.W. Harper
- Johnny Drum
- Joshua Brook
- McHenry
- Medley Bros.
- Mellow bourbon
- Michter’s Bourbon – Some releases, not all
- Mr. Bourbon
- Noah’s Mill
- North Brook Straight Rye
- Old 101 Bourbon
- Old Bardstown – Older releases, the current is made at Willett
- Old Beezer
- Old Ezra Barrel Strength 7 Years
- Old Kentucky
- Old Medley
- Old Mill
- Old Premium Bourbon
- Old Williamsburg Bourbon (kosher)
- Original Barrel Bourbon
- Orphan Barrel Forged Oak
- Pap’s
- Private Cellar
- Rebel Yell Bourbon – Rye is from MGP
- Rebel Yell 10 years Single Barrel
- Royal
- Rowan’s Creek
- Pennypacker Bourbon
- Quality House Bourbon
- Rosewood Bourbon
- Sir Walter
- Spirit of Today
- Sunny Glenn Bourbon
- Tom Sims
- Very Olde St. Nick Bourbon – Some, but not all, are suspected to come from Heaven Hill
- Very Olde St. Nick Rye – Some, but not all, are suspected to come from Heaven Hill
- Virgin Bourbon
- Wathen’s – Contract distilled not directly sourced) –
- The Walking Dead Bourbon – Diageo is one of Heaven Hills largest customers for sourcing/contract distilling
- Westpoint Bourbon
- Westridge Bourbon
- Whiskey Jewbilee – KY Bourbon release (the one that doesn’t say Wild Turkey on it)
- Widow Jane (some releases, others are suspected MGP)
- Willett – Multiple labels and releases, but definitely not all
- William Stuart Bourbon
- Yellowstone Limited Edition Bourbon – Limestone Branch Distillery is distilling and bottling some of their own stuff, but the older whiskey is presumed to be Heaven Hill until the LBD whiskey matures.
Heaven Hill Distillery Research Resources
Obviously I didn’t just pull all this info out of thin air, nor did I have all of it lodged in the back of my brain. I had some of it, but definitely not all of it. To write this post I did research… a… lot… of… research.
Below are the resources used. The links on the Books are affiliate links that go directly to their page on Amazon. I recommend all of them.
Books
The Book of Bourbon – Gary and Mardee Reagan
Bourbon Curious – Fred Minnick
Bourbon Empire – Reid Mitenbuler
The Book of Classic American Whiskeys – Mark Waymack and James Harris
Bourbon Whiskey – Bernie Lubbers
Sites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_Hill
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Craig_(bourbon)
https://www.straightbourbon.com/community/topic/2207-heaven-hill-history/
https://bourbonveach.com/2017/09/11/kentuckys-great-distilleries-heaven-hill-the-keepers-of-heritage/
https://www.heavenhill.com/press.php
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Craig_(bourbon)
https://www.fredminnick.com/2016/01/20/2198/
https://evanwilliams.com/
https://elijahcraig.com
https://www.abvnetwork.com/whiskey-corner/2018/9/6/jw-dant-family-tradition
https://thebourbonbook.com/bourbonwhomakesit
https://www.straightbourbon.com/community/topic/8863-evan-williams-1783/
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/29/business/company-news-seagram-to-sell-rights-to-17-brands.html
https://whiskycast.com/heaven-hill-taking-pikesville-rye-nationwide/
http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com
http://www.whiskyportal.com/distillery.asp?DistilleryID=1077
https://www.bourbonex.com/forums/topic/3/list-of-kentucky-distilleries-and-bourbon-produced
Huge Thanks to Bernie Lubbers and the Heaven Hill PR team for the verification, clarification and help filling in any blanks I had. Also big thanks to the HH PR team for supplying the photos!
I did my best to research and vet the information here. I know it’s not “perfectly complete” so if you have some information on the Heaven Hill Distillery that should be included please let me know. I’ll be happy to include it.
Till the next one, cheers!
