Interesting and flavorful whiskey , if not a personal favorite. Well worth trying but unless you like a somewhat dry oaky flavor you might not appreciate it as much. Let someone else who loves that style grab a bottle !
The 3 Bottle Set of the new Heaven Hill Grain to Glass series is an impressive beast !
Notes: An extension of the Grain to Glass line, This is one of the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Specialty Barrel Series , in this case the Kentucky Straight bourbon 105 Proof. The Grain to Glass series is a ongoing series using a single varietal of corn from from a seed company called Becks Hybrids , a family owned seed company in Indiana.This years varietal Becks 6225- was chosen and grown by a family owned farm called Peterson Farms in Nelson County and just across the road from Heaven Hill.
The 2025 Specialty Barrel Series is meant to showcase the artistry involved ( and the results) of barrel selection and maturation. The three whiskies of this selection include the Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, The Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, and The Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. Each are aged I( not just conditioned in) in char level 3 Chinquapin Oak barrels which are a species of American oak native to Central and Eastern North America for a period of 6 years. Chinquapin Oak has , among other characteristics, a vanillin content. This results in heightened ones of butterscotch, crème brullee , toasted nut, chocolate and coffee notes among others, and increases the complexity, layering , and boldness to the whiskies.As a side note the whiskey was aged at Cox’s Creek in rickhouse W5 on floors 3 and 5, which slightly varies from the rickhouses and floors used for the standard edition, which were rickhouses W5 and W6 on floors 3, 4, and 5.Not sure how much this location change affects the whiskey per se, I am sure I is much more due to the wood selection than location. Assuming they were located differently more for inventory/differentiation than any particular climate control issue.
This expression, the Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey uses a mash bill of 52% Corn, Rye 35%, and 13% malted Barley which is a fairly standard mash bill for Heaven Hill except there is more of the secondary grain ( Rye) , but the cronies a very specific stain/genome the Becks 6225, which is also used in the other grain to glass series , but as stated before the additional variable in this series is the Chinquapin Oak to. add a further layer of variation to the mix as it were,
Appearance: Beautiful deep amber in the glass, clear honeyed appearance. On swirling leaves a thicker than usual coating, demonstrating a thicker viscosity than most bourbons, even their Heaven Hill cousins, Not a lot of legs forming, or tears, it seems to almost roll over its own edge line or meniscus on its ever so slow retreat back into the glass.
Watching it do this is my form of Zen.
First Impression: Somewhat intense vanilla notes, with a cigar humidor ( Spanish cedar) notes and caramelized sugars, nuts, crushed acorns, barrel char
Taste: Slightly oily entry with it caressing and teasing the tongue and leaving a nice tingle in its wake. Starts off a touch sweet then dries rapidly . Creme Brulee,vanilla, dry char cinnamon, and some slightly too much drying at the edges of the tongue on the finish reminiscent of charcoal and dry wood.
Drinks: Good on its own if you like wood. Nice Manhattan with the right vermouth ( like a Carpano Antica to offset the bitter ) Whiskey sour somewhat les so.Again think drier and woody for drinks.
Bottle: Beautiful cylindrical and slightly broadening towards the top with a shorter thick neck that harks back to a previous age. Cork has a short T too with a real cork , Cork has a nice inset medallion with the Heaven Hill logo, Heft is wrong for a bronze medallion but it looks nice. Maybe for a few pennies more they could improve on that for a premium bottle such as this? Bottle is distinguished from its siblings by the dark blue color of its neck seal and lower label. Specs and narration on the contents are extensive across both labels, relax and enjoy them !
Other: Take a look at our reviews of other Heaven Hill products, such as the Elijah Craig, Larceny, Old Fitzgerald, Heaven Hill Parker Heritage, and Evan Williams whiskies.
Final Thoughts: Not a favorite, but that comes down to personal taste and preferences rather than any faults. A bit dry with a touch too much oaky char against a relatively young whiskey strikes me as mildly discordant .
Website: www.heavenhilldistillery.com/graintoglass
As usual with the Heaven Hill websites in general , they have a fair amount of information – usually a lot more than most but still IMHO lacking in certain details. ( My gold standard is the Waterford Whiskey websites for individual release) . Definitely worth looking at though!
Pour yourself a glass or two of their whiskeys and sit down and read up or listen to their podcasts, Lot of information to absorb and enjoy !
