Another Heaven Hill bourbon after yesterday’s Elijah Craig 12. I noted in that review that there’s generally not as much of a jump in quality in bourbon than single malt Scotch from $20 (where the Elijah Craig 12 plays) to $80 and beyond. Well, that $80+ category is where the Parker’s Heritage releases play. Parker’s Heritage is Heaven Hill’s annual Fall release of boutique bourbon. In terms of prestige and name recognition it lags behind the Van Winkle and Buffalo Trace Antique Collection releases (which are all but impossible to find now) and the Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition (which was also harder to spot than a Bengal tiger in the wild this year). I think this year’s release was a bunch of single barrels. If so, I’m not sure which one this sample came from.

Named for Heaven Hill’s master distiller emeritus, and bourbon legend, Parker Beam, who chooses the barrels that goes into it each year, this year’s Parker’s Heritage benefits the Parker Beam Promise of Hope Fund through the ALS Associaton (Mr. Beam was recently diagnosed with this nasty condition). As Heaven Hill donates $20 from each purchase to the fund you should really think of this as a $60-80 bottle plus a $20 donation to charity. With that said, I’m going to feel like a jackass if I have bad things to say about this whiskey. Let’s get to it. Continue reading →