Parker's Heritage Collection 1st Edition, Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon / 63.7%/ 0.75l

Parker's Heritage Collection debuted in 2007.

It was a nod from Heaven Hill Distillery’s owners to their master distiller Parker Beam, Jim Beam’s great-nephew, who was with the distillery from 1960 until his death in January 2017 (Parker suffered from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). The series was intended to showcase the diversity of whiskeys produced at Heaven Hill, which at the time had more than 700,000 barrels. The first edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection was made from 68 barrels of bourbon distilled in 1996 (the year the original Heaven Hill Distillery burned down) and aged on the fifth floor of the Y warehouse in Bardstown. They were divided into separate small-batch releases. The one presented here, bottled at 63.7% abv (127.4 proof), earned a Malt Advocate score of 94.

"The barrels I won for this series represent the best and most diverse whiskey I have produced in my 45-year distilling career," said Parker Beam, "and I believe that with subsequent editions I will arouse interest in our whiskey among a wide group of consumers."

"This is an incredibly rich bourbon, toffee, thick molasses, vanilla fudge and Heath bars. It's also beautifully balanced, with exotic spices, summer fruits, corn and tobacco balancing the natural sweetness. The finish is long and soothing."