2019 Parker’s Heritage Debuts As A Heavy Char Rye Whiskey

The annual Heaven Hill Parker’s Heritage bottle has been formally announced for 2019. Parker’s Heritage, for those unfamiliar with it, focuses upon raising awareness and funds for battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease), which late Heaven Hill Master Distiller Parker Beam was diagnosed with back in 2010. To date this ongoing offering has brought over one million dollars to the fight to cure this disease, and for this year the whiskey being released is a heavy char rye whiskey.

The new Parker’s Heritage Collection Heavy Char Rye Whiskey, according to those behind it, is the first straight rye whiskey of the Heritage Collection series. It is said to showcase the distillery’s traditional rye whiskey mash bill, but where it differentiates itself is through its aging process. Instead of aging in Level 3 charred barrels, as is customary for most Heaven Hill products, this rye whiskey was aged in Level 5 charred barrels for eight years and nine months on the seventh floor of Rickhouse Y.

Level 5 charred barrels are charred 50 seconds longer than the Level 3 barrels.  This more intense char reportedly allows the liquid to penetrate deeper into each barrel stave, interacting further with the oak and extracting deep notes of spice and wood on the resulting flavor.

“As the second largest holder of aging American Whiskey, Heaven Hill Distillery has the privilege of showcasing the quality and range of our distilling craft through the Parker’s Heritage Collection,” said Susan Wahl, Group Product Director at Heaven Hill Distillery, in a prepared statement. “We continue this series with thoughtful offerings that showcase the care and attention to detail for which Heaven Hill Distillery is known. Parker was involved in the development of this bottling over eight years ago and will continue to leave his mark on many future bottlings. It is in tribute to Parker and his legacy that we continue to support ALS research and patient care with this series.”

This latest bottling for the Heritage line up is bottled at 105 proof (52.5% ABV) and non-chill filtered. It prices around $150 per 750 ml bottle and will be available nationwide in limited amounts starting this September. A portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold will be given to the ALS Association, as has been customary in the past. It should be noted as well the Heavy Char Rye Whiskey is packaged the same as the previous releases, but with a green colored label this time.