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Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Specialty Barrel Series Wheated Bourbon Review

Can Chinquapin Oak barrels transform Heaven Hill's wheated bourbon into something extraordinary? This 7-year experiment delivers surprising chocolate and earth notes.

OVERALL RATING

8
$130
  • Charles Steele is an attorney and whiskey enthusiast with a penchant for the peculiar.
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Tasting Notes

About:

Heaven Hill Distillery announced the inaugural release of its Grain to Glass Specialty Barrel Series, an extension of its existing Grain to Glass line. The new series will debut in November 2025 with three 7-year-old Kentucky whiskeys fully aged in Chinquapin Oak barrels.

The collection includes three whiskies aged for at least 7 years. A Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, a Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, and a Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey. The barrels were hand-selected by Heaven Hill’s distilling team in partnership with Independent Stave Company.

This release continues the brand’s focus on agricultural transparency, using a specific corn varietal, Beck’s 6225, grown by Peterson Farms in Nelson County, Kentucky. “Since the founding of Heaven Hill, our family has remained committed to looking at the long term, building products and partnerships meant to endure,” said Max Shapira, Heaven Hill executive chairman. “The Specialty Barrel Series reflects both innovation and transparency, extending our Grain to Glass vision while honoring the legacy that defines our distillery.”

Unlike the core Grain to Glass whiskeys, which are aged in #3 char white oak, this series explores maturation in Chinquapin Oak. Heaven Hill Grain to Glass® highlights the distilleries commitment to family and quality by partnering with two family-owned businesses, and taking quality and transparency one step further – starting with the seed.

Vital Stats:
Distillation Year – 2018
Release – October 2025
Bottling Proof – 105
Barrel Entry Proof – 107
Corn Seed – Beck’s 6225
Rickhouse Site – Cox’s Creek
Rickhouse – W5
Floor – 3 & 5
Appearance:
Mahogany or dark cherry, with slow even legs.
Nose:
This opens up with toasted caramel, brewed coffee, wheat cereal grains. The nose is rich with smells of oak hiding behind the sweeter aspects. At the tail end there is just a touch of fresh cracked pepper.
Palate:
This stars with a lovely pop of chocolate, before mellowing into a toffee and earthy spice. The mouthfeel is creamy but textured of melted sugars. The flavor evolution is a bit uneven at times with transitions between notes being a bit more sharp than expected, but overall the mouthfeel and taste is lovely.
Finish:
The finish is dry and all earth tones of oak and cigar tobacco. The hold is solidly medium in length.
Comments:
Solid warming to the chest and body. Its creamy and flavorful with earth tones and complex sweet notes. There isn’t as much body to this as I would have wanted but it is still an excellent wheat bourbon worthy of fans.

To me this is one you should share and offer to fans of wheat bourbon that maybe only know of one brands wheated stuff. I think this is a nice bridge that maybe tips the scales toward a more traditional straight bourbon vs. a wheat bourbon. Ultimately though if you’re a fan of this style, the barrel adds a nice nuance to the traditional profile giving you some different notes to explore.

Editor’s Note: This whiskey was either bought as a sample by The Whiskey Wash or provided to us as a review sample by the party behind it. Per our editorial policies, this in no way influenced the outcome of this review.

Charles Steele

Charles Steele, a Portland-based attorney, is a native of the Pacific Northwest. His legal background provides him with an analytical approach to understanding whiskey and other aged spirits. Primarily a legal writer, freelancing for The Whiskey Wash offers Charles a unique opportunity to showcase his versatility as a writer. Although his preference lies with whiskey and whiskey-based cocktails, he has a profound appreciation for all unique and unconventional liquors, from Malört to Ojen - if it's peculiar, he's intrigued.

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