Search
Close this search box.

2021 Parker’s Heritage Collection Bottling A Heavy Charred Wheat Offering

In September, Heaven Hill will begin to ship the 2021 limited edition release of Parker’s Heritage Collection – an 11-Year-Old Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey.

This edition continues the heavy char series for the Parker’s Heritage line, exploring how a more intense char allows the whiskey to get deeper into each barrel stave and how that ultimately affects the flavor.

More than 75 barrels were charred for a minute and a half (Level 5), as opposed to the traditional 40 second char (Level 3) for Heaven Hill. Then, the wheat whiskey matured for 11 years on the sixth floor of Rickhouse Y.

Parker’s Heritage Collection 11-Year-Old Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey
Parker’s Heritage Collection 11-Year-Old Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey (image via Heaven Hill)

In a statement from Heaven Hill, the distiller said the heavy char allowed the traditional wheat whiskey mash bill of 51% wheat, 37% corn, and 12% malted barley to interact more with the oak, extracting a mix of sweetness, filled with hints of molasses and butterscotch.

This release is only the second time for Parker’s Heritage Collection where the wheat whiskey mash bill is featured, the first time in 2014 as an original batch cask strength.

The distillers at Heaven Hill said this third heavy char edition of the series will advance what’s said to be the study of premium innovation through the Parker’s Heritage Collection. The 14th edition featured Heaven Hill’s traditional bourbon mashbill aged in a heavy char for ten years, garnering “Best Small Batch Bourbon” in the 2021 San Francisco World Spirits Competition and 2021 ASCOT Awards, as well as receiving the “Innovation Star” from the SIP Awards.

The 13th edition featured Heaven Hill’s traditional rye whiskey mash bill aged in heavy char barrels for eight years and was named a “Top 100 Spirit” rated at 96 points from the 2020 Ultimate Spirits Challenge.

Bottled at 122 proof and non-chill filtered to preserve flavor compounds, this whiskey is meant to showcase the range of Heaven Hill’s 1.9 million barrels of aging inventory.

“The Parker’s Heritage Collection is a testament to the distilling legacy at Heaven Hill Distillery and the detailed attention each step of the process receives,” said Susan Wahl, vice president of American whiskies for Heaven Hill. “We are excited to release the third mashbill in this heavy char series, showcasing the consistency of quality throughout our innovation pipeline. It’s in tribute to Parker and his legacy that we continue to support ALS research and patient care with this collection.”

The late Heaven Hill Master Distiller Parker Beam, for whom the series is named, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) in 2010.

The past eight editions from 2013-2020, including the “Promise of Hope” Bourbon, the “Original Batch” Straight Wheat Whiskey, the Kentucky Straight Malt Whiskey, the 24-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon, the 11-Year-Old Single Barrel, Orange Curaçao-finished Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Heavy Char Rye Whiskey, and Heavy Char Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, respectively, have raised more than a million dollars toward ALS research and patient care through contributions made by Heaven Hill for each bottle purchased.

With the 2021 Heavy Char Wheat Whiskey edition, Heaven Hill will continue to contribute a portion of the proceeds from each bottle sold to the ALS Association.

Packaged in the same 750ml bottle as the previous fourteen editions, but with a taupe label, the newest Parker’s Heritage Collection is available in a three-bottle case and will be available at retail, $139.99, starting in September.

Search
  • Latest News
  • Latest Reviews