Two different whiskies make up the 2016 edition of Heaven Hill’s Parker’s Heritage Collection. Both are 24-year-old “bottled-in-bond” Bourbons, and here’s what makes the distinction important. Under US law, a “bottled-in-bond” whiskey must come from a single distilling season: either January 1-June 30 (“spring”) or July 1-December 31 (“fall”). After 24 years, there’s not much whiskey left in a Bourbon barrel – so Heaven Hill needed to use whiskies from two different distilling seasons in 1990 and 1991 for this annual release.

The Spring 1991 version has a sweet nose with caramel, honey, butterscotch, fudge, charred oak, and muted spices. The taste is peppery and oaky with a lot of tannins, grilled meat, caramel, molasses, and a touch of butterscotch candy. The finish is long and dry with lingering oak and tannins along with caramel and molasses notes. Excellent! (September, 2016)

Notes for the Fall 1990 version are also available here.