Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 2025 second edition, starts with Beck's 6225 corn from Peterson Farms in Nelson County and a mash of 52 percent corn, 35 percent rye, and 13 percent malted barley — far more rye than Heaven Hill's traditional recipe. Distilled at Bernheim in 2018, it went into new charred oak at 107 proof, aged six years in Cox's Creek rickhouses W5 and W6, and was bottled at barrel strength, 105 proof, without chill filtration. The label names the seed, mashbill, and distillation year. Keep it for a weeknight pour.

Toasted pecan and peanut meet warm oak on the nose. Butterscotch, caramel, and cardamom-spiced apple pie fill a rich, viscous sip, then vanilla and ginger-rye spice ride out the finish. It drinks sweet up front and dry-spicy at the end, with enough rye grip to hold the dessert notes in place.