Parker’s Heritage #18 Malt Whiskey Cognac Barrel Finish (2024) Review

There are occasional moments that come along, when you’re covering the spirits world, that truly illustrate what the powerhouses of the American whiskey industry are able to do with the resources at their disposal that other companies would never be able to match. Take the latest iteration (number 18) in the Parker’s Heritage series of limited edition whiskeys from Heaven Hill. The high sticker price experimental series typically sticks to bourbon or rye whiskey, with occasional dalliances into wheated bourbon or wheat whiskey, but this year’s expression is a 14-year-old American malt whiskey. Which is to say: Wait, what?

Since when does Heaven Hill produce malt whiskey? Well, they’ve actually been doing it for quite a long while, as evidenced by the fact that they have 14-year-old distillate of their own sitting around in the first place. Nor is this actually the first malt whiskey expression in the Parker’s Heritage series, as way back in 2015, Parker’s Heritage #9 was an 8-year-old malt whiskey presented at almost the exact same proof as this one. But you’d be hard-pressed to find this malt whiskey distillate almost anywhere else, outside of a limited time, 9-year-old Heaven Hill Select Stock release of it that was exclusive to the “You Do Bourbon” tour at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown. That product could only be purchased if the customer bottled it themselves on the tour. So this new release is quite an odd little novelty: An extra-aged malt whiskey from a mash bill (65% malt, 35% corn) that basically hasn’t been since in any major Heaven Hill release for the past nine years.

Which all begs the question: What kind of future plans does Heaven Hill have to participate in the rapidly growing category of American malt whiskey? They’ve clearly been distilling the stuff for a long time, presumably in relatively small quantities. But what has stopped the company from putting together a flagship malt whiskey release so far? Is this Parker’s Heritage batch a trial run of what that might look like? Because if that’s the case, then folks … we should be so lucky. For the record, by the way: This qualifies as “malt whiskey” and not “single malt” whiskey only because its mash bill is not 100% malted barley, as this still has a corn component.

This particular Parker’s Heritage #18 carries a 14 year age statement, and was finished, as the name would imply, in heavy toast reconstructed Cognac barrels for a period of four months. It’s a partnership with Master Blender Alain Royer, who also partnered with the company on two previous Parker’s Heritage expressions. It consists of 128 barrels of malt whiskey from Heaven Hill, and weighs in at 53.5% ABV (107 proof). As with all Parker’s Heritage batches, proceeds from sales go toward supporting research and patient care for the disease ALS–Heaven Hill has managed to raise more than $1.3 million through this series for ALS to date.

So with that said, let’s get to tasting this novel diversion into American malt whiskey from Heaven Hill.

On the nose, this liquid stands out immediately as possessing deeply toasty and very “dark” aromatics all around. It’s redolent in molasses and maple syrup, very dark chocolate and burnt sugars, with toasted oak and strong impressions of sticky dried fruit … like plums, drying in the sun. From time to time, a little more herbaceous complexity peeks through, but the overall vibe is very sweet, concentrated and desserty–big port wine or PX sherry-type vibes. It smells decadent and delightful.

On the palate, this Parker’s Heritage expression is sweet and unctuous for this proof point, with very rich caramelized sugars, maple, toasted oak, molasses and significant baking spice. The dried fruitiness is present again, reinforcing that fortified wine-type impression, joined by sweet barrel char and mocha. Over time, a more savory, tobacco-like dimension is opening up as well. Alcohol heat is modest for the proof. All in all? This is positively decadent, an after-dinner whiskey for certain. I do think that lovers of extra-aged bourbon will actually adore this. In fact, I actually wouldn’t be surprised if they misidentified this release as bourbon if given it to taste blind, thanks to all the barrel presence and intensely caramelized wood sugars.

Folks, this is good. Really good. It will almost certainly be a year-end list contender, at least for me, and I suspect for others as well. Moreover, if anything is going to get the high-end bourbon chaser interested in American malt whiskeys, this seems like the release that would do it. To think that Heaven Hill has been sitting on something like this for 14 years is hard to imagine. It can’t help but make you wonder what other secrets they have up their sleeve. But in general, this kind of thing is too good to only appear every nine years or so. I can only imagine that we’ll be seeing more headlines involving Heaven Hill and malt whiskey in the future, and I will welcome them.

Distillery: Heaven Hill
City: Bardstown, KY
Style: American malt whiskey
ABV: 53.5% (107 proof)
Availability: Limited, 750 ml bottles, $170 MSRP

Jim Vorel is a Paste staff writer and resident brown liquor geek. You can follow him on Twitter for more drink writing.