By Richard Thomas
Rating: A-
(Credit: Heaven Hill)
In September 2025, Heaven Hill returned to its historic roots in Bardstown, Kentucky in grand style. Although the company never left Bardstown after the disaster of the 1996 fire that destroyed their distillery, the locus of Heaven Hill operations clearly shifted to Shively after the purchase of the Bernheim Distillery. Several rickhouses and the bottling plant remained in Bardstown, to be joined decades later by a visitor center. The distillery and several more rickhouses were in Shively, and although the Shively property was never open to tourism, it was where glamour work got done.
That was until this April, which saw the firing up of Heaven Hill’s new $200 million Springs Distillery in Bardstown. Currently capable of producing 150,000 barrels per year, but built with a three-fold expansion in output in mind, I would not be surprised if the company began leaning away from Shively and back towards Bardstown in the years to come. The facility is named for the original Heaven Hill plant, the Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery (it was called that before there was even a new one), opened in 1935.
The occasion was marked, of course, by the release of a new limited edition bourbon. Heaven Hill Master Distillers Unity Bourbon. At the foundation is whiskey from the last known barrel from the Old Springs plant, distilled in 1991 under the supervision of Parker Beam. That bourbon is 34 years old. Blended into it are 14, 8 and 6 year old bourbons from Bernheim, made by Beam, Denny Potter and Conor O’Driscoll. Just 27 barrels total went into this marriage of bourbons (so technically it’s a small batch, although Heaven Hill doesn’t call it that), yielding 4,000 bottles. The bourbon is cut to 107 proof, the original entry proof used at the Old Springs distillery. Old Springs was using the same Heaven Hill bourbon mash bill as today, so that remains steady across the board.
This is the second time Heaven Hill has visited this territory. In 2013, they released a similar blend of bourbons made across different plants and by different managers under the same name after Parker Beam’s ALS diagnosis became public. Old Springs barrels have been released by independent negociants as single barrel bottlings in the past. So while Heaven Hill says this expression is based on their last barrel, there are probably other sources of Old Springs bourbon out there in other hands.
The Bourbon
With it’s dulled copper color, the bourbon looks moody and contemplative and has a character to match. Those nose is a touch hot as is, but the rest of the experience didn’t require water, so I left it alone. Past the alcohol, the scent was one of mint and wood spices coupled to melted brown sugar and thick caramel. The palate is thick and layered, with a traditional bourbon of brown sugar and vanilla at the base, almonds atop that, and finally leading with butterscotch and earthy black cocoa. The finish runs warm and woody, but not dry. It’s marvelous stuff and worth the asking price, if you can get to it soon enough.
The Price
If you can get it at recommended retail price, that should run you $225. Officially, it is only available through Heaven Hill gift shops, which greatly increases chances of picking it up at a reasonable price, albeit only for the small number of people who get there in the next few months.
