Heaven Hill releasing 2018 orange curaçao-rested Parker’s Heritage bourbon in September

BARDSTOWN, Ky.—Heaven Hill said today it’ll release its 2018 limited edition release of Parker’s Heritage Collection Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in September.

Since we’re still in July, I think that’s enough heads up. Agreed? Plenty of time to buy a tent and find a line to wait in to get your hands on what’s commonly a highly coveted bottling.

According to a news release, the bourbon was aged seven to eight years in the upper floors of Rickhouse Q, followed by a four-month rest in barrels previously holding French orange curaçao liqueur. Of the 12 Parker’s releases, this is the second barrel-finished bourbon. It will be bottled at 110 proof (55% abv), non-chill filtered and sell for an MSRP of $89.99.

The Parker’s Heritage Collection, originally named in 2010 as an honor of past master distiller Parker Beam, was originally conceived to showcase the extraordinary quality and broad range of Heaven Hill’s American Whiskey holdings. Beam, who died in 2017, battled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also called Lou Gehrig’s disease) for several years, leading Heaven Hill to direct a portion of its proceeds from the most recent five editions (2013-2017) to ALS causes. Those releases, “Promise of Hope” Bourbon, the “Original Batch” Straight Wheat Whiskey, the Kentucky Straight Malt Whiskey, the 24-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon, and the 11-Year-Old Single Barrel, respectively, have raised over $1 million dollars toward ALS research and patient care. Heaven Hill will continue with this cause-related campaign by contributing a portion of proceeds from sales of this edition to the ALS Association.

This 12th edition will feature the same upscale 750ml bottle as the previous 11, but with a beige label. With previous releases having won multiple awards from Whisky Advocate magazine, Whisky Magazine and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the series stands as some of the most critically lauded American Whiskeys in recent memory. Past bottlings have won awards ranging from “Best North American Whiskey” to “American Whiskey of the Year” to “Best of Show, Brown Spirits.”