Table Of Contents
The Details
| Rating | 94 |
| Style |
American Whiskey Whiskey |
| Produced In |
Kentucky United States |
| ABV | 61.25% |
| Availability | Limited |
| Price | $180.00 |
| Reviewed By | |
| Reviewed | 2025-08-05 |
Parker's Heritage 11 Year Kentucky Straight American Whiskey (2025) Review
First launched in 2007, Heaven Hill’s Parker’s Heritage Collection has announced its 19th release: an 11 year old Kentucky straight American whiskey, blended from three distinct mash bills, and bottled at cask strength.
One of Heaven Hill’s most experimental lineups, Parker’s Heritage often showcases the distillery’s range across mash bills, aging environments, and cask finishing. Previous releases in the line have included a 24-year-old bottled-in-bond, double-barreled bourbon, and Kentucky straight malt finished in reconstructed Cognac casks. This year’s blend is something else entirely: three different mash bills and whiskey types married together before bottling.
The Kentucky straight American whiskey is blended from the following whiskeys in undisclosed proportions:
- 15-year-old wheated bourbon
- 11-year-old corn whiskey
- 12-year-old whiskey distilled from rye and malt
Each component was aged in a different environment. The wheated bourbon was aged in Rickhouse A; the corn whiskey was aged in Rickhouses DD, GG, and BB; and the 12 year old whiskey was aged in Rickhouse 7.
The final batch strength was a robust 122.5 proof, and the whiskey was non-chill filtered.
Like all Parker’s Heritage releases since 2013, a portion of all bottle sales will go toward ALS research and patient care. The line is named for late Heaven Hill master distiller Parker Beam, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2010 and passed away in early 2017.
Let’s dive in!
Parker's Heritage 11 Year Kentucky Straight American Whiskey: Stats and Availability
It will be available beginning in September in limited quantities, both nationally and in select international markets at a suggested retail price of
$179.99.
Parker's Heritage 11 Year Kentucky Straight American Whiskey Review
As with all of VinePair’s whiskey reviews, this was tasted in a Glencairn glass and rested for at least five minutes.
Nose
The nose kicks things off with a potent spice mixture of nutmeg and cinnamon. It’s quick to show the full impact of its 122.5 proof, and throughout nosing, this Parker’s Heritage walks a very fine line between ethanol’s ability to elevate scents and elbow them out. Clove builds on the next few sniffs, as does pronounced rye spice. Combined with creamy vanilla and custardy sweetness, the first few sniffs remind me of warm nutmeg-dusted eggnog, the kind ladled out for a holiday toast. It’s a familiar scent on some American corn and light whiskeys, but here it avoids teetering over into the cloying, sugar-doused Frosted Flakes note many of those can fall victim to.
Both plentiful oak and a light waft of cherry syrup are to thank for keeping the whiskey on track. Tart blueberry pie filling and blackcurrant jam adds some additional fruit. With more time in the glass, the impact of that 15-year wheated bourbon becomes clear, and the scents become closer and closer to a well-aged Old Fitzgerald release. (Both Old Fitz and the bourbon component here come from Heaven Hill’s standard wheated bourbon mash bill.)
Gradually increasing oak couples with roasted hazelnuts and hot porridge to add more dimensions to the nose, with elements of both wood and grain coming out to play. This latest Parker’s started spicy and quickly morphed to sweet, but it ultimately (and thankfully) settles into complexity beyond a single aroma.
Taste
Despite its relatively high proof, the first sip is approachable and soft on the palate. More creamy vanilla and delicate custard coat the front of the tongue, followed by maple syrup and Raisin Bran in milk.
Bright red maraschino cherry is up next, but despite the highly aged wheated bourbon’s influence on the nose, flavors never quite progress to medicinal cherry. There are a handful of fruit components at play, but they take some time to suss out; the aforementioned bright cherry, mulberry cobbler, and red apple skins all eventually make their way to the fold.
Oak builds at the midpalate, and while we don’t know the exact proportions in this blend, I’m impressed the corn whiskey hasn’t dominated in the mouth. Instead, it seems to provide a sweet onramp for other flavors as melted French vanilla ice cream, grated nutmeg, almond extract, and amaretto lend depth without piling on sugar; it’s as if I’m tasting an almond biscotti or cookie with the sweetener dialed way down.
The back palate comes with noticeably pops of white pepper, seasoned wood, and lightly smoked maple syrup.
Finish
There’s a fascinating umami flavor right at the transition between palate and finish, like a reduced and semi-sweet soy glaze. That’s immediately followed by fairly thick vanilla frosting, with both lingering cherry syrup and oak.
A few drops of water don’t fundamentally transform the pour, but dilution does lend the finish a tiny bit of tropical fruit (specifically guava) and crème brûlée.
Parker's Heritage 11 Year Kentucky Straight American Whiskey Rating
94/100
Recap
This latest Parker’s Heritage is a big swing, and one that requires a deft touch to avoid any one component unbalancing the final blend. But master distiller Conor O’Driscoll and team had a deft touch, and ultimately, this 11-year American whiskey is a pleasing dram with quite a few twists and turns. It’s both familiar and novel, with scents and flavors that harken to core Heaven Hill products without copying them exactly. Enjoy slowly, and keep a notebook handy. I’ll certainly be doing so on a revisit.
*Image retrieved from Heaven Hill Distillery
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