Parker's Heritage 14 Year Cognac Barrel Finished Malt Whiskey (2024) Review

Parker's Heritage 14 Year Cognac Barrel Finished Malt Whiskey (2024) Review

Parker’s Heritage is one of Kentucky-based Heaven Hill’s most anticipated yearly releases. Named for late master distiller Parker Beam, the lineup highlights some of the distillery’s biggest, most experimental swings; as such, no two releases are ever the same.

And boy, does 2024 bring a big swing. Today, we’re looking at a 14 year Kentucky straight malt whiskey finished in “reconstructed heavy toast Cognac barrels.” (It’s a mouthful.)

Individually, neither malt whiskey nor a Cognac barrel finish are new to the Parker’s lineup. In 2011, the 5th edition featured a 10 year bourbon finished in Cognac barrels. In 2015, the line’s 9th edition was an eight year-old Kentucky straight malt whiskey made from a mash of 65 percent malted barley and 35 percent corn. (For those keeping track, due to the inclusion of corn, this qualifies as a straight malt whiskey, but not a single malt.)

This year’s malt has the same 65/35 mash bill with six more years of aging. The 128 barrels used were laid down in March 2009. They were then dumped and finished across 56 reconstructed Cognac casks for just under four months. Master Cognac blender Alain Royer worked with Heaven Hill on putting together the release, his third-such collaboration.

The final blend was bottled at 107 proof. As with all Parker’s Heritage releases, Heaven Hill donates some of the proceeds to ALS research and care. (The distillery has donated over $1.3 million from the Parker’s line since release number 1.)

Let’s see how the 18th edition of Parker’s Heritage tastes!

Parker's Heritage 14 Year Cognac Barrel Finished Malt Whiskey: Stats and Availability

These are always highly allocated, limited, and in-demand releases. Fortunately for fans, this year’s Parker’s Heritage comes with a slightly lower MSRP than 2023’s cask strength rye: around $170. Of course, many bottles will command significant markups at retail and on the secondary market, and I’m already seeing some listed for $500+.

Parker's Heritage 14 Year Cognac Barrel Finished Malt 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 starts with fresh oranges, scraped vanilla bean, light caramel candy, and a hefty (but not overpowering) dose of oak. More sniffs and a little more time in the glass bring forward maraschino cherry and molasses. Nose even deeper, and tiny whiffs of damp earth and campfire smoke enter the fold, which coupled with the ever-present tartness gives the impression of roasted stone fruit like peaches and apricots.

As the fruit gets darker and the sweetness more rustic, the aromas evolve just a touch in a tannic direction without getting caught in a quagmire of leather and tobacco. To be clear, the scent of charred and toasted oak stays relatively consistent throughout; it’s the other aromas that trend deeper, darker, and richer. Alain Royer and the team have walked a delicate line here, as if the liquid was pulled from the Cognac casks in just the nick of time.

Frankly, at first, this whiskey noses quite similarly to some lighter, citrus-forward bourbons. That could be due to the large percentage of corn in the mashbill, or really any number of other factors. Whatever the case, bourbon drinkers have a lot to get excited about here at first sniff. The latest Parker’s is a malt whiskey, but on the nose, it’s incredibly accessible to Heaven Hill’s core bourbon-drinking fan base.

Taste

I’m predisposed from the nose, but syrup-glazed roasted fruit kicks off the first sip, layering thickly across the tongue. The first few tastes are less bourbon-adjacent than the nose, the taste of brandy-soaked fruit taking things in an altogether different direction. Sweet, barrel-aged balsamic vinegar is next up, building to a fascinating sweet/sour combo just before the midpalate.

Flavors then take a bready, grain-forward turn via raisin bread and toasted sourdough. Parker’s 18th Edition also becomes more chocolatey here, but never quite decoupled from that dark fruit. The more I sip, the more it tastes like the aftermath of a handful of chocolate-covered raisins.

I’m hesitant to keep comparing this malt whiskey to another spirit, but the oak carries a noteworthy earthen character that reminds me of those rare bourbons that make it past 20 years in a barrel. Of course, a 14 year age statement is nothing to sneeze at. But those reconstructed, heavy toast Cognac barrels likely added depth beyond what even a decade-and-a-half in an original barrel can accomplish.

While I’m always interested in tasting spirits at their original cask strength, the latest Parker’s feels like it’s proofed about right. Any higher, and I worry additional viscosity could lead to a cloying, sticky-sweet mouthfeel.

Finish

The finish is long and — at first — a consistent decrescendo from the palate. There comes a point where the sweet fruit suddenly drops off, and the back and upper palates are left with a very tannic coating of dark chocolate and dry dessert wine. The closest I can compare it to is a splash of well-aged port in very dark hot chocolate.

Parker's Heritage 14 Year Cognac Barrel Finished Malt Whiskey Rating

95/100

Recap

The latest Parker’s Heritage release lives up to the line’s lofty expectations (and for some drinkers, may exceed them). By finishing a well-aged Kentucky malt in Cognac barrels, Heaven Hill has produced a spirit I’m guessing the vast majority of whiskey drinkers will quite like. (And I’d encourage aged brandy drinkers to give it a crack as well.) As with all Parker’s releases, may the odds be with you in finding a bottle at suggested retail — and please share with friends if you do!

*Image retrieved from Heaven Hill

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