Three Unique Whiskeys Aged in Chinquapin Oak Barrels Highlight Craft, Heritage, and Innovation
BARDSTOWN, Ky. (October 14, 2025) – Heaven Hill Distillery today announced the inaugural release of the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass® Specialty Barrel Series, marking an exciting new chapter in the brand’s acclaimed Grain to Glass lineup. The new series builds on Heaven Hill’s long-standing tradition of quality, sustainability, and innovation, showcasing the distillery’s craftsmanship and mastery of barrel maturation.
The 2025 Specialty Barrel Series features three Kentucky whiskeys — Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey, and Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey — each fully aged for six years in Chinquapin Oak barrels hand-selected by Heaven Hill’s distilling team in collaboration with Independent Stave Company. These distinctive barrels impart complex notes of butterscotch, crème brûlée, toasted nut, chocolate, and coffee, resulting in a bold, layered flavor profile.
Honoring Legacy, Innovation, and Partnership
Heaven Hill’s Grain to Glass journey begins each year with a single seed. The distillery partners with Beck’s Hybrids, a family-owned seed company in Indiana, to select a corn varietal ideally suited for Kentucky’s soils. For the 2025 release, Beck’s 6225 was grown by Peterson Farms, a multi-generational family farm located in Nelson County, Kentucky, just across from Heaven Hill’s Bardstown campus.
“Since the founding of Heaven Hill, our family has remained committed to looking at the long term, building products and partnerships meant to endure,” said Max Shapira, Heaven Hill Executive Chairman. “The Specialty Barrel Series reflects both innovation and transparency, extending our Grain to Glass vision while honoring the legacy that defines our distillery.”
The Influence of Chinquapin Oak
Unlike traditional Grain to Glass releases aged in #3 char white oak barrels, this inaugural Specialty Barrel Series explores new dimensions of maturation through the use of Chinquapin Oak—a distinct American white oak species known for its high vanillin content and warm, complex aromatics.
“Selecting Chinquapin Oak for the first Specialty Barrel Series was an exciting opportunity to deepen our exploration of wood and whiskey,” said Conor O’Driscoll, Heaven Hill Master Distiller. “These barrels highlight the interplay between grain and oak in a way that elevates the mashbills, allowing each whiskey’s character to shine at barrel proof.”
Expressions in the 2025 Specialty Barrel Series
- Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – 105 proof
Mashbill: 52% Corn, 35% Rye, 13% Malt - Kentucky Straight Wheated Bourbon Whiskey – 105 proof
Mashbill: 52% Corn, 35% Wheat, 13% Malt - Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey – 107 proof
Mashbill: 63% Rye, 24% Corn, 13% Malt
Each expression was barreled at 107 proof, honoring the historic entry proof used by Heaven Hill’s founders, and bottled non-chill filtered at selected proofs to preserve the depth and character imparted by the Chinquapin Oak.
Packaging & Availability
The 2025 Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Specialty Barrel Series will be available nationally beginning November 2025 in limited quantities at an MSRP of $129.99 per 700mL bottle. Each bottle proudly bears “Family Owned Since 1935,” with jewel-toned labels unique to each mashbill, a gold-coin cork insert, and a tax strip highlighting the Chinquapin Oak barrels.
In keeping with the series’ transparency and craftsmanship, each label details the corn varietal, mashbill, distillation, and release years, alongside custom illustrations that pay tribute to Bernheim Distillery and Kentucky’s farming heritage.
Awards & Accolades
Heaven Hill’s Grain to Glass line continues to earn top honors:
- Double Gold – 2024 SIP Awards (Grain to Glass Wheated Bourbon)
- Best of Class Finalist – 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
- Gold – 2025 World Whiskies Awards (Grain to Glass Wheated Bourbon)
- Best American Rye – 2025 World Whiskies Awards
- #5 Ranking – Whisky Advocate’s Top 20 Whiskies of 2024 (Score: 94)
About Heaven Hill Distillery
Founded in 1935 by the Shapira family, Heaven Hill Distillery remains America’s largest independent, family-owned distillery, with more than 2 million barrels aging across 70 warehouses in Nelson and Jefferson Counties, Kentucky.
Heaven Hill is home to a celebrated portfolio of award-winning American whiskeys including Elijah Craig Bourbon, Evan Williams Bourbon, Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond, Henry McKenna, and Parker’s Heritage Collection.
In recent years, Heaven Hill has earned eight Distiller of the Year titles, including Whisky Magazine’s 2023 & 2024 Distillery of the Year and Most Awarded Distillery at the 2024 and 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
For more information, visit HeavenHillDistillery.com/Grain-to-Glass.
Heaven Hill reminds you to “Think Wisely. Drink Wisely.”
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