18-Year Bourbon With Pre-1996-Fire Whiskey

Heaven Hill Distillery has introduced Heaven Hill Phoenix. It’s a limited, one-time 18-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and the blend includes 30-year-old whiskey distilled before the 1996 fire at Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery.

On Nov. 7, 1996, lightning is believed to have started a fire at Heaven Hill’s original Bardstown distillery. Wind-driven flames destroyed the 1935 distillery and seven rickhouses and burned nearly 100,000 barrels of aging bourbon, a loss later valued at $30 million. No lives were lost and no employees lost their jobs. Heaven Hill’s proprietary yeast strain also survived intact.

“The fire brought tremendous loss, but it also showed the resolve of the people who chose to move forward together,” said Max L. Shapira, Executive Chairman and second-generation family owner of Heaven Hill Distillery.

“That same spirit of adaptability and shared purpose continues to guide Heaven Hill today. Phoenix honors the employees, community members and industry partners who refused to let a single night define generations of craftmanship.”

What’s in the Bottle

Phoenix is bottled at 107 proof. The base is 18-year-old bourbon made in March 2008 and fully matured in heavy-char barrels. It’s blended with 30-year-old whiskey from the original distillery, so every bottle carries some of the pre-fire whiskey.

“Heaven Hill Phoenix balances the mature oak and length of its 30-year-old component with the structure of 18-year-old Bourbon aged in heavy-char oak,” said Conor O’Driscoll, Master Distiller at Heaven Hill Distillery. “

The determination that carried us through the fire lives on in Phoenix, bridging that pivotal moment in our past with our ongoing commitment to producing exceptional, ultra-aged whiskeys.”

Tasting notes:

Nose: polished oak, cinnamon, nutmeg and caramel.
Palate: butterscotch, caramel, cinnamon and baked apples, with subtle oak tannins.
Finish: warm and long, with sweet apple pie and peppery spice.

Heaven Hill Phoenix Price and Where to Buy

Heaven Hill Phoenix begins shipping to select markets in October 2026 at a suggested retail price of $325 for a 750 mL bottle. It will also be sold at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown. The bottle comes in a special-edition gift carton showing a phoenix rising from the ashes, with the words “Remember. Rebuild. Rise.”