Drink of the Week: Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond

The new Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is an homage to Heaven Hill’s first release of Bottled-in-Bond in 1939. Today, Heaven Hill produces more bottled-in-bond products than any other distillery. And this bourbon is still produced according to the standards established in the Bottled-in-Bond act of 1897, which dictates that a BIB whiskey must be the product of one distillery and distilled during just one distillation season, which can run from January-June or July-December. It must be aged for at least four years. It must be bottled at exactly 100 proof. And it must bear the name and number of the Distilled Spirits Plant (D.S.P.) where it was produced, and, if different, the D.S.P. number of the bottling facility.

This Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond is part of an exclusive line of products that bear the Heaven Hill name. For this new release that is now available nationally, Heaven Hill created a label inspired by vintage design and past Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond bottles. The center of the label features a hand-sketched illustration of Heaven Hill’s original distillery in Bardstown, Kentucky. The second label near the bottle’s base names the Distilled Spirits Plants used to produce and bottle the bourbon, essential for Bottled-in-Bond certification. On the back is the phrase The Best of the Great Kentucky Bourbons, which was on the original label and has appeared in Heaven Hill advertising since the 1930s.

Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond goes beyond the four-year aging requirement and is aged for seven years, yielding a smooth and rich whiskey with layers of caramel and honey that meet touches of oak, spice, and char. Sip it over ice or mix it in a contemporary or classic cocktail, like the Boulevardier. Either way, this will be a whiskey to savor throughout fall and winter. $48, caskers.com