Taste Test: Heaven Hill’s New Limited-Edition Bourbon is One of the Best of the Year

Welcome to Taste Test, where every week our critic Jonah Flicker explores the most buzzworthy and interesting whiskeys in the world. Check back each Sunday for his latest whiskey review.

There’s been a lot going on at Heaven Hill over the past year. 2025 marked the 90th anniversary of this venerable Kentucky institution, and that is particularly notable because the same family—the Shapiras—still owns and operates the distillery. Also, Heaven Hill opened a brand-new facility last spring called Heaven Hills Springs Distillery in Bardstown, the spiritual (pun intended) home of Kentucky bourbon. To mark that occasion, it released a limited-edition bourbon called Heaven Hill Master Distillers Unity, and it is safe to say that this is one of the best whiskeys the distillery has released in years, and one of the best of 2025.

That’s saying a lot, by the way, because Heaven Hill puts out some really excellent whiskeys under its various brand names—Evan Williams, Elijah Craig, Larceny, Pikesville Rye, and Parker’s Heritage Collection, to name just a few. Master Distillers Unity is a blend of bourbons ranging from young to very old that were distilled by various master distillers over the years. The last remaining barrel of 34-year-old bourbon distilled in 1991 by the late Parker Beam is one component (probably the smallest), along with bourbon aged for 14, eight, and six years distilled at Bernheim by Beam, former master distiller Denny Potter, and current master distiller Conor O’Driscoll. Just 27 barrels total were combined for this release, which was bottled at 107 proof.

That last detail, I believe, plays a part in why this bourbon is so good. A release like this could easily have been bottled at a much higher cask strength without any dilution to mark the occasion. But 107 proof is just right—strong but not too strong, a bourbon you can sip without adding any water (the proof was actually chosen to commemorate the barrel entry proof at the Old Heaven Hills Springs Distillery). And what a bourbon this is, with notes of chocolate, apple, maple, plum, strawberry, raw grain, spice, bubble gum, oak, raisin, and just a touch of dragon fruit on the palate (yes, I just started getting into dragon fruit, so now that’s a tasting note for me). Though it’s made from the classic Heaven Hill bourbon mashbill of 78 percent corn, 12 percent malted barley, and 10 percent rye, this bourbon stands way above the rest, which is a serious compliment given how good those other whiskeys often are.

The question remains—will you be able to get your hands on a bottle? Master Distillers Unity was released in a run of 4,000 bottles this fall, each priced $225… so of course it’s currently on the secondary market for about triple that amount. That’s far from ideal, but if you have the money to spend you will not be disappointed, because this limited-edition bourbon is a true trophy for your home bar.

Score: 97