Parker’s Heritage

Parker’s Heritage Collection is an annual series of limited-edition American whiskeys from Heaven Hill Distillery, honoring the legacy of Master Distiller Parker Beam. Each release explores a different style — cask strength bourbon, wheat whiskey, cognac barrel finish, rye mashbill blends, and specialty heavy char expressions — produced in limited quantities and highly sought after by collectors.

Browse all bourbon and rare and allocated bottles at Wooden Cork.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does each Parker’s Heritage release differ from year to year?

The defining characteristic of the Parker’s Heritage Collection is that no two consecutive releases are the same style. Heaven Hill treats each annual release as an opportunity to showcase a different dimension of what the distillery produces — one year a cask strength wheated bourbon, the next a heavily peated expression, the next a cognac barrel finish, the next a blend of mashbills or a wheat whiskey expression. This means the collection is not a consistent annual product with a predictable flavor profile but a rotating showcase of whiskey styles from one of Kentucky’s most technically capable distilleries. The unpredictability is intentional and is part of what drives collector demand: each year’s release is an event, not a restocking.

Who was Parker Beam and why is this collection named for him?

Parker Beam was Heaven Hill’s Master Distiller for 37 years, retiring in 2014 after a career that shaped the distillery’s bourbon program through decades of expansion and refinement. He was diagnosed with ALS in 2012, and a portion of Parker’s Heritage Collection proceeds were dedicated to ALS research following his diagnosis. Parker Beam passed away in February 2017. The collection was established before his diagnosis as a tribute to his contributions, but the ALS connection has since made the releases meaningful to the bourbon community beyond their collector value. Parker’s son, Craig Beam, has continued the Beam family tradition at Heaven Hill.