Rye bread | Fresh oak | White peppercorn | Light grain

Rye spice | Burnt caramel | Faint leather | Charred oak | Cinnamon spice | Black peppercorn spice | Vanilla nougat | Faint dried cherry

Bold rye spice | Dab of hot honey | Dry oak | Leather | Dry lingering spice

Heaven Hill Executive Chairman Max Shapira created the idea of Heaven Hill’s Grain to Glass series in the mid-2010s. The concept revolves around the company working with Beck’s Hybrids in Indiana to “hand select a unique corn seed varietal that has specific attributes desirable for Heaven Hill Grain to Glass, one of which is choosing seed, which is best suited for growth in Central Kentucky.” From there, Heaven Hill works with Peterson Farms to grow the corn on one of two sites in Nelson County, Kentucky. Of note, both Beck’s Hybrids and Peterson Farms are also family-owned and lead companies, much like Heaven Hill itself.

The first edition of the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass series is composed of three whiskeys. This includes the straight rye in review, along with a bourbon and a wheated bourbon expression. For the rye, the company states the whiskey was distilled in 2017, aged for just over 6 years, and released in 2024. Heaven Hill emphasizes transparency for this release, providing a wealth of specific data for each whiskey. The corn seed varietal used for this edition was Beck’s 6158, which is prominently displayed on the front of the bottle. Additionally, the whiskey was aged at Cox’s Creek in rickhouse W3, floors 3, 4, and 5.

Rye is often known for its stereotypical spicy flavor profile, and the Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Rye leans right into that trope. While the nose highlights more of an aroma full of grain notes and a rye bread scent, it’s the back half of the finish that explodes with spice. The spice starts to build in the palate, thanks to rye, cinnamon, and black peppercorn spice, which lights the fuse for its finish. Riding out the sip on a dry lingering spice fueled by rye spice, this whiskey will scratch the itch of rye lovers looking for a spicy sip. While the flavor profile becomes almost too singular in nature thanks to its intense focus on spice, Heaven Hill Grain to Glass Rye does what it sets out to do: focus on grain. Maybe more importantly, focus on the rye backbone that makes up the majority of its mashbill.