Heaven Hill Phoenix 18 Year Bourbon

Heaven Hill Phoenix 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey

Price

$989.95

✔ Authenticated by the house — seal, fill level, and label inspected before release
✔ Documented provenance on every bottle
✔ Climate-safe, collector-grade packaging

Age: | Region: Bardstown, Kentucky | Proof: 107

Secure payments

Vault-to-door shipping

Adult signature (21+) at delivery

107

Proof

53.5%

ABV

18yr

Age Statement

30yr

Pre-Fire Share

2008

Base Produced

750mL

Format

Thirty years after fire destroyed the Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in Bardstown on November 7, 1996, Heaven Hill Distillery has bottled Phoenix, a one-time Kentucky straight bourbon. Its base is bourbon Heaven Hill produced in March 2008 and aged 18 years in heavy-char barrels; mingled with 30-year-old bourbon distilled at the old plant before the fire, it goes into bottle at 107 proof, 53.5% ABV.

Nº 01

The Elemental Distinction

Whiskey from before the fire. The front label names a share of 30-year-old bourbon distilled at Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery, the Bardstown plant where Heaven Hill filled its first barrels on December 13, 1935 and which it lost on November 7, 1996.

An 18-year-old base. The base bourbon dates from March 2008, and Heaven Hill kept it in heavy-char barrels for its whole maturation; the label carries the 18-year age statement.

107 proof, 53.5% ABV. The bottle and the tube print both figures. Heaven Hill gave 107 proof as its original barrel-entry proof of around 1935 when it announced its 85th Anniversary single barrel at that strength in 2020.

One release only. Heaven Hill introduced Phoenix on October 27, 2026 as a one-time bottling for the thirtieth anniversary of the fire.

Remember. Rebuild. Rise. The bottle carries the line on a navy band low on its front label, beneath a gold phoenix and three lines naming the two bourbons; the navy neck capsule carries Heaven Hill Distillery’s HH seal.

Nº 02

November 7, 1996

Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery

Heaven Hill’s history of that afternoon begins with thunderstorms over central Kentucky and smoke reported from Warehouse I at 2 p.m. Distillery supervisor Charlie Downs and Parker Beam drove up the hill to check and ordered an evacuation. Winds gusting to 70 mph pushed the fire from rickhouse to rickhouse; barrels burst, and burning whiskey ran down into Rowan’s Creek until the creek overflowed onto the highway. By evening the distillery and seven rickhouses, at least 15% of Heaven Hill’s storage capacity, were destroyed or still burning. The company put the loss of 92,000 barrels of whiskey and its buildings at $30 million and names lightning as the suspected cause; its Phoenix announcement adds that no one died, no employee lost a job and the proprietary yeast survived. Heaven Hill bought the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville in 1999, and a new Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in Bardstown filled its first barrel in April 2025.

Nº 03

The Mingling

Two ages in one bottle

March 2008

18-year-old base

The larger part of the blend: Kentucky straight bourbon from a single production month, aged in heavy-char barrels.

Before November 1996

30-year-old share

Bourbon from Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery; the tube describes it as a small addition to the base.

Bottling

107 proof

53.5% alcohol by volume, as printed on bottle and tube.

Nº 04

Sensory Profile & Strategy

Distiller notes & position

Sensory Profile

Heaven Hill’s note for Phoenix puts polished oak first on the nose, then cinnamon, nutmeg and caramel. Butterscotch, caramel, cinnamon and baked apple follow on the palate, with light oak tannin keeping them in check, and the finish runs long and warm toward sweet apple pie and pepper. Conor O’Driscoll, Heaven Hill’s master distiller, describes the blend as weighing the older bourbon’s mature oak and length against the structure of the heavy-char 18-year-old.

Strategic Position

Phoenix matches the strength of Heaven Hill’s 90th Anniversary bourbon of 2025, also 107 proof, but where that nine-year-old drew 30% of its blend from heavy-char barrels, Phoenix’s whole 18-year-old base aged in heavy char. The 18-year age statement is shared with the 120-proof Heritage Collection bourbon of 2024, produced in December 2005. Neither holds whiskey from the original Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery, which burned in 1996; Phoenix does.

Nº 05

Collector Note & Index

Vault provenance

→

The carton

Heaven Hill’s special-edition gift carton for the 750 ml bottle is a navy tube carrying a gold phoenix, the Heaven Hill Phoenix name and the words Remember. Rebuild. Rise.

→

Where it ships

Distribution runs to select markets from October 2026; in Kentucky, the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown sells bottles too.

→

The family’s view

Max L. Shapira, executive chairman and second-generation family owner, presents Phoenix as honoring the employees, community members and industry partners who moved forward together after the loss.

Collector IndexHH PHOENIX · 2026

Release: One time · October 2026
Base: 18 yr · March 2008
Pre-fire share: 30 yr · Old Heaven Hill Springs
Barrels: Heavy char (base)
Strength: 107 proof · 53.5% ABV
Format: 750 mL

Phoenix is listed beside Heaven Hill’s Heritage Collection, William Heavenhill and Parker’s Heritage editions among the Heaven Hill releases on our shelves.

Nº 06

Technical Specifications

Specification	Detail
Whiskey	Heaven Hill Phoenix
Class	Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Age statement	18 years
Base	18-year-old bourbon produced in March 2008, fully matured in heavy-char barrels
Pre-fire bourbon	30-year-old bourbon distilled at Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery, Bardstown, before the November 7, 1996 fire
Barrels	Heavy char (the 18-year-old base)
Proof	107
ABV	53.5%
Producer	Heaven Hill Distillery
Region	Kentucky
Format	750 mL
Packaging	Special-edition gift carton: a navy tube with a gold phoenix and “Remember. Rebuild. Rise.”
Release	One-time; announced October 27, 2026; shipping to select markets from October 2026

Nº 07

Records & Assurance

Authentication & Vault Preservation

Every bottle sold through Midnight Whiskey is sourced as an authentic, sealed product and inspected before it ships. Orders are packed with padded, glass-rated handling and require an adult signature (21+) on delivery; we do not ship to anyone unable to verify legal drinking age. For our full sourcing and handling protocols, see our editorial and authentication standards.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is in Heaven Hill Phoenix?

Heaven Hill Phoenix mingles 18-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon, produced in March 2008 and fully matured in heavy-char barrels, with 30-year-old bourbon distilled at the Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery in Bardstown before its 1996 fire. Heaven Hill Distillery bottles the result as an 18-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey.

What proof is Heaven Hill Phoenix?

Heaven Hill Phoenix is bottled at 107 proof, which the label states as 53.5% alcohol by volume. Heaven Hill Distillery has described 107 proof as its original barrel-entry proof from around 1935, the year the Shapira family founded the company.

What does Heaven Hill Phoenix commemorate?

Heaven Hill Phoenix marks thirty years since November 7, 1996, when a fire believed to have been started by lightning destroyed the Old Heaven Hill Springs Distillery and seven rickhouses in Bardstown, Kentucky. Heaven Hill Distillery says no one died in the fire and no employee lost a job, and the bottle’s gift carton carries a phoenix with the words Remember. Rebuild. Rise.

Is Heaven Hill Phoenix a one-time release?

Yes. Heaven Hill Distillery announced Heaven Hill Phoenix on October 27, 2026 as a one-time release and began shipping it to select markets that month. Bottles are also sold at the Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience in Bardstown, Kentucky.

Midnight Whiskey · The Vault Heaven Hill Distillery · Phoenix

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Heaven Hill Phoenix

The Elemental Distinction

November 7, 1996