Heaven Hill Double Mash does something nobody had bothered to do before: it puts two different bourbon mashbills, one traditional and one wheated, into a single Bottled-in-Bond bottle. It sounds like a small thing. Legally, it is the kind of small thing that other distilleries walk past for a century without noticing.
Announced on 15 July from Bardstown, Kentucky, Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Double Mash is a nine-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV). It reaches shelves in August 2026 at a suggested retail price of $49.99, in limited quantities across the US.
Here is the composition, because the whole point of this release lives in the numbers. Two-thirds of the liquid comes from Heaven Hill’s traditional bourbon mashbill of 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley. The remaining third comes from its wheated mashbill of 68% corn, 20% wheat and 12% malted barley. Both were distilled and aged for nine years, then married and bottled to the letter of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897.
Why this counts as a first
Bottled-in-Bond is one of the strictest guarantees in American whiskey. To wear the label, a spirit must be the product of one distillation season, made by one distiller at one distillery, aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and bottled at exactly 100 proof. It was essentially the US government’s anti-fraud stamp before anyone used the word “provenance” in marketing.
The clever bit is the wheated bourbon. Wheated bourbon, where wheat replaces rye as the flavouring grain, is one of the most chased styles in whiskey right now, the mashbill behind Weller and Pappy Van Winkle. But it has no separate legal classification. In the eyes of US regulation it is simply bourbon. That is the loophole, if you can call it that, which lets Heaven Hill combine a traditional and a wheated Bottled-in-Bond bourbon into one expression and still legally call the result Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Had wheated bourbon been its own recognised category, mixing the two would have muddied the single-classification requirement. Because it is not, the maths holds.
Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll frames it as innovation built on tradition rather than a rule-bending stunt, and on the evidence he has a point. This is not a finish gimmick or a novelty grain. It is two of the distillery’s own house styles, aged the same length of time, blended to sit inside a 128-year-old standard.
What Heaven Hill Double Mash tastes like, according to the distillery
We have not tasted this bottle yet, so the notes below are the distillery’s own. We will update this piece with our own assessment once we get a pour.
Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Double Mash official tasting notes
Colour: Warm amber
Nose: Toasted oak, honey, a hint of white pepper
Palate: Bright and rich, honey, citrus oil
Finish:Rich caramel, baking spices
ABV: 50% (100 proof) | Age: 9 years | Mashbill: two-thirds traditional (78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley), one-third wheated (68% corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley) |
Price: $49.99
On paper the split makes sense. The traditional mashbill brings the structure and rye-led spine you expect from a Heaven Hill bourbon, while the wheated third is there to round the edges and soften the mid-palate. Nine years is a genuine age statement too, not a rushed young pour dressed up in a bond label.
Who makes it: Heaven Hill in brief
Heaven Hill was founded by the Shapira family in Bardstown in 1935 and is still family owned, which makes it the largest independent family-owned distillery in the US. It sits behind Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Old Fitzgerald, Henry McKenna and Parker’s Heritage Collection, and holds more than two million barrels maturing across its Kentucky warehouses.
It is also the biggest name in Bottled-in-Bond specifically, which is exactly why this release carries weight. Double Mash slots in next to the standard Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond, the Heritage Collection and the Grain to Glass range. When the distillery that has done more Bottled-in-Bond than anyone says it has found a new way to use the designation, it is worth a second look.
Price and availability
Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Double Mash arrives in August 2026 at a suggested retail price of $49.99 for a 750ml bottle, in limited quantities nationwide across the US. There is no confirmed international distribution at launch. European and UK buyers will most likely need to go through specialist importers or US-forwarding retailers, and given the limited run and the $49.99 sticker, expect secondary prices to climb quickly if the bottle catches on. We will update this section if official export details appear.
Is it worth watching?
At $49.99 for a nine-year-old, 100-proof Bottled-in-Bond bourbon, this is priced like an everyday pour rather than a collector piece, which is the interesting part. Heaven Hill could have made this a limited Heritage-tier drop at four times the money. Instead it is a genuinely novel idea at a price most people can actually justify.
If you like Heaven Hill’s house bourbon character and you are curious what a wheated third does to the texture, this is an easy yes at that price. If you are chasing rarity or cask-strength intensity, this 100-proof, widely aimed release is not built for you. For anyone who finds the mechanics of American whiskey genuinely interesting, though, Double Mash is the most quietly clever bourbon announcement of the year so far.
Frequently asked questions
What is Heaven Hill Bottled-in-Bond Double Mash? It is a nine-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon from Heaven Hill Distillery, released July 2026. It is the first Bottled-in-Bond bourbon to combine two mashbills in one bottle: two-thirds traditional bourbon and one-third wheated bourbon, both aged nine years and bottled at 100 proof.
What is the mashbill of Heaven Hill Double Mash? It blends two recipes. The traditional portion is 78% corn, 10% rye and 12% malted barley, making up two-thirds of the whiskey. The wheated portion is 68% corn, 20% wheat and 12% malted barley, making up the remaining third. Both were aged nine years before blending.
How much does Heaven Hill Double Mash cost? The suggested retail price is $49.99 for a 750ml bottle in the US. It is released in limited quantities, so actual shelf and secondary prices may run higher if demand outstrips supply after the August 2026 launch.
Where can I buy Heaven Hill Double Mash? It goes on sale from August 2026 in limited quantities at US retailers nationwide. No official international distribution has been confirmed. Buyers in the UK, Europe and elsewhere will likely need specialist importers or US-forwarding retailers to get a bottle.
What does Bottled-in-Bond mean? Bottled-in-Bond is a US legal standard from the 1897 Bonded Act. The whiskey must come from one distillation season, one distiller and one distillery, be aged at least four years in a federally bonded warehouse, and be bottled at exactly 100 proof (50% ABV). It is a strict guarantee of origin and strength.
Is Heaven Hill Double Mash a wheated bourbon? Not entirely. Only one-third of the blend is wheated bourbon; the other two-thirds is a traditional rye-flavoured bourbon mashbill. Because wheated bourbon has no separate legal classification in the US, Heaven Hill could combine both and still label the result Bottled-in-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon.
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