Review #902 - Heaven Hill 90th Anniversary Bourbon

Celebrating 90 years - that's the reason for this special release from Heaven Hill, a bourbon which landed in late 2025. Heaven Hill was established in 1935 as 'Old Heavenhill Springs' and has been a family-owned operation for essentially that entire time.

This Kentucky bourbon is made using Heaven Hill's usual ryed bourbon mashbill: 78% corn, 10% rye, and 12% malted barley. They aged it for a total of 9 years and 8 months; distillation took place in December 2015, so we're guessing it was bottled around August 2025. They chose a bottling strength of 53.5% ABV (107 proof), which is a nod to the distillery's historic barrel entry proof for bourbon.

They do actually give us a little more detail as well: 70% of this bourbon underwent their typical maturation, while the other 30% of the bourbon (using the same mashbill) was aged in more heavily charred barrels. A total of 204 barrels were selected for this release, and they were aged in rickhouses G and H on Heaven Hill's campus.

Heaven Hill 90th Anniversary Bourbon

USA - Bourbon

MSRP: USD 125 (2025)

Available Price: USD 195 (2026, based on recent auction results)

Age Statement: 9 Years

Strength: 53.5% ABV

Details: Distilled December 13, 2015; bottled 2025; rickhouses G and H, floors 4 and 6

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 1 time; bottle at 80% fill level at time of review. Tasted in a nosing glass, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Oaky and leathery, maybe a little more than we would expect for the age, which hints at those alligator char barrels. Orange peel, clove, peppery tobacco, and vanilla build, and the tobacco becomes sweeter later; the oak takes on a lighter complexion later, too.

Palate: The mouthfeel is medium-thick - good texture. Oaky, leathery, and then some reddish fruit like tart cherry, grape popsicle, and strawberry. Nice age, but also a tart side; that cherry note grows deeper and darker later.

Finish: Barbecued oak - intense smoky wood notes, along with some spicy tannins. Tart fruit like orange, maybe even a stone fruit like plum linger, and then we get baking notes: peppery spice, nutmeg, and some vanilla. It's a medium-long finish.

Final Note: This has some of that old school Heaven Hill character that's harder to find these days, but we really enjoy it: red fruits paired with big, intense, charred oak notes. While it does have some nice age on it, it hasn't yet developed those old, sweet oak notes that really begin to show with 12+ or 15+ years of aging.

That probably wasn't the aim here considering the age that they chose to bottle this at, but it is a differentiator between this bottle and some other premium whiskies with $100+ price points. This is a very good bourbon overall, though, the most we've like a Heaven Hill with a single digit age statement in a while.

As for value, we think it's fine if you get this for the suggested retail price of about $125. At the current secondary market going rate of $190 to $200, we think it's a mediocre buy; there are better bottles at the $200 price point.

Our Rating: 7.8 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating (MSRP): 6.24

Value Rating (Available Price): 5.38

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.