Heaven Hill Just Dropped a Barrel-Proof Version of Its Underrated Wheated Bourbon

Jonah Flicker

February 19, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.·3 min read

We just covered the news about Heaven Hill’s latest Heritage Collection release, a 19-year-old wheat whiskey that might be destined for unicorn status (it’s superb). But the Kentucky distillery’s bread and butter is more readily available and less expensive whiskeys, including a few that are released in batches throughout the year—like the often overlooked but incredibly good Larceny Barrel Proof bourbon.

Larceny is a wheated bourbon, which means that wheat is used instead of rye as the secondary flavoring grain in the mashbill, much like whiskeys from Maker’s Mark, Garrison Brothers, and the most famous name of all, Pappy Van Winkle. At Heaven Hill, that recipe is 68 percent corn, 20 percent wheat, and 12 percent malted barley—which is a higher percentage of wheat than most other wheated bourbons. This mashbill is known at Heaven Hill as “O.F.D.,” or Old Fitzgerald Distillate, a name you might recognize from the distillery’s biannual wheated bourbon Old Fitzgerald. John E. Fitzgerald was a U.S. Treasury agent and whiskey lover, according to the distillery, and the original Old Fitzgerald was a wheated bourbon that eventually made its way to Julian P. “Pappy” Van Winkle, who started producing it as the Stitzel-Weller Distillery.

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Regular Larceny is bottled at 92 proof, a welcome boost from the minimum 80 proof that whiskey must be bottled at by law. While there is no age statement on this bourbon, Heaven Hill describes it as having a “six-year-old taste profile,” which is more of a general note than an actual spec. Larceny Barrel Proof, on the other hand, varies in strength depending on the batch, it’s matured for six to eight years, and it’s bottled without chill filtration to preserve flavor. Like Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, this whiskey is released three times a year in January, May, and September (there is usually some delay as far as bottle availability, which is why we are covering this release in mid-February).

A125 (the first batch released in January of 2025) comes in at 125 proof, a very civilized strength for a barrel-proof bourbon considering that some approach hazmat levels around 140 proof where they start to become questionably enjoyable (a subjective take, of course). While it is really unreasonable to compare batches without trying them side by side, taken on its own this new release is a good bourbon. There is the expected heat on the first sip, of course, but the palate soon opens up with fruit and vanilla notes and continues from there with dark chocolate, espresso, burnt orange peel, and even a touch of spice despite the lack of rye in the recipe.

Larceny Barrel Proof A125 (SRP $65) is available now at liquor stores around the country, although at the moment it might be a bit hard to find. You can also find reasonably priced previous expressions on the secondary market and at websites like ReserveBar now.

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