16th January, 2014 by Melita Kiely

Heaven Hill has launched its 19th annual release – a 2004 edition of Evan Williams Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey – in the US.

The latest vintage in the series has been matured in natural open-rick warehouses and has an abv of 43.3%.

Maintaining the tradition of the previous 18 vintages, each bottle of the 2004 edition has been marked with the exact date on which it was placed in oak and bottled, as well as the serial number of the single barrel from which it was drawn.

“As many Bourbon fans know, we try to achieve a particular taste or flavour profile with every year’s vintage of Evan Williams Single Barrel and then we select barrels that fit with that profile,” Parker Beam, master distiller, said.

“For this 2004 vintage we went with a character that is maybe a bit more assertive and bold than in years past, as consumer tastes seem to be leaning more toward robust whiskeys.

“We therefore have selected barrels that sit a bit higher up in the warehouses where the temperature gradients over the nine or 10 years of ageing were a bit more extreme.”

The 2004 edition of Evan Williams Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey has an RRP of $26.99 for a 750ml bottle and is available at selected retailers and on-premise operators nationwide.

In September 2013, Heaven Hill revealed the latest instalment of Parker’s Heritage Collection which raised money for the Parker Beam Promise of Hope fund.