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Most bourbon consumers will inevitably see and buy a bottle of Mellow Corn sometime in their journey to explore as many whiskies as possible. The bottle is impossible to miss on the shelf and the price makes it just as impossible to pass up.
I won’t sit here and waste your time by telling you it’s better than what it is – that’s what the subreddit r/MellowCorn is for – but I will say that I’ve always wondered if Mellow Corn could be turned into something more. How much more? Like if it was aged for, say, 20 years. Thanks to Heaven Hill’s Heritage Collection, we don’t have to wonder anymore.
Ultra-Aged Mellow Corn sees the light of day thanks to Bernie Lubbers
By my count, Heaven Hill has almost 70 warehouses aging barrels of bourbon, rye whiskey, wheat whiskey, corn whiskey and even brandy. With so much inventory, it’s likely that there are some fairly strange experiments that are in the works – and most will never see the light of day. Thankfully, enthusiasts have an advocate inside of the Heaven Hill decision-making room in the form of Bernie Lubbers.

Bernie recounts a particular story on Episode 308 of Bourbon Pursuit where he’s sitting on the annual panel to select the next Parker’s Heritage Collection whiskey. He continues to push hard for the committee to consider a stash of ultra-aged corn whiskey that is much too old to make into a Mellow Corn batch. Each year, they pass it over and it looks like those barrels will never see a commercial release.
Then Heaven Hill launches the Heritage Collection in 2022. The program is designed specifically for limited time offerings that showcase rare and ultra-aged whiskies. I’ve heard the program will alternate the type of whiskey based on the year. Even-numbered years will be bourbons and odd-numbered years will be a whiskey other than bourbon.
These two-decade-old corn whiskey barrels finally found a home in the new collection. For 2023, they batched up 110 barrels and bottled them at 115 proof. These barrels had been aging in the brick warehouses (Warehouse 1K to be exact) on the New Bernheim Campus since the fall of 2002.

This would be the beginning of an era where barrels aged in these brick warehouses would see use in all sorts of special releases – like William Heaven Hill 17 Year and the following year’s Heaven Hill Heritage Collection 18 Year Bourbon.
Breaking down Heaven Hill’s Corn Whiskey
According to the laws governing corn whiskey, a few rules stand out. The mash must contain at least 80% corn. It also must be either unaged or aged in previously-used cooperage. Heaven Hill elects to use previously-used cooperage (barrels) to age theirs in. The recipe also differs slightly from their standard 78/10/12 recipe used for their bourbon – it’s 80/8/12 instead.
The used cooperage ensures that the color that the whiskey comes out as when its done maturing will always be lighter than their bourbon. It also won’t have nearly as much barrel influence (i.e. oak tannins) into the liquid. But excessive time and heat may create a liquid totally unlike the young Mellow Corn I’ve talked about earlier. Just how different? Let’s find out. I sampled this neat in a glencairn.
Tasting Notes
Nose: For being a corn whiskey with only a little bit of rye in the mash bill, I’m surprised to find so many rye-forward notes. I’m talking about licorice and Christmas fruitcake notes with stone fruits and lots of citrus. The spicy scent of cinnamon and clove are also present. The candy corn note I get from regular Mellow Corn has transformed into a beautiful butterscotch scent. The used oak doesn’t add a heavy layer of tannins, but it does still give off some decent varnish notes. The vanilla note on the nose is present, but quite weak.
Palate: I’m impressed with how old this tastes. Of course it’s 20 years old, but since it was aged in a used barrel I figured it wouldn’t show it off in such a way – especially considering how light it is in color. But there is a certain varnish or lacquer taste that gives a thin, slick tannic taste to each sip. I also find this to be quite spicy with loads of cinnamon, red pepper flakes and black peppercorns.
There is a funk that reminds me of – and this is crazy – a whiskey aged in a 2nd-fill Sherry cask. The funkiness and fruit of the Sherry is present, but not as strong as the fresh casks they typically use. Other fruits can be picked up here and there – like a bit of cherry or a candied orange peel. I am also surprised to still find some strong rye notes with each sip. I wonder if the fact this was aged in a secondary barrel meant that the herbal/spicy nature of the distillate didn’t get covered up with oak. As for the corn notes that Mellow Corn has, they have almost ceased to exist here. I can still find some soft vanilla notes, though.
Finish: The finish doesn’t see the spice and heat of this whiskey subside. Everything is kind of laid bare in front of you at the end of the sip. There’s a lot of spice and high-rye character to observe. There is also a decent amount of fruit. Some sweetness is lingering, but it’s not as obvious. I guess it really is the wood sugars that are responsible for more sweetness development in a bourbon.
Score: 8.3/10
As I was drinking this, I outlined in my notes that the flavors in this bottle are intense and delicious and drink like a dusty whiskey. The most surprising part that is how much the small amount of rye contributed to the overall profile. I could have been fooled into thinking this was some 1960s or 70s version of a Pennsylvania Pure Rye. The “corny” nature I find in Mellow Corn has mostly disappeared. Crazy, huh?

Final Thoughts
As far as recommendations go, I’d say that there certainly isn’t much like this bottle on the market. Maybe that’s because nobody else in the US has tried to age corn whiskey that long (well, Barrell Craft Spirits did a 25-Year-Old Corn Whiskey once). So the rarity factor is pretty high on the decision making matrix.
I would normally say that makes a bottle like this a gimmick, but there is genuinely something fascinating and captivating about drinking it. There’s nothing else like it on the market. Does that mean it’s for everyone? No. But for me, I can see the worth in such a unique spirit and I hope that the enthusiasts that bought one would feel the same way too.
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Bruce
Sunday 27th of October 2024
You should check out the Hardin’s Creek Golden Origins corn whiskey. I’m working on my 3rd bottle out of 4.