Unity Set bourbon raises more than $10,000 for ALS research
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette
The Unity Set features bourbon hand-selected and blended by Parker Beam, Heaven Hill Distilleries master distiller emeritus. Click to enlage.
Monday, Oct. 14, 2013 — News that a two-bottle special edition of Kentucky Bourbon sold over the weekend for $10,115 prompts one to ask: “Which Kentucky distiller produced it?”
The answer? Nearly all of them.
The two-bottle, one-of-a-kind set was created by Heaven Hill Master Distiller Emeritus Parker Beam to raise money and awareness about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Beam was diagnosed with the disease earlier this year.
The pair of bottles are the “Master Distillers’ Unity Set” featuring the best bourbon from seven of Kentucky’s heritage Bourbon distilleries: Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Woodford Reserve, Four Roses, Jim Beam and Buffalo Trace. Parker Beam hand selected the bourbons and blended them for this unique bottling.
The special blend of 100-proof Bourbon was bottled in crystal decanters with silver stopper corks. According to Larry Kass, Heaven Hill’s director of communications, the Unity Set made one public appearance prior to the auction — as part of a special toast to Parker Beam at the WhiskyFest event in New York last weekend.
The set of 750 ml bottles sold for $10,115 Sunday during the annual Bonhams Whisky, Cognac & Rare Spirits auction, which featured a variety of spirits, including a variety of Kentucky Bourbons.
The Unity Set bottles were packaged in a satin-lined wooden display case with signatures of the master distillers from the participating distilleries. One bottle is to keep, the other one is to drink — if the buyer is so inclined. The unique bottling is not only collectible, it demonstrates the spirit of camaraderie among the brotherhood of Kentucky Bourbon master distillers.
“It shows the unity amongst the distillers here in Kentucky our tight-knit family, I mean no body messes with us and we all stand up for each other,” Fred Noe, master distiller at Jim Beam Brands told the Lexington Herald-Leader recently.
PARKER’S HERITAGE COLLECTION HAS ALS FOCUS. The Unity Set isn’t the only Kentucky Bourbon aimed at raising money for ALS research. This year’s limited-edition Parker’s Heritage Collection bourbon bottling bears the phrase “Promise of Hope” on the label. The distiller is donating $20 from the sale of each bottle for ALS research, with a goal of raise $250,000.
The Promise of Hope bottling is unique in the history of Parker’s Heritage bottlings because it is the first time the collection has offered a single barrel Bourbon.
The 7th Edition Parker’s Heritage Collection Promise of Hope is available on select retail shelves and at fine bars and restaurants nationwide at an average retail price of $90 for the 750ml bottle.
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