Larceny Bourbon

Larceny is a wheated bourbon brand owned by Heaven Hill, built as the heir to the Old Fitzgerald franchise of wheated whiskeys. It uses wheat rather than rye as its secondary grain, a choice that shapes a softer, sweeter profile than the rye-forward bourbons that dominate Kentucky.

History & Heritage

Larceny traces its lineage to John E. Fitzgerald and the Old Fitzgerald brand, a wheated bourbon franchise Heaven Hill acquired in 1999. The name draws on the Fitzgerald story: a U.S. Treasury agent who, in the late 1800s, used his keys to sample the best barrels of aging whiskey for himself. Heaven Hill introduced Larceny Kentucky Straight Bourbon in September 2012, launching first into a limited set of 12 markets before expanding nationally. It was positioned to continue the Old Fitzgerald wheated tradition under a new label, and it now anchors a small family of wheated releases alongside Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond.

The Whiskey

Larceny is made from a mashbill of 68% corn, 20% wheat, and 12% malted barley, the same recipe used for Old Fitzgerald, with wheat standing in for the rye used in most bourbons. The flagship expression, Larceny Small Batch Bourbon, is assembled from small batches of barrels and bottled at 92 proof, carrying a roughly six-year age profile drawn from the upper rickhouse floors where temperature swings are most pronounced. Its character runs toward toffee, caramel, honey, and buttery, bread-like notes, with a gently sweet finish that reflects the higher wheat content. The brand also produces Larceny Barrel Proof, a cask-strength line released in batches in January, May, and September, bottled uncut and without chill filtration at full barrel strength from whiskey aged six to eight years. Batch strengths vary by release, and the line was named Whisky Advocate's Whisky of the Year for 2020.

Where It Is Made

Larceny is produced at Heaven Hill's Bernheim Distillery in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, where all of Heaven Hill's wheated bourbons are distilled. Bernheim has been the cornerstone of Heaven Hill's distilling operations since 1999. The whiskey is then aged, bottled, and shipped from Heaven Hill's operations in Bardstown, Kentucky. The producing company is Heaven Hill (as of July 2026), a family-owned spirits company that has held the Old Fitzgerald wheated lineage since 1999 and operates Bernheim as its distillery.

The Sentinel Room carries Larceny Small Batch Bourbon in its Reserve Whiskey Library.