When I learned Parker Beam was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, I found myself wishing I knew him better. Then, I realized I knew Parker quite well—through his whiskey.

Parker, the long-time master distiller for Heaven Hill Distilleries, makes whiskey for the everyday drinker. His Evan Williams bourbon remains a great value bourbon that does quite well in blind tastings up against others in the $13 price point. His Elijah Craig 12-year-old delivers richness, sweetness and spice all in one inexpensive bottle, and I can’t keep it stocked in my house because it goes down so smoothly I’ll polish off a bottle in a week. But, Parker’s greatest gift to us whiskey drinkers is his amazing palate, likely genetic—He’s a Beam after all!—that finds the best barrels aging whiskey to create Parker’s Heritage Collection.

Every year, Heaven Hill releases a new whiskey from the collection. My favorite, and only bottle left, is the 2012 Parker’s Heritage Collection, a brilliant blend of rye-based and wheat-based mashbills. Bottled at 131.6 proof and selling for $80, the whiskey tap dances on the tongue with the lush sweet notes we expect in the wheated bourbons and tangos the spice through a long finish. It’s a tale of two bourbons, and we have Parker’s palate to thank.

But, the man is much more than a whiskey maker. The Bourbon Hall of Famer and grand-nephew of Jim Beam plans to give back to the ALS community.

Heaven Hill and Parker Beam will give $20 for every 2013 Parker’s Heritage Collection bottle sold to the ALS Association, which established the Parker Beam’s Promise of Hope Fund. Heaven Hill said this should raise at least $250,000.

“Both my wife Linda and myself have become very involved in the ALS Association and in raising awareness of the disease since I was diagnosed with it,” said Parker Beam in a press release. “We are pleased to be helping in any way we can and are most appreciative to Heaven Hill and the Shapira family for helping with such a generous financial contribution from the sale of the upcoming edition of Parker’s Heritage Collection.  We hope that others will become more aware of ALS and will find additional ways to help us in our fight.”

Yeah, count me in, Mr. Beam. I’ve always been in your corner.