Tasting Tuesday: The Great Wheated Bourbon Blind—Round One

I like wheated bourbon.

Apparently, I like it enough to own 15 different bottles and decide that tasting all of them blind sounded like a perfectly reasonable way to spend my time.

Originally, I thought there were only 14. Then, after tasting the first 10, I remembered the bottle of Hard Truth Wheated Bottled-in-Bond sitting on the shelf immediately to my left.

Not buried behind six other bottles. Not hidden in a box. It was in the center of the shelf, right at the front.

In my defense, once a whiskey collection reaches a certain size, bottles apparently develop camouflage.

So the field grew to 15.

Trying to cram all 15 into one post would have been overwhelming, both for me and for anyone attempting to read it. Instead, I divided the results into three groups of five. The top two bottles from each group will advance to a six-bottle championship blind.

All 15 were tasted blind before I revealed a single identity. That was important. Had I revealed each group immediately, I would have known which bottles remained in the later rounds. By completing the entire opening blind first, I gave every whiskey the same chance to surprise me.

And there were plenty of surprises.

Here is Round One.

Sample A

Color: Light to mid-copper.

Nose: Dried fruit, caramel, brown sugar, oak and nutmeg.

Palate: Brown sugar, caramel, cinnamon and raisins.

Mouthfeel: Lightly viscous.

Finish: Better than average, with brown sugar and cinnamon lingering.

Score: 82.79

Sample A was the most complete whiskey in the group. The dried fruit and raisin notes gave it more depth than most of the other pours, and the lightly viscous texture helped carry the flavors through the finish.

It never overwhelmed me, but it remained balanced from beginning to end.

Sample B

Color: Deep amber.

Nose: Toasted oak, brown sugar, nutmeg and caramel.

Palate: Brown sugar and cinnamon arrive immediately. The whiskey is beautifully sweet, with toffee and cherries joining them.

Mouthfeel: Lightly viscous.

Finish: Very nice, with tart cherries, cinnamon and toffee.

Score: 82.13

Sample B was the fruitiest whiskey in the group, though it expressed that fruit differently from Sample A. Instead of raisins and dried fruit, B brought tart cherries that worked especially well with the cinnamon and toffee.

It had a rich sweetness without becoming one-dimensional, and the finish gave it enough staying power to remain in contention.

Sample C

Color: Deep amber.

Nose: A little oak funk appears initially. The aromas are savory but inviting, with caramel, vanilla and light oak.

Palate: Honey sweetness arrives immediately, followed by vanilla, caramel and light cinnamon.

Mouthfeel: Thin, but not awful.

Finish: A little short, though pleasant. Honey, cinnamon and vanilla last the longest.

Score: 79.53

Sample C looked as if it might be one of the heavier hitters. The deep amber color certainly suggested something rich and substantial.

The whiskey itself did not quite live up to that visual promise.

The honey sweetness was enjoyable, and nothing about the pour was especially unpleasant. It simply lacked the depth, texture and finish needed to compete with the leaders.

Sample D

Color: Light copper.

Nose: Slightly floral, with some proof getting in the way. Nutmeg, caramel and vanilla eventually emerge.

Palate: The proof arrives first, followed by brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and caramel.

Mouthfeel: Just shy of creamy.

Finish: Mid-level and tasty, with brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.

Score: 79.75

Sample D had plenty of flavor, and its mouthfeel was one of its stronger qualities. But the alcohol interfered with both the nose and the opening of the palate.

Higher proof can amplify a whiskey’s best qualities. Here, it occasionally seemed to stand in front of them.

Once the proof settled, the brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla worked nicely together. Unfortunately, it took too much effort to reach them.

Sample E

Color: Deep amber.

Nose: Caramel, oak, nutmeg, brown sugar and vanilla.

Palate: Brown sugar, oak, vanilla, caramel and cinnamon.

Mouthfeel: Lightly creamy.

Finish: Quicker than expected, with cinnamon, vanilla and light oak.

Score: 80.29

Sample E may have been the most frustrating pour in the group.

The color, oak and creamy texture suggested that something bigger was coming. It had the pieces of a strong whiskey, but the finish disappeared before those pieces could fully come together.

It was good. I simply expected it to be better.

The Blind Rankings

Sample A finished first with a score of 82.79.

Sample B followed closely at 82.13.

Sample E placed third at 80.29, followed by Sample D at 79.75 and Sample C at 79.53.

A and B earned the two championship spots from this group. The other three were eliminated.

At that point, I knew only that the top two had given the most complete performances. I had no idea whether I had just advanced two established favorites, two obscure bottles or something in between.

It was time to look beneath the covers.

The Reveal

Sample A: Maker’s Mark Cask Strength

Sample B: Seelbach Wheated

Sample C: Bushwood Wheated Bourbon

Sample D: Larceny Barrel Proof

Sample E: Weller Antique 107

I did not expect that.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength advancing was hardly shocking. It is a dependable cask-strength wheater from one of the most recognizable names in the category.

Seelbach finishing second was a little more surprising, especially because it advanced over two bottles I would have expected to contend for the overall title.

Weller Antique 107 is practically a wheated-bourbon all-star. It has the reputation, proof and Buffalo Trace connection that keep people searching shelves and chasing store allocations.

Blind, it finished third in this group.

Then there was Larceny Barrel Proof.

This was not simply a random bottle I grabbed from a store. I poured it myself while visiting Heaven Hill. That gives it a personal connection, and I expected the whiskey inside to be one of the stronger entries in the entire field.

Instead, it finished fourth.

The proof showed itself immediately, but it did not carry enough richness or balance to overcome the alcohol. The label and memory attached to the bottle could not help it because I did not know what I was drinking.

That is the point of doing this blind.

Bushwood finished fifth, though the scores were close enough that it was hardly a disaster. It was sweet, pleasant and easy to drink. It simply lacked the weight of the two bottles that advanced.

Moving On

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength and Seelbach Wheated are headed to the six-bottle championship.

Weller Antique 107, Larceny Barrel Proof and Bushwood have been eliminated.

That sentence still looks strange.

Had I ranked the bottles before tasting them, Antique 107 and Larceny Barrel Proof would have been among the names I expected to see in the final. Instead, both were gone after the first reveal.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength proved dependable.

Seelbach Wheated earned its place with rich brown sugar, tart cherries, cinnamon and toffee.

And two favorites were left behind.

That was only the first round.

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