Fifteen wheated bourbons entered the blind.

Some had strong reputations. Some carried personal connections. Some were bottles I expected to contend before the first glass was poured. By the time the championship arrived, most of those assumptions had been eliminated.

Weller Antique 107 did not make the final. Neither did the Larceny Barrel Proof I poured myself at Heaven Hill. Green River Wheated Full Proof came painfully close, missing by just one-tenth of a point, but it was gone too.

The six bottles that remained were not necessarily the six I would have predicted.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength advanced from the first round alongside Seelbach Wheated. Maker’s Mark 46 and an Old Elk Wheated store pick survived the second. Hard Truth Wheated Bottled-in-Bond—the bottle I nearly forgot to include—made it through the third round with Ragged Branch Wheated, which somehow posted the highest preliminary score of all 15.

That last result still did not seem real.

Ragged Branch had beaten the entire field. Now it had to do it again.

The six finalists were poured blind, labeled A through F and tasted without any knowledge of which bottle was in each glass.

This time, there would be no advancement. There would only be a champion.

Sample A

Color: Light to mid-copper.

Nose: Light oak leads, followed by butterscotch, cinnamon and caramel.

Palate: Oak arrives first again, but brown sugar and cinnamon break through quickly, with vanilla and toffee following.

Mouthfeel: Lightly creamy.

Finish: A little quick. A touch of leather appears at the end, with light brown sugar and baking spice behind it.

Score: 81.70

Sample A was pleasant from beginning to end, but it never became as rich or complete as the other finalists.

The oak gave it structure, while the butterscotch, brown sugar and cinnamon kept it from becoming too dry. The problem was the finish. It disappeared more quickly than I wanted, and in a championship field, that mattered.

Sample B

Color: Solid copper.

Nose: Bready, with buttery caramel, vanilla, nutmeg and light honey.

Palate: The bread carries onto the palate, joined by brown sugar, cinnamon, toffee and vanilla.

Mouthfeel: Lightly creamy.

Finish: Spicy and moderate in length. The bread fades as cinnamon and brown sugar push through.

Score: 82.35

That bready note was familiar.

It had helped one bottle stand apart in the preliminary round, and it showed up again here. The profile was still enjoyable, with enough caramel, honey and baking spice to keep the bread from dominating.

This was a good pour. It simply did not repeat the complete performance that had carried it to the highest preliminary score.

Sample C

Color: Mid-copper.

Nose: Light oak, honey, vanilla, butterscotch and nutmeg.

Palate: Rich and sweet, with brown sugar, cinnamon, light oak and toffee.

Mouthfeel: Moderately viscous.

Finish: Decent, though not especially long. Butterscotch, baking spice and light oak remain.

Score: 82.57

Sample C delivered one of the most traditionally satisfying wheated-bourbon profiles in the final.

It was rich, sweet and balanced, with enough oak to keep the brown sugar and butterscotch from becoming heavy. The viscosity also helped give the pour more weight.

Once again, the finish kept a strong bourbon from moving higher.

Sample D

Color: Solid copper.

Nose: Proof arrives first, followed by buttery toffee, light oak and nutmeg.

Palate: Spicy cinnamon, brown sugar, buttery toffee, light oak and a hint of tart cherry.

Mouthfeel: Just shy of creamy.

Finish: Tasty but too quick. Tart cherry, light cinnamon and caramel linger briefly.

Score: 82.89

Sample D had one of the strongest palates in the final.

The cinnamon, brown sugar and buttery toffee were rich without becoming cloying, and the tart cherry added another layer. The proof showed itself early, but the whiskey recovered well.

The short finish prevented it from making a stronger push for first place, but Sample D still delivered enough to finish near the top.

Sample E

Color: Mid-copper.

Nose: A butterscotch bomb immediately, with brown sugar, light oak and nutmeg behind it.

Palate: Cinnamon and butterscotch lead deliciously, with mild oak, caramel, brown sugar and tart cherry all playing supporting roles.

Mouthfeel: Lightly creamy.

Finish: Nicely lingering. Butterscotch, baking spice and caramel stay with the pour.

Score: 84.09

Sample E separated itself from the field.

The butterscotch was immediate and unmistakable, but the whiskey had enough cinnamon, oak, caramel, brown sugar and tart cherry to keep it from becoming one-dimensional.

More importantly, the finish lingered.

Several strong bourbons throughout this blind had fallen short because they disappeared too quickly. Sample E did not.

It was the most complete pour in the championship.

Sample F

Color: Light copper.

Nose: Oak and baking spice arrive first, with brown sugar, toffee and vanilla behind them.

Palate: Sweet brown sugar, cinnamon and butterscotch, with tart cherry and light oak in reserve.

Mouthfeel: Lightly creamy.

Finish: Perhaps the best of the group. Cherries, toffee and cinnamon lead.

Score: 82.79

Sample F may have had the strongest finish in the championship.

The tart cherry, toffee and cinnamon remained long after the sip, and the palate carried enough sweetness and spice to compete with every bottle in the flight.

It did not quite have the richness of Sample E, but it finished a very respectable third.

The Championship Rankings

Sample E won the final with a score of 84.09.

Sample D finished second at 82.89, followed closely by Sample F at 82.79. Sample C scored 82.57, Sample B finished at 82.35 and Sample A closed the field at 81.70.

The scores were close from second through sixth. The winner was not.

Sample E had the richest nose, the most complete palate and one of the best finishes in the championship. It was the only bottle that clearly separated itself from the rest.

It was time for the final reveal.

The Reveal

Sample A: Maker’s Mark 46

Sample B: Ragged Branch Wheated

Sample C: Maker’s Mark Cask Strength

Sample D: Hard Truth Wheated Bottled-in-Bond

Sample E: Old Elk Wheated store pick

Sample F: Seelbach Wheated

The Old Elk store pick had won. That was not the result I expected before the blind began.

Honestly, very little about this competition went the way I expected.

Old Elk did not enter the tournament carrying the loudest reputation. It was not the bottle I would have predicted to beat Weller Antique 107, Larceny Barrel Proof or Green River Wheated Full Proof. But when the labels disappeared, it gave me the most complete whiskey in the final.

The nose was a butterscotch bomb. The palate added cinnamon, oak, caramel, brown sugar and tart cherry. The mouthfeel supported the flavors, and the finish lasted long enough to make the entire experience feel complete.

Old Elk Wheated was the best wheated bourbon in this blind.

Hard Truth finished second, which may be almost as surprising. This was the bottle I nearly forgot to include, despite the fact that it was sitting directly in front of me on the shelf. Had I not looked to my left, it would have missed the entire competition. Instead, it finished second in the preliminary round and second again in the championship.

That is not a fluke. Hard Truth proved itself twice.

Seelbach Wheated finished third. Its tart cherry, toffee and cinnamon profile returned in the final, and its finish may have been the best of the six. It was one of the more consistent bottles in the competition and fully earned its place near the top.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength finished fourth, which also matched the general strength of its preliminary performance. It never dominated, but it never disappeared either. It remained rich, balanced and dependable in both rounds.

Then came Ragged Branch.

The biggest surprise of the preliminary blind did not win the championship.

Ragged Branch entered the final after posting the highest opening score of all 15 bottles. Its bready profile, thick mouthfeel and long finish had carried it past everything else in the first round. In the championship, it was still good. It simply did not repeat the same level of performance.

That is why the final mattered.

One tasting can produce a surprise. A championship retaste helps determine whether the bottle can do it again against the strongest competition.

Ragged Branch finished fifth, but its preliminary win remains one of the best stories of the entire blind.

Maker’s Mark 46 finished sixth. That sounds disappointing until price enters the conversation.

Maker’s 46 reached the top six out of 15 bottles while costing around $30—and sometimes less. It beat Weller Antique 107, Larceny Barrel Proof, Green River Wheated Full Proof, Old Fitzgerald 7-Year Bottled-in-Bond and several store picks before finishing last in a championship filled with much more expensive bottles.

That makes Maker’s Mark 46 the Bourbon Cheapskate champion.

It was not the best whiskey in the final. But it may be the easiest bottle in the entire field to recommend.

What the Blind Changed

Before this began, I thought I knew which bottles would contend.

Larceny Barrel Proof had the proof, the reputation and the personal connection of being a bottle I poured myself at Heaven Hill. Weller Antique 107 is one of the most recognizable wheated bourbons in the category. Green River Wheated Full Proof has consistently impressed me.

None reached the final.

Green River came closest, missing by one-tenth of a point. Antique 107 and Larceny Barrel Proof were never in serious championship position.

That does not make them bad bourbons.

It means the labels carried more confidence into the competition than the whiskey ultimately earned in the glass.

Meanwhile, Ragged Branch won the preliminary blind. Hard Truth nearly missed the tournament entirely and finished second. Maker’s Mark 46 became the value champion. And an Old Elk store pick took the title.

That is what makes a blind worth doing. It does not always confirm what we think we know. Sometimes it rearranges the shelf.

The Final Verdict

Old Elk Wheated store pick is the champion of the Great Wheated Bourbon Blind.

Hard Truth Wheated Bottled-in-Bond finished second, with Seelbach Wheated taking third.

Maker’s Mark 46 earned the Bourbon Cheapskate title by reaching the championship at a price that makes the result almost absurd.

Ragged Branch delivered the biggest surprise by posting the highest preliminary score.

The biggest disappointment was not one bottle. It was watching all three of the bourbons I expected to contend—Larceny Barrel Proof, Weller Antique 107 and Green River Wheated Full Proof—miss the final.

Fifteen bottles entered. The labels disappeared.

And Old Elk won.

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Copyright © 2026 Doug DeBolt.