Wheaters Part 6: Pappy 15, Jefferson's 18, and Vintage 17 Bourbon Review

Wheaters Finale: The Best 3 Wheaters Under $100?

Including, in my opinion, the best wheater at any price I've had.

Welcome to the last installment of this series on wheated bourbons. I have found, in drinking the spiritual heirs to Stizel-Weller that there are some very good whiskies in this segment, and that price does not always equal quality. I have also found the market to be a bit crowded with a number of expressions that I don't have a lot of time for. This is because, in my now reasonably extensive experience, wheaters really only become impressive after fairly protracted aging, around 12 years. I find wheated bourbons younger than this to be good, easy-drinking spirits, but I can't say that they offer much to my palate beyond standard low-rye bourbons. I think it is a shame to drink in their youth such bourbons as these will become in their age. I'm sure I will enrage OWA and Maker's die hards, but de gustibus non est disputandum.

I have also decided to finish the series here, with these three, and leave critical reviews of the Old Rip and OWA for another time. I'm getting a bit of wheater fatigue, and you too may be hoping I will move on. So, tasted neat (as I just really can't enjoy water in my bourbon unless it starts at over 50%):

Vintage Bourbon 17*
47% ABV Bottled by Kentucky Bourbon Distillers, $64.99
This prosaically named and hideously packaged bourbon was likely distilled at the Bernheim while it was owned by United Distillers. At this time, UD had just closed the S-W plant and were producing Old Fitzgerald and Weller products there (the plant would later be sold to Heaven Hill and the Weller brand to Sazerac). Some of the bourbons in the Van Winkle line have a proportion of this distillate as well. As such, this stuff has a pretty good pedigree (unfortunately, it seems to have been discontinued and, like many non-distiller labels, it is impossible to confirm any of this).

Nose: When poured into the fancy snifter I decided on today it fills the room with buttered apples. It smells like pie is about to happen.The nose also has some well-tamed alcohol, brown sugar, and no hint of acetone or other organic compounds.

Palate: The mouthfeel is weighty and smooth. The initial attack brings caramel, more buttered apple, pastry dough and a higher than average level of sweetness.

Finish: moderate length, very warming and pleasant. Apples and pears continue for some time, and no bitterness or real burn is detected. This one really asks you to have another sip.

Overall this is a very well-done effort. If it has a failing, it is somewhat simple and sweeter than average. However, with it's intense and pleasant flavor profile and very nicely integrated oak, the apple pie and sweetness thing makes this an exceptional desert bourbon and cognac alternative. I just wish I had more.

Jefferson's Presidential Select, 18 Years Old KSBW
Batch #27, 47% ABV, Bottled by McLain and Kyne, $89.99

Like the JPS17 that I had and loved last year, this bourbon was distilled in 1991 at the Stitzel-Weller distillery before it closed. Unusual for an independent bottler to tell us where the bourbon comes from, but in a world where kidneys are sold to get a bottle of Pappy, the S-W name sells. M&K do have a 21 year JPS coming out, but it looks unlikely to be from S-W or even wheater. But on to this one:

Nose:Wood. Woody, woody wood. Sort of nice wood, though, like walking into an antique shop in New England. Some incense, some cherries in there somewhere, vanilla and maybe a hint of milk chocolate. Orange zest too? All of the latter are initially overpowered by the wood, but as the wood blows off, they come to the forefront.

Palate: Again woody. There initial sweetness with vanilla and caramel, as well as faint cherry and maple, but it then feels like it dries up and  falls into a hole: the midpalate is full of dried grass, dried wheat and pencil shavings. There is also some bitterness toward the end.

Finish: The finish is long, but that nagging, grassy note dominates. Also pencil wood, citrus and some faint spices.

Overall, I'm finding this a lot less pleasant than the 17, as well as the last glass I had in a bar.  I suppose batch variation is a partial culprit, but I really think they left this guy in the barrel way too long. As I mentioned in a previous post, this stuff really comes alive with a few drops of Stagg, and I found the same with the addition of a few drops of Pappy 15. In both cases it was totally salvaged and really enjoyable. But I think $90 is too much to ask for a bourbon that needs "correcting." It is probably still worth trying, just to get some S-W into you, if you've never been exposed, and also worth seeking out if you can find a better batch than this one.

Pappy Van Winkle's Family Reserve, 15 Years Old KSBW
53.5% ABV, Bottled by Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery, $99.99

Pappy. Just saying the name makes liquor store owners shudder. As the most sought-after bourbon in the world, it's popularity at this point is based mostly on the fact that you cannot buy it anywhere. It used to come out twice a year, with the 15 year around $50-60; it's now down to every fall for $100 in many places, and we see it on Craigslist and (illegally) on Ebay for hundreds more than that. It's become the holy grail of bourbon hipsterdom and a great illustration of the fact that nothing makes people want something more than to be told they can't have it.

The 15 year was initially introduced as a line extension to the  original, 20 year-old Pappy (a 23 was also introduced), which I find more refined but less pleasurable at its lower proof. My one tasting of the 23 is lost in the mists of time. The bottle I have in front of me is likely a mixture of bourbons from Bernheim (like the V17), S-W (like the JPS18) and Buffalo Trace. Eventually it will (like the current Old Rip) be a 100% BT product.

Nose: When poured, the room again fills with the buttered apple aroma as with the Vintage 17. The oak is also there, more like the JPS and with the same antique-store and incense note. Cherries are also present as are caramel and vanilla. It is easy to smell what each of the Bernheim and S-W bourbons bring to this; harder to say with the BT, but their products are relatively neutral and 'clean' overall so this may not be surprising. This is a much better balanced nose than the JPS and more complex and interesting than the V17.

Palate: The attack is more aggressive here, likely due to the higher proof. There is butter, a touch of acetone, vanilla, brown sugar, dulce de leche,apples and a hint of coffee. The sweetness is medium and the body is huge.

Finish: the finish echoes the palate and, by virtue of the 53.5%, goes on for days. It is very warming and satisfying, leaving apples as a final note. There are no off notes and when the finish finally fades, the mouth feels clean.

I'd like to be contrarian and say that the PVW is more hype than substance, but I could honestly drink this stuff for days. It is really the platonic wheated bourbon and I can think of no way to improve upon it. It was the best value in the whiskey world when it was $60, and it remains well worth the $100. Why is it so good? I have a few ideas:

• Vatting: in a market where single barrel automatically equals good, I think we can forget too easily the benefits of vatting.** Just as I found adding Stagg or Pappy to the JPS, using bourbons with slightly different profiles can often provide complexity and bolster weaknesses in a way that might not otherwise be possible. I think this is an approach that not used enough. As a caveat, though: I wish they would tell us when they did it and with what; there needs to be more transparency.
• Proof: a given barrel of bourbon has all the flavor it's ever going to have. Adding water doesn't just cut down the alcohol. PVW15 has an extra 6.5% on the other guys, which is more than enough to make a difference.
• Age and aging conditions: Given long enough in a barrel, I feel like all spirits tend toward "extra aged" in nose and taste. When done well, it's lovely, as in XO cognac, aged scotch, extra añejo tequila or Pappy 20, for that matter.  However, in the hot climate of Kentucky, it is easy to let a spirit age to far, resulting in the unpleasant woodiness we found in the JPS18. I think the Pappy 15 was dumped just as the barrels gave all they could, while preserving the qualities of the spirit that make it bourbon.

Conclusions
After all of these wheated bourbons, I will continue to buy Pappy 15, provided it doesn't reach much higher prices. I will also not turn down a Vintage 17 if I find it. I think I may well hoard a small amount of Weller 12, for when I'm in the mood for a wheater and it's not a special occaision, and I will also buy more of the Old Rip, which is supposed to be in better supply this fall. It'll be twice as expensive as OWA, but I think it's twice as good. I will probably not be buying any more Van Winkle 12 (lot B), any more OWA or WSR and will probably make my WLW decisions on a case-by-case basis. I am fortunate enough to have a hoard of Pappy and WLW that would see me through a medium-sized zombie apocalypse, so I think I will likely overall shift my money away from wheaters.

This leads me to a final thought. I love Pappy, and I really like most of the wheaters I've tasted. However, to my palate, only the PVW has held a candle to George Stagg, Van Winkle Rye, Sazerac 18, Hirsch 22, or special editions of Four Roses. I know I don't like wheaters as much as straight ryes, and I'm beginning to wonder about my feelings about them compared to high-rye bourbons... I guess that might be the next series to discuss.

If forced to rank-order and give scores to the wheaters I've had this year since  (with price as a consideration), I would rate them:

99/100 Pappy 15
94/100 Vintage 17, William Larue Weller
92/100 Weller 12
89/100 Van Winkle 12,
88/100 Jefferson's Presidential 18
79/100 Rebel Yell



*Note that older expressions of Vintage 17 were actually rye recipe bourbons
** I use Vatting, versus blending, as the latter connotes the blending of bourbon with inferior grain spirits as is "blended whiskey," aka bourbon flavored vodka.

Wheaters Part 5: William Larue Weller Review

Barrel-proof Wheater from the BTAC

So, I got a few heated responses both here and on Reddit to my suggestion that BTAC should simplify their wheater lineup. Let me clarify for a moment before I begin this review. I either very much like or totally love every bourbon from the last post. However, I think there is some redundancy and unless BT ramps up their production of wheated bourbon, I would rather make Sophie's choices than never be able to find what I want.

One of the bourbons whose role I found unclear was the Willam Larue Weller. Willy occupies one of the coveted spots in BT's Antique Collection, which has three extra aged whiskies: Sazerac 18, Eagle Rare 17 and George T. Stagg (NAS but usually around 17 years old). The collection also has 3 barrel proof offerings: Thomas Handy Sazerac, George T. Stagg (serving double duty here) and William Larue Weller. Why the 6 year old Handy is in the "antique" collection I am not sure. The Willy Larue is itself usually only 11-12 years old, so it's not exactly long in the tooth either. The reason that I found the WLW potentially redundant is that it appears to be Weller 12 at barrel proof: that's  18.3% more alcohol for 2.4 times the price, which seems poor QPR, unless you really like to drink your bourbon at it's full 126.6 proof (some do). The question really, is whether Willy can offer something more than Weller 12 at drinkable proof. The answer, of course, will depend on what proof you find drinkable. I don't like to drink barrel proof very often: the intensity of flavor is great but I find drinking responsible amounts to go too quickly, and I just can't imagine it's healthy. So here's some tasting:

Full Proof 126.6 proof 2010 release William Larue Weller

• Deep orange-amber color with a hint of cloudiness suggesting that it is unfiltered.
• The nose is unsurprisingly alcoholic and very woody. It has prominent acetone aroma and smells like it came from a high floor in the warehouse. The nose also reveals dry wheat, maple syrup, oranges and caramel. This is a very nice nose. Perhaps a bit woody, but it competes well with Pappy and Jeff 18.
• The palate entry is aggressive and I admit it's clearly too alcoholic to be comfortable, unless I'm trying to impress you with my drinking prowess. There is maple again, caramel, vanilla and cinnamon. I remember this being better when first opened (I thought it tasted like concentrated Pappy then, 3 months ago), but now it's hard to get past the alcohol.
• The finish is initially anesthetic from the alcohol, but this fades into a lasting, warm pleasant finish of dark fruit, caramel, vanilla and maple.

This is really great, but the alcohol is just too much; Maybe the 2012 will fare better.

Watered to 100 proof
Using a digital scale, I watered the Willy down to 100 proof with highly filtered water. After it settled down:

• The nose has improved. The woodiness has faded and there is more caramel, vanilla and fruit. Some of the acetone has faded as well, which is good because it was too much.
• This time around, the palate entry is not as shocking and traditional wheated bourbons are evident immeditately: white bread, pastries, butter, caramel, vanilla. There is more cinnamon here. The alcohol burn is still not the smoothest I've encountered, however.
• The finish is no longer numbing, but is otherwise nearly the same. The only detriment I can find is a slight bitterness (that I also find in the Lot B, to which I did not add water), but this is faint and hardly significant.

Overall I really like the 100 proof WLW; It could stand a bit of rounding out, however, as I still find it surprisingly harsh compared to the similarly aged, but higher proof Old Rip.

Watered to 90 proof
As a final test, I watered this down to Weller 12's 90 proof.
At this proof the nose suffers, if only by becoming less intense. The palate actually becomes sweeter and feels fuller bodied, but otherwise is just a less intense, but still nice, version of the 100. The finish again is similar, if milder.

By way of comparison, I brought out the Weller 12 to compare to the 90 proof WLW (see my prior post for a full review of the Weller 12).

•  The nose has more butter and caramel.
• The palate is rounder and seemingly heavier, but with more corn flavor and less complexity.
• The finish is smooth and without bitterness, but again simpler

Verdict
This is a very singular barrel-proof wheater. It is very complex and well-made but unfortuately a bit too much to take straight as the complexity and pleasing flavors are overwhelmed by alcohol (in a way that is not the case with Stagg, which I will drink straight). Watered to 100 proof it is, I think, my favorite expression of Weller and is significantly better than the Weller 12. Watering it down to 90 does it no favors. At 90, however, it is not identical to the Weller 12 however, and I can think of a few reasons:

• WLW is unchillfiltered, leaving a number of fatty acids and other flavorful compounds that are removed in Weller 12.
• I would bet money, based on the woodiness, that the WLW is from higher floors of the warehouse where more dramatic temperature shifts impart more oak compounds to the spirit.
• WLW is a limited barrel-selection, so the profile is likely chosen to be different

Overall, I like this and will continue to enjoy the bottles of these I have. I am still not sure that when I can get bourbons like Stagg that do barrel-proof better, and Pappy 15/107 that does wheater better, that I will buy much more of this. Maybe the 2012's I have will be better, but for now if I want to spend close to $100 (after taxes and the inevitable gouging) on a bottle of bourbon, I will have PVW or GTS.  If I want to drink a 12 year old wheater, I'll have Weller 12 for $25. For now, I have a not unlimited budget for this stuff and I will spend it as wisely as possible, which means no high-end whiskey that I don't absolutely love. If they were to age WLW a few more years, on the other hand, I think I might be able to get into some trouble.

Wheaters part 4: The Great Wheater Night

Wheater Night

It was ambitious

We might have gone a bit overboard with this one. My friend Greg and I finally got to have a whiskey night after a long interval. Reviews of the Pappy Van Winkle 15, Jefferson's Presidential Reserve 18, Vintage 17, William Larue Weller, Old Weller Antique and Old Rip Van Winkle will follow.

The point of this evening was to take a broad survey of high-end wheaterdom and  compare in a few cases  to more standard offerings to get a feel for the actual value added by the more expensive and harder to get bottles. We also tried or hand at a couple vattings (not so insane when you remember that PVW and lot B have often been vattings of different bourbons). It's really great to be able to try everything together to allow comparisons and really bring perspective. Here are our most notable thoughts:

Buffalo Trace

• Pappy 15 is an awesome, just incredible, perfect wheated bourbon. It roundly beat everything else here and we both agree we like it better than the Pappy 20 (which we did not open last night). I don't have a clear enough memory of the Pappy 23 from my one tasting, but I think I would always pick 3 15's over a 23. At $100 this is not inexpensive but may be the best bourbon currently made and certainly ranks among the best $100 whiskeys of any kind. The only thing I can say to temper this is that I'm not sure that the best wheater really beats the best straight ryes, but that is personal preference.

• Buffalo Trace makes too many wheaters. We think they should consider discontinuing Lot B. The best bottles of Weller 12 are as good, and less stellar examples are still well worth the $25. Lot B is too expensive and too hard to find. If we got rid of it, Weller 12 could be more available. 

• Along similar lines, we think that Old Weller Antique should go. Screaming OWA fans hear me out: OWA is a very nice value bourbon, but if we had more access to either Weller 12, or ORVW 10/107 (which these OWA barrels grow up to be) I think we could live without the OWA. We need to stop tapping these barrels in the flower of their youth and wait until they are the far superior 10-12 year-old versions. I guess we could keep the WSR as an incredible value alternative to Maker's.

• WLW can also go: obviously a well-selected barrel-proof Weller 12, we could stop fooling around with this and make more W12 available. While we are at it, why not put the Weller 12 in a nicer bottle at 100 proof, charge a touch more and split the difference.

• Because of all of the above, our dream lineup BT wheaters would be a pared-down roster of WSR, ORVW 10/107, Weller 12/100 and PVW15. This would maximize all that is good and right about BT wheaters while perhaps helping availability. The PVW 20 and 23 should obviously live on as limited editions.

Other Wheaters

• The Vintage 17 wheater was really, really nice. A KBD-bottled wheater made at Bernheim with KBD's usual flair for creative names. Too bad this stuff is no longer made.

• The JPS18 was not as good as the JPS17. The extra year seems to have done it no favors.

Vatting

• The 50:50 blend of OWA and W12 made popular on Straight Bourbon remains a great thing, though the nose is better than the palate. 

• A step-up version of the above with ORVW and W12 was incredible, and was the inspiration for our plea for W12/100.

DIY Hirsch 16- The best nose of any American Whiskey we have ever encountered!

• The best, and perhaps most heretical vatting was one I conceived during my only experience with Hirsch 16. I enjoyed it after some JPS 18 and at the time thought that they were similar but that the H16 brought much more enjoyable rye complexity to the midpalate as well as more of the acetone notes I enjoy in PVW and George T. Stagg. So we did the obvious: added GTS drop by drop to JPS18 until the grassiness faded from the midpalate and was replaced by all of the intense rye-bourbon notes we love about the Stagg. The nose on this stuff was staggering. I'm not going to compare it to the Hirsch, but I would encourage any of you whiskey nerd with both of these open to try it. As Greg put it, "Stagg might be the white truffle of the bourbon world - an expensive, exotic, wonderful flavoring ingredient that is best not consumed by itself."

Wheaters Part 3: Lot B, Weller 12 and VSOF Blinded Review

Battle of the 12 year-old Wheaters

The next in our series of wheated bourbon reviews will be a blinded tasting with three arms:

• Van Winkle Family Reserve Bourbon 12 years old (Lot B) 90.4 proof ($60)
• Old Fitzgerald 12 year ($33)
• W.L. Weller 12 year old bourbon 90 proof ($24)

I think 12 years old is an awkward time. All the girls had braces or suspiciously older boyfriends, and all us guys had unreliable voices, inexplicable hairs and periodic inabilities to rise from our seats when class ended. The main task of adolescence, if we are to believe the influential psychiatrist Erik Erikson is to solve the problem of fidelity: the conflict between identity and role confusion. I think this is actually rather apt with American whiskies: is this a $20 bottle for enjoying without thinking too hard about, or a $100 special-occasion bottle that merits a bit of respect and contemplation? Like humans, there are charming and lovely 6-8 year-old bourbons, and some grow up to be fascinating and engaging adults, but the tweens are sometimes awkward. Oak where there was no oak before, funny feelings in the tannins etc. Anyway...

These bourbons, as discussed in a previous post , are 12 year-old, 90 proof,  wheated mashbill bourbons. The Weller 12 is produced at Buffalo Trace, as is the Van Winkle, though the Lot B may still have some proportion of Bernheim juice; it's hard to be sure. The VSOF is currently all Bernhiem, made by Heaven Hill. One major difference between these is availability. Welller 12 and VSOF are not extensively distributed, but usually a few minutes googling and maybe some negotiation with friends or relatives in shipping states can usually get you one. Lot B used to hang around longer than it does, but now evaporates just after the Pappy, usually as an expensive consolation prize. Which brings up the second point: when you can find it at list price, the Lot B is $60; the W12 is about $25. Is the Lot B better? Is it more than twice as good? Is it worth it for the je ne sais quoi that has the David Changs and Tony Bourdains constantly going apeshit? And what of the VSOF? a 12 year-old wheater for half the price of Van Winkle that no one ever seems to talk about?

The VSOF pictured is a sample bought from Master of Malt, whose "drinks by the dram" sample program is just incredible and in sore need of replication this side of the pond. Such samples are likely to crop up from time to time on this blog as it is all self-funded, and I can't/should not finish bottles fast enough to keep delivering content, and I don't hate money.

Tasted blind, using the same method as previously I found the following:

Bourbon 1:
Nose has butter (diacetyl), popcorn, cereal grains, vanilla (most like cake frosting), acetone and dry wood that reminds me of an attic. The palate is medium weight, dry, and hotter than I would like. I notice vanilla, caramel, grain, oranges (and their rinds) and there is a definite bitterness that detracts from an otherwise simple but pleasant palate. The finish starts well with grains and sweetness but trails into faint bitterness. I guessed (correctly) Lot B.

Bourbon 2:
This nose is very different. Menthol/eucalyptus is here in a small but unmistakably amount that I have found in a number of HH products. The nose also has notes of butterscotch, vanilla and (oddly) what I identify from a childhood memory as gummy worms. The palate is heavier and very smooth; the alcohol is very nicely tamed. Also on the palate, I get banana nut muffins, faint citrus and a touch of pine. The finish is simple and warming, leaving finally with mint. This was obviously not a BT wheater, so I guessed (correctly) VSOF.

Bourbon 3:
This nose was obviously similar to #1, but with more dried wheat and less acetone and butter. The nose also brought Crème brûlée. The palate, compared to #1 was sweeter and not as hot. It was lighter than #2. Overall it had a nice balance of caramel, vanilla and toffee notes and tasted "bright" overall. The finish was quick, but clean. I guessed Weller 12, mainly in the hope that I liked Mr. $25 better than Van Winkle.

The first thing I learned is that I am not insane and can discriminate between drinks. Second, despite the "gummy worm" issue and thrashing OF products get from many reviewers, I actually quite like the VSOF and will get more. As for the BT stablemates: I think I may be finished with Lot B. I will continue to buy it for gifts as many seem to love it (but would they love it without the magical Van Winkle name on the bottle?), but for myself I will either go with the 10/107 ($40 and awesome) or PVW15 ($100 and classic). The most stunning thing, which I suspected but am glad I confirmed blindly, was how much I enjoyed the Weller 12, a $25 bourbon, which I continue to think is one of the best values in the bourbon world.

To be clear: all of these were very nice drinks that I will happily enjoy in the future. Further, in a world where the buy-in for serious scotch and wine is rapidly nearing the 3 digits (and the latter only lasts for a night) I would even go so far as to say they are all bargains. However, I liked this Weller 12 better than the Lot B, and not just for the price.

Next, we will find out if spending even more money on a bottle of brown liquor gets you anything...

Wheaters Part 2: Van Winkle and Air, a Blinded Comparison

Most of what is written about whiskey and exposure to oxygen revolves around the rate at which it spoils when exposed to air. "Finish off the bottle quickly once it's below 1/4 full," we are told, because it goes downhill fast from there.

In my experience, this has certainly been true of peated scotch, which makes sense as peat phenols are "antioxidants;" the phenols more readily react with oxygen, sparing the rest of the compounds in the whiskey at their own expense. Over time exposed to air (and indeed even exposed to air in the maturing cask), peat flavors diminish. I have also found a reduction in complexity in older American whiskeys, like George T. Stagg and some older ryes. Here, I think it likely that many of the volatile compounds that contribute to pleasant aroma on first opening simply evaporate away with repeated air exposure.

However, I have not found the evolution of bourbons when exposed to oxygen to be universally negative. In particular, I have found that wheated bourbons tend to improve over time. When first opened, I have tended to find Weller 12, a previous Van Winkle Lot B and ORVW to be pleasant, but a bit simple. As the bottle journeys toward empty (usually in my case over several months) I find that I enjoy it more and more. I have even gone so far as to split new bottles of wheater into two 750ml bottles to accelerate the process. I can't help but think that this is due to oxidation reactions, but it could be many other factors (my palate, light, phases of the moon etc.)

To be empirical, I planned ahead this time. When I opened  my latest Lot B (AKA Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 year-old bourbon), I immediately stored 200ml in a sealed bottle with almost no airspace and happily drank the remainder for a little over 2 months until there was only about 200ml left. I then sadly put both bottles away in dark cupboard until today. They have been in the same environment with respect to temperature, light, humidity, etc. In order to be as circumspect as possible, I will be tasting these blind. I have poured 20g of bourbon each into identical Glencairn glasses, randomized after being placed on identical coasters, marked on the bottom. I will be tasting them sequentially, cleansing the palate with filtered water and 2 wheat crackers before each dram. No difference in color was noted, so no precautions against unblinding by color were taken.

Glass 1

Nose is medium intensity: Faint citrus and stronger wood and caramel and vanilla notes, along with dulce de leche and acetone/aldehydes, also a fainter nutty note and hint of pine. Pleasant, but not aggressive. The palate is unmistakably "wheater", with caramel, citrus, milk chocolate, integrated oak and very well-tamed alcohol. There is a slight bitterness here that distracts. The end-palate and finish start with a pleasant baked-goods flavor (almond croissants, white bread); this trails on for about a minute leaving a very faint herbal note along with a small amount, again, of bitterness.

Overall, this is pleasant, but I would not $60 for it again, nor do I even prefer it to Weller 12.

Glass 2

The nose here is more intense, with more prominent caramel and vanilla; these seem "sweeter" and more in balance with the acetone. I prefer this nose: it is a preview of the PVW 15 nose, in many respects. The palate is again sweeter with apparently bigger body and less burn. I'm here getting less complexity, but it is more pleasant. Mainly primary wheat/caramel/vanilla notes, but none of the previous bitterness. The finish is without burn and otherwise very similar.

Overall

I prefer Glass 2. It is a bit more "primary," but the complexity of Glass one was due partially to flavors I found unpleasant. Mainly, glass 1 was bitter, and glass 2 was not. The nose on Glass 2 was also notably more intense. Even after letting them both sit out for 15 minutes, the findings are the same. The differences are not night-and-day, but they are significant. I still don't think Glass 2 is worth $60, but it is closer. I prefer ORVW 10/107 and Weller 12 to both glasses.

So, which was which? Glass 2 was without air! Hm. I expected differently. Perhaps I have been mistaking complexity for pleasure, or maybe it is mood-dependent, but in any case I today prefer the fresh Lot B. I guess its time to finish these off!

Next: Wheaters Part 3: Battle of the 12 year-olds (Weller, Van Winkle, and Old Fitz)

Rebel Yell Review: Wheaters Part 1

Maybe it's because I'm a Yankee?

I admit it. I did not at first want to do this review. I wanted to drink fancy, hard to get bourbon and talk about how great it was. But on a diversion during an emergency run to buy some collar stays, I saw this bottle of Rebel Yell for $12.99. Six whole dollars less than a box of brass collar stays: I couldn't afford not to try this.

The name Rebel Yell refers to the battle cry of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. The whiskey itself was initially a Stizel-Weller brand, named by the then-mayor of Louisville, Charles Farnsley, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of S-W in 1949, and was distributed "especially for the deep south."

This was a product made using a wheated bourbon mashbill at S-W until the plant closed in 1992. It is currently made at Heaven Hill's new Bernheim distillery under contract for Luxco, who also market Ezra Brooks.

Made perhaps more famous by the Billy Idol song, which was itself inspired by the Rolling Stones' apparent enthusiasm for the bourbon, the S-W of that time is long gone; so how will this guy drink out? Apparently a group review by Sku, Jason Pyle and Tim Read did not go so well, but as I don't know those guys (though their blogs are great), I'm going to make up my own mind.  Besides, apart from all of the obvious controversy of Confederate themed things, this somehow connected with pleasant memories of Dukes of Hazard watched on the living room floor during my few childhood years in Georgia.

Still made using a wheated mashbill (like all the ex-S-W brands except Cabin Still), this bourbon is labeled as Straight Bourbon without an age statement (so at least 4 years) and bottled at an uninspiring 80 proof, the legal minimum for bourbon.

Appearance
In the glass, the RY pours a very light color, say apple juice or maybe something more personally biological. Maybe it's the heavy dilution, but this is likely also very close to the minimum 4 years.

Nose
This smells like wheated bourbon, from far away. I got my nose wet trying to actually smell it. I get faint caramel, a touch of pine resin, some nondescript graininess (wheat crackers, cooked pasta?), and prominent alcohol despite the low proof. Also here and there a wisp of bubblegum that is not at all welcome. (edit: I think this is actually a dance party fog machine smell).

Palate
Dear god this is young. Very hot on the palate for 80 proof. Sweet, but only a little of the vanilla and caramel flavors that usually accompany oak sweetness. Cereal grains and some bitterness. I'd be lying if I said I could find much else.

Finish
So far, the stuff has been boring, but inoffensive. The finish, while not too harsh from the alcohol burn point of view, is objectionable. The initial finish is sweet but then quickly turns bitter with a rancid corn-oil note. It leaves the mouth feeling unclean, greasy and, somehow, guilty.

I live in Pennsylvania. This is the only wheater under $20 I can buy locally. I wanted it to be better. I knew it wasn't going to be great, but it takes a special kind of bourbon to let me down at the $13 price point. But this. This is pointless.

This bourbon makes me sad for the world. I'm going to go lie down. I'll have a review of some Weller and Van Winkle products soon. I'm just sorry.

Children of the Wheat

S-W Bourbons and Their Descendants

The proportion of bourbon articles in the last few months mentioning either Maker's "new Coke" manuver or Pappy Van Winkle's elusive awesomeness makes me think a discussion of wheaters is in order.

A traditional bourbon is, at its heart, a spirit made from corn, with a touch of barley added for its enzymes to aid fermentation. Most bourbons have rye grain added to this mashbill to add flavor: tradionally around 15%, but up to 35% in the case of "high-rye" bourbons, such as Four Roses. "Wheaters" use wheat instead of rye for the flavoring grain (typically around 75:15:10). A story has been around for years that this began with Bill Samuels baking a bunch of bread of different recipes, not having had time to distill and age different mashbills, and liked the wheat recipe the best, thus the Maker's mashbill was born. This story is almost certainly pure bullshit, as the mashbill, and much other initial assistance was given to him by Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, Sr., in the 1950s.

The real history of wheated bourbon is an interesting and slightly incestuous one. The best illustration of this is to behold a bottle of my favorite wheater, Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 year-old bourbon. Depending on when the bottle was released it will be composed of up to 3 different wheated bourbons: those from Buffalo Trace (current producers of all new bourbon to be bottled as Van Winkle), The New Bernheim Distillery in Louisville and the (soon to reopen?) Stitzel-Weller distillery (read more about this on John Hansell's blog). The latter is the spiritual home of wheated bourbon.

Van Winkle and Weller 

Julian Sr., before he was "Pappy"

 Julian "Pappy" Van Winkle, Sr. got his start  as a salesman for W.L. Weller & Sons, a Kentucky liquor wholesaler in 1893, at the age of 18. in 1908, he and another salesman bought the company and, in 1910, they acquired the A. Ph. Stizel Distillery, that had been supplying the Weller firm with much of its whiskey. Old Rip Van Winkle was one of their few surviving brands produced prior to prohibition. After prohibition, the famous Stizel-Weller plant (DSP-KY-16) opened near Louisville, Kentucky in 1935 and produced a number of famous, wheated bourbon lines including Cabin Still, W.L. Weller, Old Fitzgerald, and Rebel Yell. The ORVW line was not reintroduced until 1972, after the sale of the distillery. After 1972, Pappy's son (briefly) and granson, Julian III, took over operations, selling the now-familiar Van Winkle line of wheated bourbons, mainly from S-W stock, though apparently stocks from Bernheim were also used at times. These currently include:

• Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve  23 years old (95.6 proof)
• Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve  20 years old (90.4 proof)
• Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve 15 years old (107 proof)
• Van Winkle Family Reserve Bourbon (Lot B) 12 years old (90.4 proof)
• Old Rip Van Winkle Handmade Bourbon 10 years old (107 proof)

In 2002, the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery Company entered a partnership with the Sazerac Company to have their products distilled and bottled at Buffalo Trace. While, as noted above, the older products in this line contain spirit from other distilleries, eventually the plan is for them all to be made at BT. BT has been making wheated bourbon in earnest since 1999.

In addition to the VW bourbons, buffalo trace also produces the Weller line, which was briefly also produced by the Bernheim distillery after the closure of S-W. This line currently includes

• W.L. Weller Special Reserve (90 proof)
• Old Weller Antique (107 proof)
• W.L. Weller 12 years old (90 proof)
• William Larue Weller (part of the BTAC, barrel proof varies by year)

Finally, though sold by an independent bottler,  McLain & Kyne, the current Jefferson's Presidential Select 18 year old contains wheated bourbon produced at Stizel-Weller.

Bernheim 

Historically, there have been 2 Bernheim Distilleries, which causes some confusion. The orginal Bernheim distillery was previously known as the Pleasure Ridge Park Distillery until I.W. Bernheim, his brother Bernard, and a partner, Nathan Uri bought it and renamed it the Bernheim Distillery Co. Their aim was to make an elite bourbon brand, I.W. Harper, which they continued to make through prohibition (as a medicinal whiskey). They sold the business to the Schenley Distilling company in 1937. This distillery, would eventually produce the Cream of Kentucky Rye featured in the Van Winkle Family Reserve and Sazerac 18 rye whiskeys. This distillery was demolished in 1992.

The "new" Bernheim distillery was built in Louisville Kentucky by United Distillers in 1992 as a replacement for the S-W plant. This was sold after UD became Diageo (after a series of mergers) to Heaven Hill in 1999. This served HH as their main distillery (DSP-KY-1) after the previous Heaven Hill Distillery (DSP-KY-31) was destroyed in a fire in 1996 and is the current site of production for Heaven Hill wheated (and other) bourbons. After the fire, but before the purchase, HH had their bourbon made Brown-Forman and Jim Beam. (Thanks to Eric, in the comments, for helping to clear some of this up).

Wheated Bourbons produced at Bernheim but not sold by Heaven Hill include:

• Some versions of the Weller series in the interregnum between S-W and BT (notably the discontinued Centennial)
• Some versions of Vintage 17 bourbon (likely discontinued, bottled by KBD)*
• Some versions of Willett Single Barrel Bourbon (KBD)*

*It is also nearly impossible to determine whether a bottle of the latter 2 is a wheater until you open and taste it.

Heaven Hill

As discussed, a stock of wheated bourbon made at the new Bernheim distillery from 1992-1999 was sold to the Sazerac company in 1999 and has featured in a number of Van Winkle Products. This is the distillate also used for the Weller line until the brand was assumed by Buffalo trace. Since then, Heaven Hill has continued to make wheated bourbons, which currently include:

• Old Fitzgerald Bourbon (prime, 1849, BIB and 12 year versions)
• Parkers Heritage Collection (some editions)
• Larceny (92 proof)

Heaven Hill now also produces Cabin Still, historically a S-W wheated bourbon brand, but no longer uses a wheat mashbill for the product. Rebel Yell was sold by Heaven Hill to Luxco who now sell it as an 80 proof wheated bourbon thought to be sourced from HH.

In the coming weeks, we will excitedly shift our attention to these wheated bourbons, having spent a while on the rye side of the spectrum (lovely as rye is). There's a lot of Van Winkle and Willy Larue to taste, there's an examination of the effects of air on wheated bourbon (I suspect significant, but we will examine this in scientific fashion), and we will also include at least one wheater in our forthcoming, blinded bottom-shelf throwdown, and I'm sure you can guess which one.