Wheat Whiskey
While some whiskeys can be “wheated,” where wheat is used as a flavoring grain (i.e. Maker’s Mark bourbon), wheat whiskey is actually a separate category, defined by whiskey made primarily from wheat. In the U.S., wheat whiskey follows the same requirements for production as bourbon, with the exception of the majority grain in the mashbill. Wheat whiskey must be at least 51% wheat, distilled to no more than 160 proof, enter the barrel at no more than 125 proof, aged in new, charred oak barrels, and bottled at no less than 80 proof. To be designated a straight wheat whiskey in the U.S., it must be aged at least two years. Wheat whiskey is only rarely produced by larger U.S. distillers, but smaller craft producers are experimenting more and more with the style. In Scotland, wheat whiskey is sometimes used in blended Scotch. It is also a common whiskey style in Germany.
Top Wheat Whiskey Posts:
Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey
Masterson’s Straight Barley 10 Years Old and Straight Wheat Whiskey 12 Years Old
Parker’s Heritage Collection Original Batch Wheat Whiskey 13 Years Old (2014)
The 15th round of Parker’s Heritage Collection is here, and for the second time it’s a wheat whiskey, which the series first did in 2014 as a 13 year old. This 2021 release is 11 years old, but it also draws on a trick used for the last two years of the Heritage Collection: heavy…
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New Hampshire’s Tamworth Distilling specializes in uncommon oddities. We previously covered its Graverobber Rye, flavored with maple syrup drawn from trees grown adjacent to a graveyard. We missed out, however, on its corpse flower brandy as well as its whiskey flavored with beaver musk. A recent arrival at Drinkhacker HQ however was Tamworth’s Deerslayer (aka…
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Longmont, Colorado is home to Dry Land Distillers, a true grain-to-glass craft operation “influenced and inspired by Colorado’s landscapes.” “With a focus on single grain 100% wheat whiskeys, prickly pear cactus spirits, native Colorado gin and pure cane sugar rum, Dry Land spirits represent the authentic flavors of the American West,” per the company. Today…
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Memphis-based Old Dominick Distillery makes gin, vodka, and other goodies, but it’s arguably best known as the producer of Huling Station, a line of whiskeys that began with bourbon and expanded to wheat whiskey and a blended whiskey earlier this year. Old Dominick sources all of these whiskeys from MGP, but they’re all made in…
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Last year, Old Elk — the Colorado-based operation run by former MGP master distiller Greg Metze — launched a pair of new whiskey expressions that were sold exclusively in Old Elk’s tasting room. This year, distribution of those releases has expanded nationally, and there’s a new whiskey in the mix, too: a wheated bourbon. (Old…
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We tasted the clear spirits of Top of the Hill Distillery (TOPO), including their white whiskey, way back in 2013. The Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based distillery has been hard at work tweaking, adding new products, and barrel-aging their whiskey since then, so we thought we would check in on their latest offerings. TOPO is one…
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It’s been several years since we last checked in with Washington-based Dry Fly Distilling, but we’re finally back with a look at a whiskey from its new Cask & Release Series, which involves partnerships with breweries to finish its whiskey in shared barrels. First up is this offering, a wheat whiskey finished in barrels from…
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If you’re drinking wheat whiskey, there’s a good chance you’re drinking Bernheim Original. This brand, part of Heaven Hill, has been on the market since 2005 — we reviewed it in 2009 — and in 2014 the labeling was updated to include an age statement — 7 years old — a rejection of the more…
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Without too much fanfare or forewarning, Woodford Reserve recently introduced a new addition to its permanent lineup. Woodford Reserve Wheat is the fifth whiskey in its full-time portfolio and a rare offering out of Kentucky. The only other majority wheat mashbill that I’m aware of is Heaven Hill’s Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey, and like Bernheim,…
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Former MGP master distiller Greg Metze’s Old Elk Distillery came out of the gate with a unique blended bourbon a couple of years ago, and now the line is expanding with two new expressions, a straight rye and a wheat whiskey. Like Old Elk Bourbon, both are sourced, their actual origins undisclosed. The company explained…
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