Review #588 - Holladay Soft Red Wheat Rickhouse Proof

The history of the Holladay distillery/brand goes back to the 1850s, when Ben Holladay and his brother Major David Holladay purchased land in Missouri near Weston, very close to the Missouri-Kansas border. The distillery changed hands a number of times over the years, with the most recent transfer coming in 1993; a few years ago, the brand was re-launched in its modern guise and quickly began to gain traction in the market.

While Holladay does make a bourbon with rye as the flavoring grain, the brand is perhaps more known for their wheated bourbons, which they denote as 'Soft Red Wheat,' named after the family of wheat varieties that they use. These Soft Red Winter wheats are common in the bourbon industry - Maker's Mark, for instance, also uses them in their famous red-wax-adorned bottles. Holladay uses a mashbill of 73% corn, 15% wheat, and 12% malted barley, specifically; they age the whisky in char #3 barrels for a minimum of 6 years after distillation.

Batches of the Soft Red Wheat Rickhouse Proof bourbon have unique labels on the side of the bottle which give more information about the batch. Here are a few bits of information from the batch we're reviewing, which was bottled in April 2024:

Distillation took place in Fall 2017
Barrels were aged in Rickhouse C
36% of the barrels came from floor 3, while 64% of the barrels came from floor 4

Holladay's website actually gives us a lot more detail, though - they have a page devoted to each batch that is bottled. Here are a few excerpts:

116 barrels went into this April 2024 batch
31% of the bourbon in these barrels was lost to evaporation during maturation
During the Fall 2017 distilling season, the spirit in these barrels was distilled across a 2 week period

A further breakdown of the aging locations shows 6 ricks across the 2 floors:

21% came from floor 4 tier 2 of rick 4
22% came from floor 4 tier 2 of rick 9
21% came from floor 4 tier 2 of rick 16
3% came from floor 3 tier 2 of rick 3
12% came from floor 3 tier 2 of rick 4
21% came from floor 3 tier 2 of rick 17

One of the reasons that these Holladay Soft Red Wheat bourbon gained some notoriety was their fair price - a barrel proof 6 year bourbon for around $70. How does this April 2024 batch fare?

Holladay Soft Red Wheat Rickhouse Proof

USA - Bourbon

Price: USD 75 (2025)

Age Statement: 6 Years

Strength: 59.9% ABV

Details: Distilled Fall 2017, bottled April 2024; rickhouse C

Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 5 months; bottles at 90%, 80%, and 70% fill levels at times of review. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes

Nose: Leathery oak and soft grain notes start us off, followed by baking scents: cinnamon, vanilla, honey-coated oats. Wheaties cereal adds to the grain side; fruits arrive, especially cherry, plum, and a hint of orange. Brown sugar brings more sweetness.

Palate: Spicy and a bit tannic - quite oaky up front, with a bit of pepper, too. Behind that, strong fruit flavors: lots of cherry, even cherry soda, along with a hint of light apple. Sweet and soft wheater flavors like vanilla and grain are accents; this has a medium-thick mouthfeel.

Finish: Warming, with nice wood spice and brown sugar, some dry vanilla, a bit of linen. Oak is still relatively strong, and the aftertaste brings more red fruit - cherry cola. Nicely balanced, and this has a medium-long finish.

Final Note: This is such a solid high-proof wheated bourbon - a classic profile, with that mix of leathery oak, baking spices, and sweet red fruit. Well-balanced, if a little bit simple, and this has a decent amount of wood spice for a wheated bourbon at the 6 to 7 year age mark. A great sipper, one we would be happy to spend some time with.

Value is decent, too - not necessarily exceptional at the $75 cost we're seeing now, but definitely better than average, and well worth the pickup.

Our Average Rating: 7.2 / 10

In the current whisky landscape of increasing prices and variable quality, we've added a value rating to our reviews that relates to the score and the available pricing of each whisky. This roughly equates to a 0-10 scale; no reviews so far have exceeded a score of 10, although it is technically possible for the formula to produce a value rating higher than 10 with a high enough score and low enough price.

Value Rating: 6.75

About Us: We're a husband and wife review team living in the Midwest United States. Generally, our reviews and tasting notes will be a compilation of both of our experiences with a whisky over several tasting sessions.