Review #744 - Bardstown Origin Series High Wheat
This is a member of Bardstown Bourbon Company's 'Origin Series,' a more affordable core range made from Bardstown's own distillate, in contrast to their premium products that focus on blends of whisky from other distilleries. This High Wheat entry is a Kentucky straight bourbon; actually, there's already a wheated bourbon in the Origin Series, the 6 year old bottled-in-bond variant. While that bottle uses a mashbill including 20% wheat grain, this High Wheat version amps that up to 39% wheat; the rest of this mashbill is 53% corn and 8% malted barley.
This High Wheat bourbon also carried a 6 year age statement, but we get an elevated bottling strength of 53% ABV (106 proof). Bardstown suggests that this high-wheat recipe will add tasting notes of apricot, lemon zest, and creme brulee - let's see if that's the case.
Bardstown Origin Series High Wheat
USA - Bourbon
Price: USD 47 (2025)
Age Statement: 6 Years
Strength: 53% ABV
Tasting Methodology: Reviewed 3 times over 4 months from a sample. Tasted in a nosing glass each time, rested 15+ minutes
Nose: Leather and some corn spirit, toasted oak, and lighter scents like hay, graham crackers, honey, and something floral. Hints of cream soda combine with vanilla, orange peel, and blanched almond; there's a grainy side, too, and we get hints of lemon.
Palate: The mouthfeel has a medium thickness. Wheaties breakfast cereal, vanilla, and caramel-coated peanuts lead the way in terms of flavor, and then butterscotch, wood spice, and young oak arrive. Later accents include molasses, cream, licorice, and a touch of funk.
Finish: Cinnamon graham crackers, raw wheat grain, spiced honey, and sweet corn; dried grass, freshly-baked French bread, coconut, and some vanilla. The aftertaste is warming with creamy oatmeal flavors; it's a medium length finish.
Final Note: A pleasant bourbon, but a little simple and grain forward, showing some youth at this point. We often get a more grain-forward flavor on bourbons with a high wheat content, especially when they aren't too old, but this was one of the more prominent examples; there are lots of nice baking flavors to go along with it. Oak was potent on the nose with those leather notes, but we found that it was quite reserved later on in the tasting experience.
Value is solid here, too - we think this is a fair price for a bourbon with these flavors and these bottling specs.
Our Rating: 6.2 / 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: 6.84
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.
Check out our other Bardstown Bourbon Company reviews:
Review #740 - Bardstown Discovery Series #13
Review #521 - Bardstown Fusion Series #3
Review #512 - Bardstown Collaboration Series: Chateau Doisy Daene
Review #504 - Bardstown Origin Series Bottled-In-Bond 6 Year Bourbon
Review #411 - Bardstown Discovery Series #12
Review #367 - Bardstown Discovery Series #11
Review #312 - Bardstown Collaboration Series: Foursquare Rum Distillery
