Zoom Tasting - "Eaties for My Wheaties" Flight

For the last couple of tastings a friend of mine and her husband have joined us on Zoom to partake in our blind tastings.  On their first visit, they were treated to Mitch's excellent flight of Old Forester Expressions.  We ended up finishing with Belfour's pecan finished bourbon and we talked quite a bit about Blanton's, Weller, and Maker's 46.  This got me thinking that a good choice for my turn to host might be a wheated bourbon flight.

I knew I wanted at least one bourbon that none of my friends had tried yet.  For this, I already knew the Wilderness Trail Bottled in Bond would be an interesting choice.  I also wanted to include something they might have tried and forgotten.  Larceny seemed like a good choice for this.  Lastly I wanted to close it out with something familiar that might strike the palate differently at the end of a flight - something all my friends loved.  I chose Maker's 46 for that.  

I kicked the flight off with Larceny because of its lighter flavors and thinner mouth feel.  It successfully stumped the crowd, and everyone seemed to appreciate its light, sweet flavor.  It also turned out to be an even better choice for Mitch, who had never tried it before.  What stood out to everyone when tasting the Wilderness Trail was the char, which was compared to licorice, dark chocolate, and burnt vanilla.  We finished with everyone's old standby, and Dan and Cheri both eventually guessed it, but it took a few minutes!  

Wheated Bourbons Tasting Notes

Larceny:  92 Proof.  Nondisclosed mash bill estimated at 68% corn, 20% wheat, 12% malted barley.

• Nose: Everyone agreed this one has a fruity nose.  It's light and unassuming with a touch of honey and vanilla.
• Palate: Honey, caramel and vanilla.  A little cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Finish: More cinnamon and honey.  Very pleasant but unassuming finish.

Wilderness Trail Bottled-in Bond:  100 proof.  64% corn, 24% wheat, 12% malted barley.

• Nose: Vanilla, caramel, citrus and honey. 
• Palate: Caramel, char, dark chocolate.  Some picked up the flavor of licorice, pecans, and coffee as well.
• Finish: I get malt and chocolate from this, and when suggested these tastes to my friends they agreed.  I also got black licorice from Cheri, and others definitely picked up the char.

Maker's 46:  94 Proof.  80% corn, 16% red winter wheat, 14% malted barley.

• Nose: Caramel, oak and vanilla with hints of fresh baked bread and cinnamon.
• Palate: The sweetness of the high corn content really comes through, as do the sweet flavors of the bakery.  Wheat bread, cinnamon and caramel.  The mouth feel is thicker than the others.
• Finish: Cinnamon and caramel linger with a hint of leather. 

The Bonus Pour

As is our custom, we finished the night with a pour from a bottle we all had in our collections.  In this case, we stayed with the wheated theme and poured a Weller Special Reserve.  

Tasting notes for this old standby wheated bourbon are content for another blog post someday.  Suffice to say it was a great way to wrap up an evening of great bourbon with great friends and conversation.

What do you think of these wheated bourbon selections?  Is there another you might have chosen for a flight?  Want to join us for a future Zoom tasting?  Leave a comment below and let us know!  

Don't forget to follow us!  Enter your email at left (or in the menu on your mobile device) and never miss a post, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.