Day 3

Bernheim Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey A225

Style: Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey

Mashbill: 51% Wheat, 37% Corn, 12% Malted Barley

Aged: No age statement (NAS), but Heaven Hill reports it as 7–9 years old. This range puzzles me. We know it was bottled in February 2025 from the “225” in the laser code (A means it’s the first of the two annual batches that year). Being a straight whiskey, it has to originate from the same growing season, meaning every drop went into barrels during the same six-month window. So if it truly contains 9-year-old whiskey, that season would have been September 2015 and February 2016 at the latest. To also include 7- and 8-year-old product, they would have had to dump barrels in 2023 and 2024, mingle everything, and then let the batch sit in holding tanks for up to two years before bottling. I’m not aware of any facility that does that. As far as I know, they blend and bottle in the same bottling session. So this is almost certainly a mix of 7 and 8 or 8 and 9-year distillate, but not a blend of all 3. I think it's just lazy or deceptive marketing. Would love to be proven wrong though!

Proof: 125.4

MRSP: $79.99

Why I chose it: I’d heard of these before but had never actually seen one on a shelf. This is our first wheated mashbill in the calendar (wheat replaces rye as the main flavor grain) and it brings a unique profile. Wheated bourbons—like Weller, Larceny, or Pappy—are usually sweeter, softer, and gentler on the palate. Did it come across that way to you tonight?

Distilled at Bernheim (owned by Heaven Hill, the same folks who made yesterday’s pour) and bottled under the Bernheim Distillery label. So, three days in—which is your favorite style so far: rye-forward, high-corn traditional, or wheat?

Distiller's page: https://heavenhilldistillery.com/bernheim-barrel-proof.php