Bernheim Original
Light Gentle Wheat
0 185
Review by @Victor
- Nose21
- Taste22
- Finish21
- Balance21
- Overall85
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When I give tastings I am often amazed at how many people love the flavour profile of a wheated whiskey...amazed because there are so few wheat-dominant whiskeys on the market. Those wheat-dominant whiskeys which are present are often very very popular, such as Van Winkle bourbons or Parkers Heritage Collection Wheated bourbons. I have to think that there will be more wheated products available in the future, many more. This review is of this bottle in its first year, in its prime. I am doing this review largely from memory, for this is a whiskey I have sampled many times and used as an example of the flavours of wheat at many group tastings. This is called wheat whiskey because it is majority wheat. The mashbill comes in at 51% wheat, 39% corn, 10% malted barley. There is no age statement on the bottle. Online estimates of 5 years were given for the early releases
Nose: gentle nose, that unique melding of wheat and oak, like wheat-berry hot cereal with just a hint of brown sugar; pleasant, slightly sweet, but with a good dry balance. The wood is good but with a young-tasting whiskey like this, not great
Palate: lovely and mellow on the palate, a good translation of the nose flavours. The wood is decent and pleasant but not excellent. The wheat tastes very nice
Finish: medium length, quite mellow, understated, in the same vein as all which precedes...
Balance: almost everyone to whom I have served Bernheim Original Wheat Whiskey has liked it. This whiskey is for mellow moods and moments. It is not for thrill seekers
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Hi Victor, I totally agree that this whisky is for mellow moods. I know it's a wheated whisky but it's funny that for me the first thing I was thinking of is a big bowl of oatmeal with a gigantic amount of sugar. It is too sweet for my taste so I let my bottle unattended for a few months. The interesting part is that it is starting to become more interesting as the sweetness and cereal nose recessed, the spices come forward and they look a lot like a high rye mashed bourbon. I prefer rye to bourbon, but sometime I found that they develop a chemical nose when they are intense and not from good quality so whith this wheat whisky there is no chemical and it's mellowing the harsh that comes sometime whith spices. For those who loves the rancio, it is not for you; but for those who are in a gentle mood but usually like a thriller a recommend that you let your bottle open for a while and you will get a more interesting product with a better balance to it. My bottle is still at 90% full but I think it will go down at a higher pace now. Maybe I will comment this whisky again and let you know how its evolved in the future.