Is EWSB '96 a wheated bourbon?

[Ken]

The '96 is the first year of EWSB that I have tried. It tastes wheated to me, but I have not read anything on the forum that would indicate that it is. Are my tastebuds off that much?

[BourbonSteve]

Ken,

I don't catch the wheat so much in it as a Makers' Mark or Bernhiem. A funny thing.............I tried this bourbon and liked it, not one of my faves but good nonetheless. Then later that night I tried my first taste of Rock Hill Farms and there was no comparison at all on any level: nose, taste. Side by side there was a big gap. .02 Most posters favor the '95 edition to the '96. The '96 seems to lack something imho.

[TNbourbon]

None of the Evan Williams bottlings -- including the Single Barrel -- is wheated.

[ratcheer]

Are my tastebuds off that much?

It seems that they are. To quote Ken Timko, who I think is also from Michigan, "It just goes to show." :cool:

Tim

[JeffRenner]

To quote Ken Timko, who I think is also from Michigan, "It just goes to show." :cool:

Or this other Michigander's sig line (below).

Jeff

[Dahlrod]

I have also always thought the EWSB seamed wheated. Thanks, Tim, for clarifying.

[cowdery]

Just to echo Tim, EWSB is pretty much Heaven Hill's "signature" bourbon, their best foot forward. It is the rye-recipe bourbon Heaven Hill has made since it was founded. Because that original distillery was destroyed by fire in November of 1996, this presumably will be the last of the series to have been made there.

[Gillman]

I'd enter a vote for Henry McKenna Single Barrel. This had a concentration of flavor that showed the Heaven Hill character to its best. I had it side by side with (of all things) a Rock Hill Farms at Talbott's recently. One would think the Rock Hill would efface the McKenna but it didn't: each were bookends on the shelf of biblious bourbon flavours. To me Heaven Hill offers bourbon in its primal form: heavy on the rye, tasty, out there. At younger ages (e.g. the Heaven Hill-branded bourbons) it makes a statement, offers an opinion, and is not for all. At older ages or from prime barrels it comes into its own. That McKenna was very fine and its tingly spicy taste was the perfect counterpoint to the rich cakey Rock Hill Farms.

Gary

[ratcheer]

I agree, Gary. I think I need to have another visit with my bottle of Henry McKenna SB. :cool:

Tim